Spain Under Fernando VII: Liberalism, Absolutism, and Colonial Loss
The Liberal Triennium (1820-1823)
A statement by Colonel starring Irrigation heads San Juan achieving success.
Opening the Liberal Triennium, the king was forced to abide by the Constitution of 1812, decreed an amnesty, and called elections. New courts, composed of a majority of liberal MPs, restored many of the reforms of Cádiz. They created the National Militia, an armed volunteer corps defending the liberal order. This reform process did not have the sympathy of Fernando VII, who sought help from the European powers to restore absolutism. The Holy Alliance requested France’s military intervention in Spain and called the Hundred Thousand Sons of St. Louis, under the command of the Duke of Angoulême, who entered Spain, defeated the liberals, and restored Fernando VII as absolute monarch.
The Failure of Absolutism
The return to absolutism was followed by a crackdown on liberals and destruction. But the governments of Fernando VII were incapable of resolving the serious problems the country had to cope with. There existed a difficult economic situation. The war against the French had greatly weakened the economy and left the Treasury in bankruptcy. The independence of the American colonies deprived state coffers of an important source of essential income. It was essential to implement a tax reform that required the privileged to contribute with their taxes, but these were the main defenders of absolutism, and the king could not attack their interests.
Second was the dynastic conflict. Fernando VII had only daughters, and the Salic Law prevented women from reigning in Spain. To ensure the throne for Isabel, the King issued the Pragmatic Sanction, which repealed the previous law.
Causes of American Independence
In the early nineteenth century, unrest in the colonies that had existed for decades erupted in the form of wars of independence.
- The spread of enlightened ideas and the principles of freedom and equality.
- The success of the revolt of the British colonies in North America.
- The discontent of the native bourgeoisie. The Creoles saw Spain as a brake on the economy and hampering trade, and imposed heavy tax burdens.
The End of the Spanish American Empire
The outbreak of the Peninsular War in Spain aroused the formation of juntas also in the American colonies. But these juntas soon became agencies that sought to operate outside of Spain. The junta members were Creoles who replaced the Spanish authorities and refused to accept the authority of the Central Supreme Junta.
The major foci of secession originated in Venezuela and in the Viceroyalty of La Plata. After the end of the war against the French, Spanish troops were able to restore rule over some colonies. But the insurrection generalized again from 1816:
- General San Martín led an expedition across the Andes, defeated the Spanish, and achieved the independence of Chile.
- In the North, Simón Bolívar defeated the Spanish and founded Gran Colombia, which included present-day Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, and Panama.
- The rebellion carried out by Iturbide in Mexico achieved independence in 1821, which was followed by that of Central America.
- Antonio José de Sucre defeated the Spanish at Ayacucho and freed Peru and Bolivia.