Spain’s 1808 Crisis: War and Political Revolution
The Crisis of 1808: War of Independence and Political Revolution
At the beginning of the reign of Charles IV, the French Revolution (1789) caused fear throughout Europe that revolutionary proposals would spread. Relations with France went through three stages:
- Stage One (Neutrality) (1789-1792): Revolutionary ideas reached Spain, and the governments of Charles IV opted for neutrality and repression, but these ideas penetrated the learned and the people.
- Stage Two (War) (1792-1796): In 1792, Charles IV appointed Godoy as minister, although he was a person hated by many. In 1793, Spain declared war on France, which ended with the Peace of Basel. Charles IV granted Godoy the title of Prince of Peace.
- Stage Three (Alliance) (1796-1808): After the Peace of Basel, there was again an alliance with France. From 1796, the Treaty of San Ildefonso was signed. In 1807, Godoy signed with Napoleon the Treaty of Fontainebleau, which allowed French troops to pass through Spain to attack Portugal, with the aim of dividing it into three parts, one of which would be a principality for Godoy.
The royal family moved to Andalusia, but in 1808 the Mutiny of Aranjuez broke out, where the court was located. This was originated by a party that formed around Ferdinand VII due to the excessive power and prominence of Godoy.
The War of Independence
After the abdication of Charles IV in favor of Ferdinand VII, Napoleon summoned both Charles IV and Ferdinand VII to Bayonne, which resulted in the Abdications of Bayonne. On May 2, 1808, a popular uprising occurred in Madrid because the rest of the royal family was forced to leave the palace. This marked the beginning of the War of Independence. The people of Madrid were severely repressed by the French, but as these facts became known, the insurrection spread to all territories occupied by the French.
During the war, there were two sides:
- The Spain of Joseph Bonaparte, who had the support of the pro-French minority.
- The Spain of the insurrection and popular resistance, composed of French-occupied territories fighting in the name of Ferdinand VII. This rebel group was composed of two very different factions: liberals and absolutists, who wanted the return of Ferdinand VII as an absolute monarch.
Political Development of the War
In the territories where the rebels won, local juntas were created, consisting of members of the nobility and clergy. The need for coordination among these juntas led to the creation of a Central Junta.
Later, the functions of the Central Junta were transferred to a Regency Council on behalf of Ferdinand VII, which settled in Cadiz.
Military Development of the War
Joseph I had the Napoleonic army, and the rebels were supported by the British army and popular guerrillas. The war can be divided into three phases:
- Until November 1808: Euphoria and prominence of the Spanish resistance, which gained victories over the French army, such as at Bailén.
- From November 1808: Napoleon decided to conduct military campaigns in Spain but had to return because some European countries were preparing a campaign against him. Napoleon also did not anticipate the resilience of cities and had to cope with guerrilla warfare and the British.
- From 1812 until the end of the war: The situation was reversed. The Napoleonic Empire began to have trouble in Europe, and in Spain, rebels, with the support of England and Portugal, eventually forced the French to retreat.
The Cadiz Cortes and the Constitution of 1812
During the War of Independence, the legal groundwork needed for the modernization of the country was laid so that when the king returned to Spain, he would only have to enforce these laws. The process of convening the Cortes had been initiated by the Supreme Central Junta, which in 1810 transferred its powers to a Regency Council in Cadiz, responsible for convening the Cortes in the absence of the king.
The Liberals managed to ensure that the call would be held by a single assembly in which each member had one vote. The following principles, radically opposed to the Old Regime, were established:
- National sovereignty residing in the Cortes.
- Division of state powers.
- The Cortes and the legislature had as their main objective the development of a constitution.
The Cortes of Cadiz is the first episode of the bourgeois liberal revolution in Spain. It aimed to create a new model of society based on these three pillars:
- Economic freedom.
- Legal equality.
- A constitutional parliamentary political system.
These Cortes enacted in 1812 the first Spanish constitution, the Constitution of 1812, as the one from Bayonne could not be considered Spanish.