Spanish Constitution of 1876: Analysis and Context

Posted on Feb 15, 2025 in History

The Spanish Constitution of 1876: Key Features and Historical Context

Primary Source Analysis

  • Type of Text: Primary source; Legal (constitutional) and political text.
  • Author: Representatives of the Spanish Cortes.
  • Addressed to: All Spaniards (public text).
  • Objective: Imposing the new legal framework that meets the principles of the Restoration system.
  • Location and Date: Madrid, after the failure of the First Republic and the end of the Democratic Six Years, at the beginning of the Restoration of the Bourbon Monarchy.

Main Idea

To establish a new constitution in Spain according to the principles of the Restoration system.

Content Analysis

The Constitution consists of 89 articles. It is a moderate text with a flexible and eclectic character, designed to integrate the two official parties. It is a synthesis of the Constitutions of 1845 and 1869.

Fundamental Principle: Shared sovereignty between the King and the Cortes (prologue and Article 18).

Dogmatic Part:

  • Article 11: Establishes Catholicism as the state religion, with tolerance for other forms of worship, but with limited freedom.
  • Article 13: Recognizes rights of opinion, meeting, press, and association.

Organizational Part:

  • Articles 18, 19, 20, 28, 50: Define the division of powers.
  • Legislative Power: Shared between the King and the Cortes (Article 18).
  • Bicameral Parliament (Article 19):
    • Senate: Mixed character, with some members chosen by the Crown and others representing the wealthiest citizens (Article 20).
    • Congress: Mode of suffrage to be specified (Article 28).
  • Executive Power: In the hands of the King (Article 50).
  • Article 75: Establishes the same codes and laws for the entire state, reflecting a centralizing vision.

Historical Context

Precedents: The end of the Six Democratic Years, marked by the war in Cuba, the Second Carlist War, and various uprisings. Cánovas del Castillo, tutor of Alfonso XII, wrote the Sandhurst Manifesto, which presented Spain as a constitutional monarchy. In 1874, the *pronunciamiento* of Sagunto led to Alfonso XII becoming King in 1875. Cánovas, a deputy of the Cortes in 1869, opposed the 1869 Constitution (particularly freedom of religious practice) and universal suffrage. He admired the English political system (stable and without revolutions) and wanted to implement a similar model in Spain. He believed in the union of the Crown and the Cortes for Spain’s greatness.

Aims of Canovas:

  • Assure political stability.
  • Prevent popular protests and the diffusion of revolutionary ideas.
  • Adopt a parliamentary monarchy.
  • Integrate progressive parties that accepted the monarchy into the political system.

Implementation: In 1875, elections were held for the Cortes. Only parties that accepted the Bourbon dynasty could participate, resulting in 45% abstention (mainly conservatives). This gave Cánovas’ Conservative Party a majority in the government. Cánovas wrote the new Constitution of 1876, which was a compromise between Liberal and Moderate principles. It was *eclectic*, incorporating Liberal aspects from the 1869 Constitution and Moderate aspects from the 1845 Constitution.

Characteristics:

  • Sovereignty resided in the Cortes and the King (who had a permanent veto).
  • Bicameral Parliament.
  • Catholicism was the state religion (with supervision of public education and a degree of censorship).
  • Suffrage: Adult males who paid a certain amount in taxes (25 pesetas in annual land tax or 50 pesetas in industrial tax).

Eclecticism facilitated the *turno pacífico* (peaceful turn) between the two main parties: Conservatives and Progressives. The King acted as an arbiter. This system relied on *Caciquismo*, where the government negotiated with local *caciques* (bosses) to ensure the election of government candidates in exchange for favors, particularly in rural areas.

Consequences

The political system proposed by Cánovas eventually failed, leading to a political crisis and the coup of Primo de Rivera. The Constitution was maintained until the proclamation of the Second Republic in 1931, which established a new constitution.

Compared to the previous Constitution of 1869, the 1876 Constitution represented a step back in some respects:

  • Disappearance of national sovereignty.
  • Distance from the model of a democratic monarchy, granting significant powers to the King.
  • Establishment of a confessional state.
  • Limitation of freedom of worship.
  • No guarantee of certain political rights.

Conclusion

The Constitution of 1876 was designed to endure. Its flexible text was accepted by the two major political parties and provided stability to the Spanish political system. However, it ultimately served the interests of the oligarchy.