Spanish Constitution of 1876: Key Articles and Historical Context

Posted on Dec 2, 2024 in History

The Constitution of 1876

We find a text of a political nature, focusing on selected articles of the Constitution of 1876. This constitution was written shortly after the restoration of the Bourbons to the Spanish throne. The new king, Alfonso XII, son of Elizabeth II, was proclaimed King of Spain after the military coup of General Martinez Campos on December 29, 1874. The successive attempts to stabilize the country during the Revolutionary Sexenio (Monarchy, Republic, and Authoritarian Republic) after the Revolution of 1868 had been unsuccessful. Thus, it was necessary to start a new political era, dubbed the Restoration.

2. Analysis

A selection of articles from the Constitution reflects the ideas of the main driver of the Restoration, Antonio Cánovas del Castillo:

  • Article 11 specifies that the Catholic religion is the official state religion but tolerates the private practice of other religious manifestations.
  • Article 13 cites Spanish rights: speech, assembly, and association.
  • Articles 18, 19, 20, and 50 discuss the branches of government: the legislature based on the Parliament (Senate and Congress) and the King, thus establishing a system in which sovereignty is shared; the executive headed by the King; and finally, the judiciary under the authority of judges and courts.

This constitution does not specify the type of electoral system to be used, leaving it for later legislation. In practice, it was based on census suffrage until 1890, when universal male suffrage was adopted. Article 75 determines a single jurisdiction for all of Spain, a centralist and unitary conception of the state, establishing the same codes and eliminating privileges due to new Carlist conflicts.

3. Questions

a) The 1876 Constitution Compared to its Predecessor, 1869

The 1876 Constitution remained in force until 1931. The former period was from 1869 to 1874. The basic features of the Restoration Constitution can be summarized as:

  • Shared sovereignty.
  • Extensive powers of the monarch.
  • Bicameral system.
  • Suffrage not initially defined (first lessee and then universal).
  • Wide bill of rights, although they were allowed to be regulated by ordinary legislation (as conservatives and liberals restricted or extended them).
  • Religious tolerance in the private sphere.
  • Centralized (removal of privileges).

The features of the Constitution of the Sexenio were:

  • National Sovereignty.
  • Separation of powers (“The King reigns but does not govern”).
  • Bicameral system.
  • Universal male suffrage.
  • Broad statement of rights (without being subject to other laws).
  • Freedom of religion, with the exception of ministers.
  • Central but without the elimination of privileges.

b) Arrival of Alfonso XII to Power

The period before the reign of Alfonso XII is known as the Democratic or Revolutionary Sexenio, marked by popular revolts, clashes with Carlist conspiracies, Alphonsine conspiracies, the cantonal uprisings, and the Cuban independence war, which began in 1868. This climate of political instability led General Pavía to dissolve the Parliament on January 4, 1874, trying to find a replacement for Emilio Castelar (the last president of the First Republic). General Serrano established an Authoritarian Republic, which remained nominally so but actually meant the end of the Republican experience. Martinez Campos staged a coup on December 29, 1874, in Sagunto and proclaimed Alfonso XII the new King of Spain. On December 31, the Ministry-Regency was established, chaired by Cánovas del Castillo. This marked the beginning of the Restoration, which meant not only the return of the Bourbons but also the dominance of dogmatic liberalism and the rule of the oligarchy and chieftaincy. Two weeks after these events, the young King Alfonso XII, the Peacemaker, made his entrance.

c) Basic Characteristics of the Restoration System

  • The system, developed by Cánovas del Castillo, who was the first head of government of the Restoration, saw power alternating with Sagasta, thanks to the Pact of Pardo of 1885.
  • The Constitution of 1876.
  • Oligarchy and despotism. The shifts in government between conservatives and liberals determined which oligarchies and chiefs controlled the electoral process to ensure political alternation.
  • With the deaths of Cánovas in 1897 and Sagasta in 1903, the decomposition of the Restoration system began, as their successors could not control the various movements, such as reclamation, republicanism, and nationalism, which arose against this system.
  • Events such as the Crisis of ’98, the Tragic Week, the Crisis of 1917, and the dictatorship of Primo de Rivera furthered the decomposition of the Canovist system.
  • The end of the Restoration is marked by the proclamation of the Second Republic and the expulsion of Alfonso XIII.