Spanish Liberalism: Bourbon Dynasty to First Republic
Introduction: The Bourbons, a New Dynasty in Spain
The Habsburg dynasty ended in 1700 with the death of Charles II, who had appointed as his heir the French prince Philip of Bourbon, while Archduke Charles of Habsburg (Austria) claimed his rights to the throne. This led to an international conflict as the balance of power was disturbed, and within Spain, territories supported different pretenders. This resulted in the War of the Spanish Succession (1701–1714).
Philip V of Bourbon won the war. He instituted the French absolutist and central system, starting the territorial unification of the Crowns of Aragón and Castile. He shared new laws and established an identical administration with uniform institutions through the Nueva Planta Decrees, imposing the Castilian system. The reigns of Philip V and Ferdinand VI followed this French absolutist and central system.
Characteristics of Liberalism in Spain: A Liberal Revolution Amidst Two Wars
The first attempt to establish a constitutional system in Spain took place during the War of Independence (also known as the Peninsular War). In opposition to the crowning of Napoleon’s brother, juntas were created. They met in the Cádiz Cortes and drafted the first Spanish Constitution (1812).
The second and final attempt occurred during the First Carlist War (1833–1839), a civil war between Carlist absolutists and liberals supported by Isabella II. Thus, the implementation of the liberal system in Spain was affected by both military conflicts. As a result, Spanish liberalism developed significant problems in its political system:
- The monarchy was politically active and nearly always favored the moderates.
- Members of the nobility, military, and clergy formed political cliques and used their influence for personal gain (camarillismo).
- Census suffrage gave only 1% of the population the right to vote, and election results were systematically manipulated in favor of the party in power (electoral fraud).
- Families with political and economic power could decide on political candidates and corrupt election results (caciquismo).
- The Army as an Arbitrator: Limitations in the electoral system and fraud often caused the opposition party to start military revolts (pronunciamientos) to force the monarch to hand over government control. The National Militia and revolutionary civilian groups participated in these revolts.
- Weak Constitutions: Different liberal groups sought to reflect their political models in the Constitution, resulting in 7 different texts in 64 years.
Ferdinand VII: The Restoration of Absolutism
Ferdinand began the age of Six Years of Absolutism (1814–1820), abolishing all reforms and persecuting liberals. The pronunciamientos against him achieved a liberal age during the Liberal Triennium (1820–1823) led by Colonel Rafael de Riego, but they were defeated by the Holy Alliance with the help of the One Hundred Thousand Sons of St. Louis.
Absolutism returned with the Ominous Decade (1823–1833), exposing the structural problems of the Ancien Régime through political and economic issues. The king changed his position with the birth of his daughter Isabella: the Bourbon family’s Salic Law did not allow her to be queen, so he approved the Pragmatic Sanction (1830), preventing Charles, his absolutist brother, from becoming king.
Regency of Maria Christina (1833–1840) & The First Carlist War
Charles and his supporters initiated an uprising in the First Carlist War (1833–1839), mostly in rural and conservative areas, which concluded with the Convenio de Vergara. Maria Christina, as regent, needed the support of moderate liberals, granting them political power in exchange. The Mutiny of La Granja brought progressives into the government with Mendizábal.
Mendizábal began abolishing the Ancien Régime by introducing fiscal reform, dissolving manorialism, and through the disentailment of property and the confiscation of Church property. The payment of tithes, the Mesta, internal customs duties, and guilds were also abolished. The Constitution of 1837 was approved, featuring a slightly open census and some rights.
Regency of Espartero (1840–1843)
In 1837, moderate liberals with increasingly conservative policies took control of the government. Maria Christina was forced to step down, and liberals took power with General Espartero. He continued with trade reforms, but these liberal actions bothered Catalonia’s industry, and the excessive authority he imposed led to his removal from government.
The Moderate Decade (1843–1854)
During almost the entire reign of Isabella II as an adult, Spain’s Moderate Liberal Party, led by General Narváez, remained in power. The new Cortes adopted a moderate constitution (1845). State and municipal administration were reorganized, and only the Basque Country and Navarre retained their statutory laws.
The moderate liberals also adopted measures to centralize taxes, create a penal code (1848), and develop a national education system. In 1851, the state signed the Concordat with the Holy See. The authoritarian tendencies of political leaders like Narváez and Bravo Murillo, the influence of political cliques (camarillas), and electoral fraud caused another progressive military revolt.
The Progressive Biennium (1854–1856) & The Decline of the System (1868)
Espartero took over the government again and focused on economic reforms:
- The confiscation of commons and municipal property (Confiscations of Madoz, 1855).
- The General Railway Law and the Mining Act to boost the railway system and the mining industry, although they were financed by foreign capital.
In 1856, the Liberal Union gained power, and O’Donnell and Narváez from the Moderate Party alternated in power, practicing a colonial policy, while the country began a small democratic and republican movement.
The Revolution and the Provisional Government (1868–1869)
The economic crisis (US Civil War, Railway and financial crisis), the monopoly of the moderates in government, and new societal ideas sparked a revolution in 1868. This involved the union of progressives, democrats, and unionists, led by Prim. They won the conflict, and Isabella was exiled with her son Alfonso. They formed a provisional government and created the democratic Constitution of 1869.
The Monarchy of Amadeo I (1870–1873)
Amadeo of Savoy was chosen as King of Spain, but Prim was killed upon his arrival. Amadeo found Spain sunk in conflicts (Second Carlist War, Cuban insurrection, political party conflicts) and abdicated in 1873.
The First Republic (1873–1874)
The Republic was the only option in a country without a monarch. The instability of the government led to four different presidents (Figueras, Pi i Margall, Salmerón, Castelar) who had to deal with government divisions, the Cuban insurrection, the Second Carlist War, social protests, and the Cantón of Cartagena, which ultimately led into a new monarchy based on the alfonsinos.