The Birth of Modern Europe: Nationalism, Revolutions, and Industrialization
Nationalism. The birth of new states/ Nationalist ideas supported processes of unification. This was the case in Italy and Germany, where they contributed to the spread of ideas of building a unified liberal State. Nationalist ideas also helped lead to the fall of the Ottoman Empire and the rise of new States. 8.1 The unification of Italy (1859-1870) The process of unification was directed by the Kingdom of Piedmont- Sardinia. Central figures were Victor Emmanuel Il and Prime Minister Cavour, who won the trust of the most prominent national groups, along with the revolutionary Giuseppe Garibaldi. Unification was carried out in several stages. First, Victor Emmanuel II incorporated Lombardy into the Kingdom of Piedmont-Sardinia in the battle against Austria, also incorporating the duchies of central Italy. Meanwhile, Garibaldi conquered the Kingdom of Two Sicilies in the sor ‘Expedition of the Thousand’. leading an army known as the After this partial unification, the Kingdom of Italy was founded (1861). Complete unity was finally achieved with the annexation of Venice (1866) and the conquest of the Papal States (1870). The new State established a liberal polítical system based on censitary suffrage. 8.2The unification of Germany (1864-1871) The main figures in German unification were William I, King of Prussia, and Chancellor Bismarck. Both aimed to unify Germany and exclude Austria, their political rival. The unification process was carried out in two stages. First, Prussia defeated Austria in the Battle of Sadowa (1866), allowing the northern German states to unify. Prussia then defeated France in the Battle of Sedan (1870), incorporating Alsace and Lorraine, thereby unifying the southern German states. The Second Reich, or German Empire, had begun (1871). The new State created a constitution that established universal male suffrage and a federal political system, made up of states with extensive powers. 8.3 Independent nationalism Independent nationalist movements spread throughout countries ruled by a foreign power and adopted liberalism. As a result, the majority of the Spanish colonies in Latin America became independent (1825); Greece claimed independence from Ottoman Empire (1829); and Belgium, from the Netherlands (1839) However, Ireland, annexed by England in the 17th century, did not achieve independence.
1.1 Revolutionary changes and their limitations In Spain, the 19th century was a period of transformation in which the political, economic and social structures of the Old Regime disappeared. However, their limited scope left Spain behind with respect to the great European powers. • Absolutism gave way to a liberal system, but this change took place in an atmosphere of great instability marked by civil wars, military coups d’état and the loss of the colonial empire. • The population grew, but moderately; and the economy was modernised, but the progress was delayed, slow and less intense than in other European countries, which is why Spain continued to be an agrarian country. A new class-based society was established, centred on wealth. However, landowners continued to have significant influence, the bourgeoisie and the proletariat grew very little, and the peasantry continued to make up the majority.1.2 The reign of Charles IV (1788-1808) Charles IV acceded to the throne in 1788 at the age of 40, and immediately left power in the hands of the prime minister, Manuel Godoy, During his reign, the political crisis of the Old Regime began, under the influence of the French Revolution. Due to fears that it would spread to Spain, the borders were closed; the Enlightenment reforms were halted, as they were thought to have inspired the revolution; and war was declared with France after the execution of Louis XVI in 1793. In the course of the war, the French invaded the Basque Country and Navarra, which forced Godoy to sign the Peace of Basel in 1795. In 1807, Godoy shifted his policy and allied with Napoleon after the signing of the Treaty of Fontainebleau. The treaty contained an agreement to invade and divide up Portugal, which did not accept the economic embargo against the United Kingdom decreed by Napoleon. With this pretext, French troops entered Spain. However, the occupation of strategically important points of the Peninsula made it clear that his intention was also to invade Spain, This fact caused the Mutiny of Aranjuez (1808), a popular revolt against Manuel Godoy’s policies instigated by the heir to the throne, the future Ferdinand VII. As a consequence, Charles IV demoted Godoy and abdicated the throne in favour of his son Ferdinand. Napoleon ably took advantage of the disagreements within the roval family: he drew father and son Bayonne (France), got both to abdicate to him, and yielded the Spanish throne to his brother Joseph Bonaparte.
1.3 The formation of ideological groups Joseph I Bonaparte reigned in Spain between 1808 and 1813. During this time, he implemented the Bayonne Statute, which established a conservative political system in which the king had executive power and the initiative to propose laws. He made some reforms, including the establishment of rights for prisoners, the abolition of torture and the suppression of the privileges of the nobility. These events divided Spaniards into two ideological groups: The afrancesados accepted the new monarchy and supported its reforms. This small group of Spaniards was composed of members of the nobility, the high clergy and, primarily, civil servants. The patriots refused to accept a foreign monarch imposed by military might. This group included most of the people, who defended the sovereignty of Ferdinand VII and traditional values (God, country, king); and the liberals, primarily liberal bourgeois and professionals who wanted to end the Old Regime and draw up a constitution. 2War of independence (1808-1814) The dethronement of the Bourbons and the invasion of the French troops sparked a double process: a war of liberation against the French invasion and the beginning of a liberal revolution against absolutism. The latter was carried out in the Cortes of Cádiz. 2.1 The War of Independence The French invasion led to the uprising of the people of Madrid on 2 May 1808. Its spread to other cities entailed the beginning of the War of Independence. In the cities, the fight against the occupation was carried out through resistance and uprisings against the French, and in the countryside, through guerrilla warfare, or surprise attacks on the enemy. In the first phase of the war, the French advance was stopped by the resistance found in cities like Girona, Zaragoza, Valencia and Cádiz, and the victory in the Battle of Bailén (1808). Napoleon then went to Spain with 250 000 soldiers and recovered almost all the territory. From 1812 on, taking advantage of Napoleon’s problems in Russia and with the help of the British army that came ashore in Portugal, the French were defeated at Arapiles, Vitoria and San Marcial. As a consequence, Napoleon recognised Ferdinand VII as King of Spain and the Indies in the Treaty of Valençay (1813), and withdrew from Spain.
2.2 The Cortes of Cádiz and the Constitution of 1812 The liberal revolution against absolutism happened in parallel with the war. With the void in power created by the absence of the monarch, the patriots created provincial defence juntas to conduct the war. Power was assumed by the Supreme Central Junta, which coordinated the war and undertook the political and social reforms that the country needed. In order to do so, the Supreme Junta summoned the Cortes of Cádiz (1810), elected by male popular vote. Among the Cortes delegates were absolutists, who defended roval sovereignty and keeping the Old Regime; and liberals, who were in favour of national sovereignty and the end of the Old Regime. The latter won the majority, and were able to get the Cortes to carry out legal reforms and approve a constitution, The laws they approved established freedom of the press (1810). abolished manors (1811), trade guilds (1813) and the Inquisition (1813) With them, the foundations of the Old Regime were attacked. The Constitution of 1812, the first in the history of Spain, recognised individual rights like equality before the law and established national Sovereignty and the separation of powers. Thus, absolutism was replaced by a liberal political system. 3.2 The Independence of Spanish America In the last years of the reign of Ferdinand VII, the independence of the Spanish colonies in America took place. The process was advanced by the criollos, dissatisfied with their political marginalisation, the high taxes and the social discrimination they faced compared to peninsular Spaniards. It was driven by the spread of European liberal and revolutionary ideas and by military aid from the United States and the United Kingdom. It was carried out in two stages: The first stage (1810-1814) coincided with the War of Independence, during which revolutionary juntas displayed tendencies that favoured independence, led by Simón Bolívar and José de San Martín. They were repressed after the return of Ferdinand VII to Spain. The second stage (1815-1825). Ferdinand VII refused to grant any autonomy to the colonies. Thanks to British and American support, Spain was defeated at Pichincha (1822) and Ayacucho (1824), and its colonial empire was reduced to Cuba and Puerto Rico in the Americas and the Philippines in Asia. The new republics that arose after independence did not manage to unite and remained in the hands of military leaders.
3.1 Stages in the reign In 1814, after the War of independence, Ferdinand VII returned to Spain, where he was received with great shows of joy by the people. His reign (1814-1833) had three stages, marked by the confrontations between liberals and absolutists. The Absolutist Sexennium (1814-1820) Ferdinand VIl abolished the Constitution of 1812, thus annulling the work of the Cortes of Cádiz, and persecuted the liberals. Some were exiled, and others tried to attain power through uprisings or military coups d’état. • The Liberal Triennium (1820-1823). In 1820, the uprising led by commander Rafael de Riego at Cabezas de San Juan (Seville) prevailed. Frightened, Ferdinand VII swore allegiance to the Constitution of Cádiz and accepted the liberals’ reestablishment of the work of the Cortes of Cádiz, such as the suppression of the manors. the elimination of the Inquisition, etc. Meanwhile, Ferdinand VIH obtained the aid of the absolutist powers of the Holy Alliance. In 1823 a French army, the ‘One Hundred Thousand Sons of Saint Louis’, invaded Spain and allowed the king to restore absolutism. The Ominous Decade (1823-1833). This period began with the repression of the liberals. The situation changed in 1830 with the Succession problem, because when his daughter Isabella was born. Ferdinand Vl repealed the Salic Law that prevented women from inheriting the throne. Don Carlos, brother of Ferdinand Vll and until then his successor, did not accept it and received the support of the absolutists, which forced Maria Christina, wife of Ferdinand VII, torely on the liberals. 4.1 The period of Isabella II (1833-1868) The Regency stage Upon the death of Ferdinand VII, his daughter, Isabella II, just three vears old, acceded to the throne. While she was a minor, regency was given to her mother, Maria Christina (1833-1840), and General Espartero (1840-1843). In this period, the succession problem unleashed a civil war, the First Carlist War (1833-1839). which pitted the absolutists who defended Carlos against the liberals who favoured Isabella. The Conflict ended in 1839, with the victory of Isabella and the Convention of Vergara. The reign of Isabella II In 1843, Isabella Il was declared of legal age and her personal reign began. During her reign, the liberal regime was consolidated, based on a system of political parties.
The reign, nevertheless, was characterised by tremendous political instability, driven by the confrontation between two liberal parties: the Moderate Party, composed of the upper bourgeoisie and some sectors of the middle class (liberal professionals, landowners, army commanders and officials, etc.); and the Progressive Party, which consisted of the urban middle class, such as small merchants and employees. Upon coming to power, each party tried to impose its ideas, writing up a constitution tailored to its own agenda. • In Moderate Decade Constitution of 1845 was imposed. the (1844-1854), the • In the Progressive Biennium (1854-1856), the Constitution of 1856 was written but not published. • And in last years of the reign (1856-1868) the liberal moderates alternated in power with a new centrist party, the Liberal Union. Additionally, new parties that opposed the liberal regime arose: the Democrats, defenders of universal suffrage for men; and the Republicans, who wanted to abolish the monarchy. In 1866, the Democrats, the Republicans, the Progressives and the Liberal Union signed the Pact of Ostend to overthrow the queen and summon constituent Cortes by universal male suffrage.4.2 The Glorious Revolution (1869-1874) In 1868 a new revolution prevailed, known as the Glorious Revolution. A Provisional Government was then formed that promulgated the Constitution of 1868. More democratic in character, it recognised freedom of expression, freedom of the press, the right to meet and to associate, national sovereignty, separation of powers and, for the first time in Spanish history, universal suffrage for men. • The democratic monarchy (1871-1873) fell to the Italian Amadeo of Savoy by government appointment. He faced the political opposition of the Republicans, those in favour of the Bourbons, and several military insurrections. Faced with this situation, Amadeo abdicated in 1873 and the First Republic was proclaimed. • The First Republic (1873-1874) was a period of considerable political instability. The Republicans were divided between unionists, those in favour of a centralist State; and federalists, who defended a In addition, new Carlist war, the war in Cuba and the insurrection of certain municipalities like Cartagena that proclaimed independent cantons or republics caused several government crises. This situation favoured the restoration of the Bourbon monarchy in 1874. decentralised State
5.1 Population growth Between the 1788 and 1874 the Spanish population grew moderately, from 10.5 to 16.5 million. The causes were improvements in nutrition through the spread of maize and potato cultivation and the spread of grains as well as advances in the emerging field of preventive medicine. Most of the population was concentrated around the periphery of the peninsula and lived in the countryside. The most notable migration of the period was the rural exodus towards the new provincial capitals and those cities in Catalonia, the Basque Country and Madrid where modern industries were introduced. Consequently, urban population grew.5.2 Agrarian transformations > The abolition of the feudal regime The Cortes of Cadiz decreed in 1811 that jurisdictional manors in which the lord performed public functions such as administering justice would pass to the State and territorial manors in which the Tord only obtained economic resources from the land would become private property, generally belonging to the noble families who had operated them for centuries. Disentailment: The first disentailment measures were approved in the Cortes of Cádiz and the Liberal Triennium, but the process received its definitive push during the reign of Isabella I. In subsequent laws, the State confiscated and auctioned off the assets of the clergy and abolished the entailed estates of the nobility (Mendizábal’s disentailment, 1836- 1837); and ordered the sale of common lands, of the personal assets of the city councils and all the other amortised or mortmain assets (Madoz’s Law of General Disentailment, 1855). The objective of these laws was to obtain resources for the State and to facilitate access by the peasantry to land ownership. But the results were not as expected. The system of sale by auction benefited the nobility and the bourgeoisie, who created large estates, and it hurt small landowners, who could not buy land and who were ruined after the sale of municipal land. Tenants and day labourers were also hurt, as the new proprietors hardened their working conditions Agrarian improvements These consisted of an increase in cultivated area, mainly grains and vinevards; a slow introduction of technical advances, such as the Use of fertilisers and machines; and the expansion of irrigated land through the construction of dams and canals.
6.1 The Industrial Revolution in Spain A slow and partial industrialisation The First Industrial Revolution began in Spain around 1830. But It developed slowly and partially, which is why it lagged behind its European competitors. Among the causes of the slow industrial take- off are: • The low demand for industrial articles, due to modest population growth and to the impoverishment of the peasantry. • The lack of entrepreneurial spirit among the bourgeoisie, that based its social prestige on the possession of land. For that reason, it did not invest its capital in industry and instead steered it toward the purchase of confiscated assets. • Other factors were the technological gap and the shortage of raw materials, which compelled expensive imports of machines and resources; and political instability, which did not prompt a coherent economic policy. The main industrial sectors The basic industrial sectors were mining, the iron and steel industry and the textile sector. • Mining experienced a strong expansion beginning in 1860, and turned Spain into a significant operator for minerals such as lead, iron, mercury and copper. But the minerals were largely exported, to the detriment of their use by domestic industry. • The iron and steel industry began in Andalucía (1830-1865). But given the nonexistence of coal, it was transferred first to Asturias (1865-1880), with its abundant coal resources; and from 1880 on, to the Basque Country, where iron mines existed. • The textile sector for cotton was concentrated in Catalonia, At first, the factories used hydraulic machines, which is why they were located along the rivers. Later they used steam engines, which placed them next to the coal import ports. A significant wool industry was also developed in Catalonia, which imported wool from Australia and Germany.6.2 Other economic sectors Transport modernisation was made possible thanks to the Law of Highways of 1851, the Law of Railroads of 1855, and the arrival of foreign capital. The road network expanded until it reached 16 807 km in 1874. The railway network began with the construction of the Barcelona- Mataró (1848) and Madrid-Aranjuez (1851) lines. A radial network that connected Madrid and the main ports was built beginning 1855. The first streetcars pulled by mules were put into service in cities like Madrid and Valencia.
The trading system was unified with the introduction of the metric decimal system in 1858. However, domestic trade was scarce due to reduced internal demand. And foreign trade suffered with the loss of the American colonies, which until then had compensated for the low purchasing capacity of the Spanish population. Finance and capitalism grew in a limited fashion. Limited companies were created, public banks (Bank of Spain, 1856), private banks (Bilbao and Santander, founded in 1857), and the stock markets in Madrid (1831) and Barcelona (1851). 7.1 Social groups In the 19th century, the stratified society of the Old Regime was replaced by a new class-based society based on the economic power of each individual. As a consequence, social groups were contained in three classes, according to their wealth. • The upper class was a small group that included the former nobility and the bourgeoisie. The former nobility landowners lost their privileges but consolidated their wealth by obtaining the private property of the manors and increased it by purchasing disentailed land. – The bourgeoisie was hardly numerous, but it increased its power. In some cases, it was linked to industry (Catalonia, Basque Country); and in others, to commercial and agrarian activities (Andalucía, Valencia, etc.). Some tried to imitate the way of life of the nobility, investing in disentailed land or trying to marry into the nobility. • The middle class was not large. In the countryside it included medium-sized agrarian landowners; and in the cities, government officials, army officials, professionals (doctors, lawyers, notaries), artisanal workshop owners and small merchants. • The lower class included small landowners, tenants and day labourers in the countryside; and employees, wage-earners and factory workers, who comprised an emerging and still scarce industrial proletariat in the cities. 7.2 Social conflicts and the labour movement Social conflicts were due to the poor living conditions of the most underprivileged groups. Agricultural day labourers suffered from low wages and seasonal unemployment, which a number of harshly repressed riots. On the other hand, industrial workers suffered from long working days, low wages, lack of insurance, exploitation of women and children, and difficult living conditions. why they raised The labour movement arose to address these problems. • In its beginnings it was characterised by activism, manifested in the spontaneous destruction of machines.
Such was the case in Alcoy in 1821 and in Barcelona in 1835. Workers’ associations were also created to demand labour improvements, but they were barely relevant until the Glorious Revolution. Beginning in 1868 the ideologies present in the First International were spread: above all anarchism, with the Neapolitan Giuseppe Fanelli, and to a lesser extent Marxist socialism with Paul Lafargue. In 1870 the Spanish Regional Federation (FRE) was founded, integrated into the International Workers’ Association.
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