The Rise of the Liberal State in 19th Century Spain

Posted on Aug 14, 2024 in History

1. Differences Between the Old Regime and the Liberal State

Old Regime (16th, 17th, 18th Centuries)

  1. Absolutist Monarchy
    • Sovereignty lies in the king
    • People cannot participate in politics
    • Monarch holds all the power
    • Monarch can change the rules of the system
  2. Confessional State: The state has an official religion.
  3. Rights are not guaranteed
  4. Division of Society in Estates: Being privileged or not depends on your position in the hierarchy.
  5. Law is not the same for everyone
  6. Privileged did not pay taxes (nobility and clergy)
  7. Submissive relationship between peasants and landowners – Feudal society
  8. Charter Systems: Laws are not the same in all territories.
  9. Economy is Administrated by the State: Policy of economic interventionism (decide everything: prices, exports, imports…).
  10. Not Free Property: Majorat and church property (could not be sold). Mortmain property in hand of nobility and church.

The Creation of a Liberal State

Enlightenment – Intellectual and cultural movement (Age of Reason). People deserved fraternity, equality, and freedom. Ideas from the French Revolution and Enlightenment made possible the change from the Ancien Régime to a Liberal State.

1. Maria Cristina’s Regency (1833-1840) – Bourbons (French Origin)

  • Charles IV
  • Ferdinand VII married to Maria Cristina – daughter: Isabel II
  • Carlos Maria Isidro de Borbón, brother of Charles IV (wanted to be king)

Ferdinand VII abolished the Salic Law that stated that women could not become queens so that his daughter Isabel II could become queen. However, when he died, his wife Maria Cristina became queen. This led to the 1st Carlist War in the Basque Country between Carlists (those in favor of Carlos Maria) and liberals (in favor of Isabel). Maria Cristina was not truly liberal, but in order to gain the support of the liberals, she stated herself as liberal.

Carlist War: Absolutists (lower nobility, lower clergy, peasants – countryside) vs. Liberals (higher nobility/clergy, bourgeoisie, traders, and civilians)

1.1 The Beginning of the Liberal Revolution

1834: Francisco Martínez de la Rosa – Moderate liberal. This new government wrote the Royal Statute. The operating courts were divided into two chambers:

  • The Upper House (aristocracy)
  • The Lower House (Franchise: less than 1% of the male population)

However, the king had the power to admit or dismiss candidates from the upper or lower houses. This statute ended absolutism and the Old Regime, but there was no national sovereignty (power was with the king), so liberals regarded it as conservative and incomplete.

1.2 Ecclesiastical Confiscations

This was when the state put on sale property of institutions that could not be transferred or transmitted. Juan Álvarez Mendizábal was who started with the ecclesiastical confiscations.

The Ideology Behind the Confiscation (Mendizábal’s Confiscations)

According to liberal doctrine, to be happy is a natural right of humans – happiness = property. At the start of the 19th century, most land was mortmain: The ownership was not free because property could not be sold or partitioned, and most land was in the hands of the church and noble families. Moreover, most of the lands were left unproductive because the aristocracy did not have to pay taxes.

The Confiscation Process
  • The state confiscated the property and made it national property.
  • This property was sold at a public auction (subasta). Payment could be made in money or public debt – the state used the income for its needs.
Aims of the Expropriation Process
  • To solve the financial crisis by canceling public debt (as the country was at war, the needs were greater).
  • To bring the wealthy bourgeois closer to the liberal ideas.
  • To end peasant revolts.
Consequences of the Expropriation Process
  • Change of the ownership regime. From mortmain to free and individual property.
  • Landowners increased – mainly wealthy bourgeois.
  • The process helped increase agricultural production because unused lands were farmed using new techniques.
  • The church lost economic power. Church ministers became civil servants, offering financial help for church and religious events.
  • The situation of poor peasants worsened: Communal lands were privatized, and rental contracts increased.

1.3 1837 Constitution

Progressive constitution – National sovereignty, division of power, individual rights, popular election for Town Halls, and the formation of a National Militia.

  • Decisions taken in two houses:
    • Deputies: elected by male suffrage (money did not matter to vote this time)
    • Senate: House appointed by the king
  • The state had to finance the Catholic church.
National Militia

It was a quasi-military force composed of citizens. Independent from the regular army. Composed of citizens aged 30-50. Normally composed of volunteers. They were part of the infantry and cavalry. Their duty was to protect citizens from authorities’ abuse.

1840: The minister appointed mayors instead of using male suffrage – This provoked the downfall of the moderates and Maria Cristina’s abdication.

1.4 Espartero’s Regency (1840-1843)

After the defeat of absolutists in the Carlist War, Espartero became very popular and was appointed as the new regent after Maria Cristina’s resignation. Espartero continued proclaiming centralization policies, confiscations, and the strengthening of the National Militia. Even though Charters were not totally suppressed, it meant the end of them. Espartero followed a very individualistic policy that confronted him with his own party. Espartero had to exile.

1.5 First Carlist War (1833-1840)

It was the confrontation between the city (liberal) and the countryside (absolutist).

  • Absolutists supported Carlos Maria Isidro.
    • Carlists’ motto: God, homeland, the king, and the Charters.
    • The Basque Country was in favor of absolutists due to the reforms that suppressed the majorat, the selling of communal lands, and charters. With the absolutist regime, they were still privileged.
    • Absolutism = traditional regime – state regime, privileges, and Catholicism.
  • Liberals supported Isabel II.
    • Liberalism = Uniformity and centralization.

Liberal State (18th, 19th Centuries)

  1. Parliamentary Monarchy
    • Sovereignty lies in the people
    • People participate in politics
    • Division of power
    • Laws based on the constitution
  2. Secular State: No official religion
  3. Rights determined by the constitution
  4. Division in social classes: Wealth determines a person’s position
  5. Legal equality: Everyone is the same
  6. Taxes are paid by everyone
  7. No submissive relationship between peasants and landowners
  8. Centralism: Same laws for every territory
  9. Economic Liberalism: Different enterprises decide, state intervention is stopped
  10. Right to property: Property is free