The Short-Lived First Spanish Republic: Causes and Failure
The First Spanish Republic (1873-1874)
The proclamation of the First Spanish Republic was the easy way out following the resignation of Amadeus of Savoy on February 11, 1873, and by a large majority of votes. However, these data did not reflect real support for the new form of government. Much of the House was monarchical, and the Republican vote was a strategy to gain time to organize the return of the Bourbons to the Spanish throne.
Thus, the Republic was born with little chance of success, which was evident in the international isolation of the new system. Except for the U.S. and Switzerland, no power recognized the Spanish Republic, which they saw as a revolutionary regime that could jeopardize the stability of a largely conservative middle-class Europe.
Nevertheless, the Republic was received enthusiastically by the masses, who believed that it was time to fulfill their aspirations. In Andalusia, there was an insurrectionary movement that sought to solve the problem of land distribution among the peasantry. In the cities, there were also wide popular movements. Among the labor movement, especially in Catalonia, there were widespread demands for reduced working hours, increased wages, and the immediate implementation of the federal state.
The Republic’s Struggle for Consolidation
The First Republic attempted, unsuccessfully, to consolidate the system born in September 1868 over eleven months of existence. The Republican idea did not have enough roots in the country, and, on the other hand, Republican cadres were divided into unitary and federal factions.
The concern of the first President of the Republic, Estanislao Figueras (a Federal Republican who had the support of the unitarians), from February 11 to June 11, 1873, was to gather Constituent Cortes. The elections were won largely by Federal Republicans who defined the new situation.
The Federal Republic and the Cantonalist Uprising
With the Cortes constituted in June 1873, the presidency of the Republic then fell to Pi i Margall, from June 11 to July 18, 1873, a supporter of federalism. The draft Constitution that Pi i Margall presented to Parliament in July converted Spain into a federal republic of 17 states but was not adopted because the insurgency was suspended because of cantonal courts, and Pi i Margall had to resign.
Federalism was a pretext for independence but a unifying factor. Throughout Spain, cantonalist movements had broken out (those who wanted to divide the state into separate regions), powered by the serious social problems of the lower classes. These independence movements were violent, and they also included the anarchist movement.
Cantonalism was a complex phenomenon in which the autonomist aspirations prompted by intransigent Federal Republicans were mixed with the aspirations of social revolution inspired by the new internationalist ideas of the anarchists. The proclamation of independent cantons, with their autonomous governments and their laws, was the result of implementing a radical and direct federal structure from below, driven at the same time by the desire to advance social reform.
The Republic’s Shift to the Right
Therefore, Pi i Margall, opposed to quelling the revolt by force of arms, resigned and was replaced by Nicolás Salmerón. The Republic evolved into a more conservative stance, a turn initiated by the new president, Nicolás Salmerón, from July 18 to September 7, 1873, who was willing to end the cantonal resistance and start military action against the cantonalist movement.
Except in Cartagena, military intervention quickly ended the insurgency but gave immense power to the generals who took on the suppression and replaced the army in the role of sole guarantor of order and a social barrier against revolution. Following the resignation of Salmerón (who felt morally unable to sign the death sentences imposed by the military authorities against cantonalist activists), the presidency of the Republic then fell to Emilio Castelar, from September 7, 1873, to January 3, 1874, a Unitarian Republican and very conservative on social issues. His practical policy aimed to ensure order and unity.
The Republic then started a gradual shift to the right. He left reforming federal claims. Castelar got full powers from the courts to reorganize the army, obtaining credit, and ruled with Parliament closed, which lasted until January 12, 1874.
The End of the Republic
When Parliament met again on January 3, 1874, Castelar’s government was defeated in a confidence motion by Federal Republicans. The formation of a left-wing federal government was imminent, but upon learning this fact, General Pavía, Captain General of Madrid, intervened militarily and dissolved the Cortes. Members were reluctant at first, but the invasion of the House by Colonel Churches and the Civil Guard made them leave the House.
There was scarcely any resistance, either political or popular, demonstrating the weakness of the Republic. Too much for some and too warm for others, it simply had no social base on which to support itself. Such a social base had opted for the Alfonsino solution.
General Serrano then started the fourth trial of this administration policy, assuming the executive branch of the Republic under the constitutional order of 1869. Serrano continued during the year 1874, until December, with a unitary and conservative republic. The regime’s days were numbered due to their own provisional nature, and the Alfonsino party was just ensuring the restoration of the Bourbons after the uprising of General Martínez Campos at Sagunto in December 1874.