The Spanish Crisis and Liberal Revolution (1808-1833)

Posted on Dec 14, 2024 in History

Crisis of the Old Regime in Spain (1808-1833)

I. 1808: War of Independence, Crisis, and the Start of the Liberal Revolution

1. Background

1.1. The Effects of the French Revolution in Spain

The French Revolution produced seismic shock waves that ended up affecting the entire continent, determining its historical events. In Spain, the monarchy’s fear of revolution led to two measures: suspending the policy of reform and closing the border with France. Spain took part in the war of European powers of the Old Regime against the regime of the Convention.

1.2. Mutiny of Aranjuez (March 19, 1808)

Godoy, the favorite of Charles IV who headed the government, played a decisive role. His enemies were the nobility and the clergy due to his attempts at reform. These groups supported Fernando, heir to the throne, and “enlightened” liberals who had been displaced from the government. Godoy’s domestic politics were characterized by enlightened reforms (Economic Societies of Friends of the Country, attempts at disentailment, opposition to the Inquisition). Foreign policy was characterized by successive alliances with Napoleonic France (Treaty of Fontainebleau, Trafalgar). In these circumstances, the Aranjuez mutiny occurred, led by a sector of the nobility in support of Ferdinand against Godoy’s policy and against Charles IV for protecting him.

1.3. The Monarchy of Joseph Bonaparte

The conflict led to the departure of the royal family to Bayonne, invoking the arbitration of Napoleon. This produced the bizarre and embarrassing episode of the “Dance of the Crown,” with the successive abdications of Ferdinand VII and Charles IV, followed by the crowning of Joseph Bonaparte. Napoleon summoned the Spanish courts to Bayonne to approve a constitution that would destroy the Old Regime and legitimize the new king. Thus, the monarchy of Joseph Bonaparte and the Statute of Bayonne were established, with some reforms against the Old Regime (end of primogeniture and mortmain, end of the feudal system). However, the new regime was not accepted by the majority of the Spanish people, who considered it illegitimate because he was a foreigner and supported by the invasion of Napoleon’s troops.

2. Popular Resistance

The retention of the Royal Family in Bayonne and the presence of French troops in Spain, coupled with the inaction of Spanish authorities, led to the popular uprising of May 2nd. In this vacuum of power, popular resistance was organized in two ways:

  • Provincial boards were created, coordinated by a Central Junta, to assume sovereignty until Fernando VII’s return and coordinate action against the French. This system of boards was totally revolutionary because it originated from below and, although it recognized Fernando VII as the legitimate king of Spain, it broke with the institutions of the Bourbon monarchy subservient to the new Bonapartist regime.
  • Popular armed resistance occurred through “sites” and guerrillas, a spontaneous form of resistance that proved very effective.

3. The Different Political Forces

Different political forces took positions on the situation:

  • Francophiles (intellectuals, senior officials, some of the enlightened nobility) collaborated with the new regime due to its reform program.
  • The patriots fought against the resistance, but with different objectives:
    • The enlightened sectors (Floridablanca, Jovellanos) wanted the return of Ferdinand VII and the implementation of reforms to modernize the country.
    • The nobility and clergy, along with most of the population ideologically controlled by the clergy, wanted a return to the Old Regime under Ferdinand VII.
    • The liberal minority (bourgeoisie) wanted to establish a liberal regime without French control.

Notably, regardless of ideological differences, most of the population joined the war as a movement against foreign invasion. Moreover, although the majority, led ideologically by the clergy and nobility, supported the return of Ferdinand VII and the Old Regime, they adopted revolutionary behavior against the new regime and the invasion.

4. The Development of the War

Napoleon’s plans for a rapid occupation of the peninsula suffered serious setbacks in the “sites” of Gerona and Zaragoza, and the defeat at Bailén. Napoleon then launched a major offensive (November 1808) that allowed him to control the peninsula. The action of the guerrillas then became prominent. In 1812, a definitive turning point occurred, combining several factors: the difficulty of the double front (Russia and Spain), harassment from the guerrillas, and English aid to the front under Wellington. In 1813, the final withdrawal of French troops occurred (Treaty of Valençay).

II. The Cortes of Cadiz and the Constitution of 1812

1. The Calling of the Cortes

  • Call: The Central Junta, having fled to Cadiz, convened the Cortes (January 1810) to organize an alternative to the system of Joseph Bonaparte.
  • The composition of the new Cortes was unique. Due to the difficulty of representatives of the estates getting to Cadiz in a war situation, the courts were constituted with a majority of middle-class individuals with liberal ideology, as opposed to an absolutist minority formed by nobility and clergy.
  • This composition determined that at the first session (September 1810), the courts were not constituted as estates but as a single chamber, which proclaimed itself the ‘National Constituent Assembly’ and, therefore, the depositary of national sovereignty. This momentous event initiated the bourgeois liberal revolution in Spain.

2. The Constitution of 1812

The legislative work of the Cortes of Cadiz was specified in a series of decrees on the abolition of the Old Regime (abolition of the feudal system, of primogeniture, confiscation, suppression of the guilds, the Inquisition) and the adoption of the Constitution of 1812 (the “Pepa”). The 1812 Constitution established a political system of democratic constitutional monarchy that recognized:

  • National sovereignty: The nation was defined as the set of all citizens of both hemispheres, referring to the Peninsular and the American colonies.
  • Citizens’ rights: Freedom of the civil press (not religious), equality before the law, private property, and legal certainty.
  • Division of powers:
    • Legislative power resided in the courts, which were unicameral and elected by indirect universal male suffrage.
    • Executive power resided in the king. The king intervened in the legislature through legislative initiative and the enactment of laws, and could exercise a suspensive veto for two consecutive years. (The term lasted two years).
    • Judicial power lay in independent courts.
  • Establishment of the basic principles of the rule of law: one law for all citizens, tenure of judges, due process.
  • Other articles: Integrity of the national territory, national militia, compulsory education, conscription (national army).

The Catholic confessional state established by the Constitution is noteworthy in a text so liberal; it had to make this concession to the absolutist sectors.

3. The Work of Cadiz: The First Spanish Liberalism

The legislative work of the Cortes of Cadiz (laws and decrees, and the Constitution) laid the foundations for the modernization of Spain, for the implementation of a liberalism not only political but also economic and social. The Constitution of 1812 has enormous historical significance. It is an example of radical liberalism because it limits the powers of the king more than any other constitution except the current one, it recognizes universal male suffrage, national sovereignty is not shared with the king, and it recognizes extensive rights. It was the most advanced constitution in Europe and became a model for Spanish and American constitutionalism of the 19th century. The liberal radicalism of this Constitution and all the legislative work of Cadiz can only be explained by the context of war and revolution in which it occurred; it would not have been possible in a normal situation because Spanish society had not acquired the maturity to carry out this process. However, the legislation of Cadiz was not implemented, first due to the war situation and then due to the restoration of the Old Regime with the return of Ferdinand VII, thus defeating the first attempt at a bourgeois liberal revolution in Spain.

III. Ferdinand VII: Absolutists and Liberals

1. The Restoration of Absolutism (1814-1820)

The reign of Ferdinand VII was characterized by the struggle between supporters of the Old Regime (absolute monarchy, stratified society, a closed economy) and supporters of liberalism (political and constitutional system, class society, liberal economics). Supporters of the Old Regime were the nobility, the clergy, and the Crown. The party of liberalism was the bourgeoisie. The bourgeois liberal revolution in Spain was carried out by the Court of Cadiz, exploiting the war situation. However, the liberal regime did not last long, as Ferdinand VII soon returned and restored the Old Regime, maintaining it throughout his reign with a brief period of the Trienio. Ferdinand VII was greeted with the “Manifesto of the Persians,” in which absolutists requested a return to the past. In a European context of widespread restoration of the Old Regime, the King annulled all the legislative work of the Cortes of Cadiz, and the Liberals were persecuted. However, opposition to the restored system arose for several reasons: the dire economic situation of a country ravaged by war, with all its colonies fighting for independence, and because the experience of war and revolution had not been in vain. Thus, opposition came from many political and social fronts:

  • Discontent over economic hardship produced riots in several cities.
  • The bourgeoisie claimed the benefits of freedom of production and market that the abolition of the guilds allowed.
  • Peasant protests and mutinies occurred due to the return to the feudal system.
  • The Liberals, in hiding or in exile, formed the political opposition to the regime.
  • Finally, the integration of guerrilla leaders into the military led to a liberal sector that would star in many future pronouncements.

Successive governments of Ferdinand VII were incapable of responding to political and social problems. The repression of protests only fueled a clearly bankrupt regime.

2. The Liberal Triennium (1820-1823)

In 1820, after several failed pronouncements, the pronouncement of Riego won and restored all the legislative work of Cadiz. Ferdinand VII was forced to swear to the Constitution of 1812 but did everything possible to end the regime, vetoing all laws and conspiring with foreign countries. Obstacles did not come only from the king. The peasantry was frustrated in their expectations of access to land by the abolition of the feudal system. Since they became tenants, their economic situation worsened as they were subject to the rules of the capitalist system. Thus, they joined the liberal opposition to the regime by the nobility and the clergy, forming absolutist groups in northern Spain. Faced with such opposition, the Liberals were divided into two trends:

  • The moderates favored reform with caution to avoid provoking more opposition that threatened the regime. These were called “doceanistas.”
  • The exalted aimed to accelerate the reforms.

3. The Ominous Decade (1823-1833)

Intervention by the Holy Alliance, the Hundred Thousand Sons of St. Louis, ended the Triennium. The second restoration of the Old Regime was more moderate than the first because it did not restore the Inquisition, and the persecution of liberals soon ceased in an attempt by Ferdinand VII to reach out to the bourgeoisie due to the needs of the Treasury. This attitude of Ferdinand VII led to opposition from the most ultra-conservative and traditionalist sectors, with Carlos María Isidro, the king’s brother, at the head. This raised the dynastic conflict.

4. The Dynastic Conflict

The Salic Law, issued by Philip V, blocked access to the throne for women. Ferdinand VII, who had no sons, repealed the Salic Law and adopted the Pragmatic Sanction, which supported female succession in the absence of a male heir. The dynastic conflict arose between Isabel, daughter of Ferdinand VII, and Don Carlos, the former’s brother. Don Carlos had the support of the most traditionalist supporters of the Old Regime without any concession to liberalism, who would be called Carlists. Maria Cristina, wife of Ferdinand VII, sought the support of the Liberals, the only political force that could help defend the throne rights of her daughter, who was a minor. What was at stake was not only the legitimacy of one or another claimant to the throne but the struggle between two completely opposite systems: the Old Regime and liberalism. Ferdinand VII died in 1833, and Maria Cristina became regent until Isabel (three years old) reached the age of majority. Don Carlos did not recognize the succession, and the First Carlist War began.

IV. The Emancipation of Spanish America

1. Spanish America in the Late 18th Century

In the 18th century, Spanish America enjoyed strong economic growth that allowed the development of a powerful local bourgeoisie. This prosperous and educated group drove the independence movements. The causes of these movements were varied: the spread of Enlightenment ideology among the local bourgeoisie, the social group opposed to the domination of the metropolis (exclusion from positions of power, taxation, trade monopoly), and the example of the Thirteen English Colonies (U.S.). Britain backed secessionist movements because its goal, long sought, was to break the Spanish colonial monopoly and control the American market.

2. The Process of Independence

In 1808, independence began, exploiting the power vacuum and the war situation in the metropolis. Autonomous boards were created that mimicked the Spanish ones but did not recognize the authority of the Spanish Supreme Central Junta. Secessionist foci were the Viceroyalty of La Plata under San Martin, the Viceroyalty of New Granada and Venezuela under Simón Bolívar, and the Viceroyalty of Mexico under Hidalgo and Morelos. The Cortes of Cadiz recognized the rights of the natives in the Constitution and were unable to address the independence movements due to the very situation that Spain was in. Ferdinand VII, on his return to Spain, did not try to negotiate autonomy with the Creoles but adopted a hardline stance and tried to repress the movement without the military and financial resources necessary to destroy it by force. The repression intensified the independence struggle, which finally achieved its goal. In 1824, the colonies had become independent except for Cuba, Puerto Rico, and the Philippines. The map of Hispanic America was full of independent republics.

3. The Problems of the New American Nations

The newly independent republics faced new problems:

  • The dream of a united, strong, and supportive America, as envisioned by Bolivar, failed. The interests of the bourgeoisie and local landowners to exploit their resources exclusively led to many confrontations over the boundaries of their territories and, consequently, the formation of new states in which the army acquired enormous importance, leading to the formation of military dictatorships.
  • There was strong economic dependence, first on Britain and then on the U.S., creating a new form of colonialism. (“One Hundred Years of Solitude” by Gabriel García Márquez, Colombia). The Monroe Doctrine (1820s), “America for Americans,” began a period of U.S. interference in the political life of nations as a means to ensure American economic exploitation and geostrategic dominance in the area.
  • The Creoles, who had led the independence movement, acquired a dominant position, but the poverty of the Indian and black population exploded in many social conflicts.