Spain

F

2

The First Carlist War

In 1831 Ferdinand named his infant daughter, Isabella, to succeed him. Ferdinand’s brother, Don Carlos de Borbón, disputed Isabella’s claim to the crown, arguing that a female’s succession was forbidden by the Salic Law. Ferdinand responded by completing the repeal of the Salic Law in Spain, a process initiated by his father, Charles IV. After Ferdinand died in 1833, Isabella was declared queen, with her mother, Maria Christina, as regent. A group of religious traditionalists and political reactionaries, called Carlists, insisted that Don Carlos should inherit the throne. Isabella’s succession was backed by the liberals, known as Christinos, who took their name from Isabella’s mother. The dynastic split soon erupted in a civil war between the Carlists and Christinos.

Carlist support came largely from the rural areas of northern Spain, especially the Basque regions and Catalonia, where the clergy’s influence was strong. Strongly Roman Catholic, the Carlist movement was also fiercely protective of traditional laws, known as fueros, which had long governed many aspects of life in the northern provinces. Spain’s more developed regions opposed the Carlists, as did Britain, France, and Portugal, all of which supported the Christinos. To preserve the liberals’ backing, Maria Christina granted a royal charter in 1834 that took the form of a constitution and granted a modest degree of political reform. The civil war thus pitted supporters of a constitutional monarchy against advocates of absolutist rule, represented by Don Carlos. After a long struggle, the Carlists were defeated in 1839. Don Carlos went into exile and Carlist forces were allowed to become part of Spain’s regular army. Despite this defeat, Carlist sentiment remained a potent political force in the Basque provinces.

Internal conflicts weakened the liberals, and their victory over the Carlists came slowly. Moderate liberals upheld the privileges of the crown and favored a narrow franchise based on wealth or education. Progressive liberals, like the moderates, supported a constitutional monarchy, but they wanted to expand the franchise and promote greater political participation. To the left of the progressives were the radical democrats, who demanded the establishment of a Spanish republic (a representative form of government based on the concept of popular sovereignty).

In 1836 a series of popular uprisings in southern Spain forced Maria Christina to reinstate the Cádiz constitution of 1812. One year later liberals accepted a moderate compromise, the constitution of 1837. In 1840 a progressive revolt led by General Baldomero Espartero ousted Maria Christina, who fled to France, and the Cortes made Espartero regent. But Espartero’s merciless suppression of political opponents triggered an uprising that drove him from power in 1843. Isabella, now 13 years old, was declared legally of age following Espartero’s overthrow, and she assumed the crown as Isabella II.

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F

3

Dissension and Crisis

F3

a

Isabella II

Continued struggle between liberal factions marked the turbulent rule of Isabella II (1833-1868). The moderates, favored by the court, came largely from society’s wealthier ranks, while progressives were drawn mainly from the middle classes. Moderates governed for much of Isabella’s reign, which witnessed frequent rebellions, military risings, and cabinet changes. Isabella’s absolutist tendencies and incompetent leadership eventually alienated all major political factions.

F3

b

Revolution of 1868

A popular uprising led by the military finally deposed Isabella in the Revolution of 1868. A provisional government headed by General Juan Prim assumed power after Isabella’s expulsion.

After the revolution, liberals who had conspired with the military helped set up government committees, called juntas, in most major towns. Military leaders, however, were determined to restore the constitutional monarchy and to prevent moves toward republican democracy. With the juntas largely in control of local government, Prim’s provisional government was forced to concede some democratic demands. These demands culminated in the constitution of 1869, which provided for a limited monarchy, universal male suffrage, and freedom of the press and association.

The new constitution failed to quell political unrest, however, and the provisional government vigorously crushed demands for additional reforms. Prim, convinced that the constitutional monarchy would restore political stability, order, and respect for traditional values, began searching across Europe for an acceptable monarch for Spain.

F3

c

Growing Instability

In 1870 Prim recruited Amadeo of Savoy, a duke from Italy, who accepted the Spanish throne and was crowned Amadeus I. However, Prim was assassinated on the day that Amadeus arrived in Madrid, and the revolutionary coalition quickly collapsed. The new king proved unable to form a stable government as opposition to the constitutional monarchy intensified on the right and the left. The Carlists opposed the reign of Amadeus, and their reactionary insurrection reemerged in northern Spain. At the same time, a movement agitating for republican government gained ground. Events overseas compounded Spain’s problems. In 1868 Cuba revolted against Spanish rule, leading to a long and costly struggle (see Ten Years’ War). Amadeus abdicated in 1873, beset by political and social conflict, popular hostility against him, and the strain of the Cuban and Carlist insurrections.

F3

d

The Republican Interlude

After Amadeus resigned the Spanish Cortes proclaimed the First Spanish Republic—a short-lived democratic regime based on parliamentary control of government. Supporters of the republic were deeply divided among themselves, however, and political anarchy ensued. The constitution of the First Republic called for a federal republic in which power was decentralized to the provinces. When the government rejected demands for an immediate declaration of federalism, radicals in Málaga, Alcoy, Cartagena, Seville, and Barcelona, asserted self-government under left-wing leadership. At the same time, Carlists opposed the regime and intensified their insurrection. Political stability eluded the government, which had four presidents in its eight-month existence. By late 1874 a group of Spanish generals had become convinced that only a restoration of the Bourbon monarchy could put an end to domestic strife. On Christmas Eve the army proclaimed Isabella’s oldest living son, Alfonso XII, king of Spain, and the First Republic collapsed.

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