Bourbon Restoration and Liberal Factions in 19th-Century Spain

Liberal Factions During Isabella II's Reign

2) From the reign of Isabella II a dispute arose: liberals were divided into two sectors.

• Moderate Liberals: Less radical; they defended liberal ideas more quietly and sought gradual change. They favored decentralization of the country.
• Liberal-Progressives: More radical than the moderates; they demanded more abrupt changes such as broader local autonomy throughout the state.

Because the liberals were divided into two sectors during 1858–1868, a Liberal Union was created to ensure both public order and freedom and to appease moderates and progressives. From there on, liberalism remained present in society during the Bourbon Restoration.

The Restoration (1874–1923)

Restoration: We understand the political system of the Restoration as the period between 1874 (the year ending the Sexenio Democrático) and 1923 (which begins the Primo de Rivera dictatorship). It covers the reign of Alfonso XII, the regency of María Cristina, and the reign of Alfonso XIII.

The return of the Bourbon dynasty was based on several factors:

• Exhaustion of the democratic experiment: Political instability and conflicts (Cuba War, Third Carlist War, Cantonal Uprising, etc.) undermined the democratic period.
• Pressure from the ruling oligarchy: The oligarchy sought to regain political control over the state that it had exercised during the reign of Isabella II.
• European conservative shift: A move toward conservatism in Western Europe (MacMahon in France, Bismarck in Germany, Queen Victoria in the UK) after the revolutionary experience of the Paris Commune and the expansion of the First International, which isolated the Spanish democratic model.
• Political propaganda: Antonio Cánovas del Castillo campaigned in favor of restoring the monarchy under Alfonso XII to reconcile traditional values with liberal institutions.
• Military pronouncement: The pronouncement in favor of Alfonso XII by General Martínez Campos at Sagunto, which provided a decisive response to the crisis.

The Foundations of the System

Cánovas was the designer of the system, which was based on several pillars:

• Restoration of the Bourbons: Alfonso XII presented himself as a king-soldier who respected the liberal tradition of the nineteenth century, defended order and Catholic values, and was a victor against Carlist forces.
• Constitution of 1876: A moderate constitution that nevertheless incorporated elements of the 1869 democratic constitution.
• Turnismo: Alternation in power between the Conservative Party (led by Cánovas) and the Liberal Party (led by Sagasta), arranged systematically from the Pact of El Pardo to avoid the clashes and pronouncements of the Isabelline period.
• Electoral system: Universal male suffrage combined with single-member constituencies that favored bipartisan control.
• Oligarchic control: The oligarchy controlled the political system through manipulation of the electoral system (associated with Posada Herrera), social control via regulation of public employment and local caciquismo (chieftaincy) in rural areas, and economic development through protectionist policies.