Isabella II's Spain: The Regencies of Maria Cristina & Espartero

Item 10.2: The Regencies of Isabella II's Minority

The reign of Isabella II, beginning with these regencies, signified a critical period in Spain's transition towards a bourgeois liberal state. When King Ferdinand VII died, his three-year-old daughter, Isabella II, inherited the throne. Her mother, Maria Cristina de Borbón, assumed the regency. Faced with opposition from the absolutist supporters of Carlos María Isidro (Ferdinand VII's brother), which ignited the First Carlist War, the Queen Regent was compelled to rely on the Liberals to secure the throne for her daughter.

The Regency of Maria Cristina de Borbón (1833-1840)

This period was conditioned by two main events: the ongoing civil war with the Carlists and the division among the Liberals into Moderates and Progressives. Both factions alternated in power.

The first government of the regency, headed by Cea Bermúdez, followed the model of enlightened despotism, favoring administrative reforms but not political ones. The most important of these was the new provincial division of Spain. However, the outbreak of the Carlist War forced a pact with the moderate Liberals. Martínez de la Rosa was appointed head of government. His measures included a broad amnesty for Liberals and the promulgation of measures aimed at enhancing political freedoms. However, the most significant act was the enactment of the Royal Statute of 1834, a granted charter (carta otorgada) that did not recognize national sovereignty. It established bicameral Cortes (parliament), consisting of an Estamento de Próceres (Chamber of Peers) – composed of senior clergy, nobles, and large landowners appointed by the Crown for life – and the Estamento de Procuradores (Chamber of Deputies), elected through a limited, census-based suffrage. The Cortes had advisory and tax-voting powers, but legislative initiative remained with the Crown.

It soon became evident that these reforms were insufficient, as they marginalized large sectors of society. Social unrest became evident when, during a cholera epidemic, a rumor spread that friars had poisoned the water; the populace raided monasteries and killed some monks. Subsequently, more riots occurred in Barcelona, and uprisings in other cities led to the formation of revolutionary juntas.

Maria Cristina, needing popular support and funding to win the Carlist War, was forced to appoint a Progressive government. Juan Álvarez Mendizábal, the Progressive leader, initiated substantial reforms. He reorganized the National Militia, abolished guild privileges, and promulgated the decree of ecclesiastical confiscations (desamortización).

The Queen Regent, pressured by nobles and the clergy who felt the reforms had gone too far, dismissed Mendizábal and appointed a Moderate government. The following year, popular riots broke out again. A group of sergeants (in the Revolt of La Granja de San Ildefonso) rebelled and forced the Queen Regent to restore the Constitution of 1812 and appoint a Progressive government led by Calatrava.

This Progressive government undertook a comprehensive reform program with the primary objectives of establishing a liberal regime and intensifying military action in the Carlist War.

In the September elections, the Moderates won, and reforms slowed once more. Political life was marked by clashes between the parliamentary chambers and in the streets. The end of the First Carlist War (1839) led to the disappearance of the fragile bipartisan consensus. The Moderates presented a new Municipal Law in 1840 that sought to reduce municipal power (the autonomy of city councils, thereby centralizing power). This led to mutinies and uprisings in major cities. Queen Regent Maria Cristina called upon General Espartero, a Progressive hero from the Carlist War, to suppress the unrest. However, Espartero sided with the Progressives. Consequently, Maria Cristina resigned from the regency and went into exile. Espartero then became the new regent.

The Regency of Baldomero Espartero (1840-1843)

General Baldomero Espartero was very popular because he had managed to conclude the First Carlist War successfully. However, his authoritarian style of governing caused him to lose support.

The Progressive Party itself became divided between its more radical wing, advocating for greater democracy, and the rest of the party, which preferred to consolidate the dominance of the middle class.

Given this situation, the Moderates, led by General Narváez, orchestrated a conspiracy. This led to Espartero's resignation and exile to England. The Cortes then declared Isabella II of age, proclaiming her queen at the age of 13.