Manifesto of the Persians and Ferdinand VII's Legacy

Manifesto of the Persians and Ferdinand VII

The Manifesto of the Persians was a document presented to Ferdinand VII upon his return to Spain in 1814. It serves as a critical historical marker for the transition between liberal reform and the restoration of the absolute monarchy.

The Six Years of Captivity

The six years of his captivity refers to the period when Ferdinand VII was imprisoned in France following the Abdication of Bayonne. This event allowed Napoleon Bonaparte to grant the power of Spain to his brother, Joseph I. During these six years, the Spanish War of Independence developed due to the discontent of the people who saw their king ruled from outside the peninsula.

The Definition of Sovereignty

Sovereignty is the power or authority possessed by a person or group of persons entitled to make decisions and resolve conflicts within a political hierarchy. Being able to make these decisions implies independence from external powers and authority over domestic groups. The concept of sovereignty arose when Europeans in the 16th and 17th centuries began to seek secular foundations on which to base the authority of the emerging national states. In the field of international relations, a sovereign state is equal to others: it can govern its own territory, declare war, and regulate its political structure.

The Decrees Issued in Cadiz

The Decrees of Cadiz were the laws enacted alongside the drafting of the Constitution of 1812. These involved major transformations:

• Political and Social Changes: The abolition of the estate society, the abolition of feudal rights, and the removal of tests of nobility.
• Economic Changes: Freedom to work and trade, the abolition of the Mesta, and the confiscation of certain property belonging to the clergy.
• Cultural Changes: Freedom of expression and the suppression of the Inquisition.

The Return to Absolutism

The text of the Manifesto was written when Ferdinand VII returned to Spain. In the preceding years, Spain had been ruled by Joseph I, brother of Napoleon Bonaparte. The document argues that democracy is based on instability and inconstancy, whereas the absolutist monarchy is a work of reason and intelligence. It preached the holding of new Cortes and suspended the effects of the 1812 Constitution and the decrees that were held in Cadiz.

The Succession Crisis and the Carlist Wars

After the death of Ferdinand VII, a significant problem of succession occurred. The ultra-absolutist faction had begun to decidedly bet on Don Carlos, the brother of the monarch. Carlos had been the designated heir until shortly before the birth of the future Queen Isabella II. Ferdinand had published the Pragmatic Sanction (adopted in 1789 but not enacted until then), which abolished the Salic Law to allow female succession.

This triggered conflicts between the Liberals (who supported Isabella) and the Absolutists (who supported Carlos). These tensions later led to the Carlist Wars, which represented a profound struggle of ideologies.