Political System of the Spanish Restoration

Political System and Social Foundations

Introduction to the Bourbon Restoration

During the Sexenio Revolucionario, the Conservative politician Antonio Cánovas del Castillo prepared the restoration of the monarchy in the person of Alfonso XII. Cánovas convinced Queen Isabella II to abdicate her rights to the throne in favor of her son. He created a monarchist party and, finally, on December 1, 1874, drafted the Manifesto of Sandhurst. In this document, Prince Alfonso promised that, if named King of Spain, he would implement a parliamentary constitutional regime and a stable order based on patriotism and doctrinaire liberalism.

Cánovas and the Constitution of 1876

During the revolutionary period, Cánovas banked on the idea of the restoration of the Bourbon monarchy under Alfonso XII. He successfully created a similar model in Spain following the adoption of the Constitution of 1876 and consolidated bipartisanship. From January 1875 until the 1876 Constitution, Cánovas held the dual role of chairing the first government of King Alfonso XII and preparing for the new constitution. Cánovas definitely intended to normalize Spanish political life through a system of Cortes. The constituent courts were elected by universal male suffrage in an attempt to ensure all political parties and ideologies could stand for election. The mission of these courts was to develop a new constitution that would serve all Spaniards. The main foundation of the new constitution, adopted in February 1876, was based on shared sovereignty, moving away from the democratic achievements of previous terms. The Crown maintained significant powers, while the Cortes held legislative power, divided into two chambers: the Congress of Deputies and the Senate, the latter of which could be composed of members in their own right.

The Conservative and Liberal Parties

The Conservative Party promoted its political and religious ideas through the newspaper "La Época". Cánovas established the limits of the monarchical system, excluding Carlism on the right and socialism, republicanism, and anarchism on the left. Cánovas allowed Sagasta to lead the opposition party. Sagasta formed the Liberal Party in 1880 to fight for reforming the system, eventually replacing census suffrage with universal male suffrage in 1890.

Contextualization and Social Foundations

The final stage of the Restoration saw the replacement of the old stratified society with a class-based bourgeois society. The nobility and the bourgeoisie became ennobled as industrialization was initiated in Spain. A small agrarian bourgeoisie in Castile and Aragon sought the implementation of regenerationist ideas, while in Andalusia, there were calls for agrarian reform. The urban proletariat, through their votes and the labor movement, challenged the established system by 1900 and achieved the start of social legislation.