Restoration of Ferdinand VII and the Carlist Wars in Spain

Restoration of Ferdinand VII

One hundred thousand soldiers of St. Louis entered Spain, defeated the liberals, and restored Ferdinand VII as an absolute monarch.

The Absolute Bankruptcy (1823-1833)

There was a difficult economic situation due to the war against the French. The economy had greatly weakened, and fiscal reform was essential for the Treasury. It was necessary to obligate the privileged to contribute with their taxes. A dynastic conflict occurred because Ferdinand VII only had daughters, and the Salic law prevented women from reigning in Spain. To ensure the succession of his eldest daughter Isabel, he issued the Pragmatic Sanction, which overturned the old law.

The Carlist War

After the death of Ferdinand, his heir, daughter Elizabeth, was only 3 years old. The absolutist sectors supported Ferdinand's brother, Don Carlos, to defend his rights. To secure her position, his mother, Maria Christina, who was the regent, sought the support of the liberals. This prompted a civil war. The Carlist supporters were the defenders of the old regime. They had a cluster of interests: the monarchy itself, the court nobility who wanted to defend their privileges, and also some sectors of the bourgeoisie, the urban working classes, and peasants from the central and southern peninsular. The war lasted for seven years (1833-1840). The Vergara Agreement ended the war, but Carlism remained a factor throughout almost the entire nineteenth century.

Progressive Reforms

The Liberals were divided into two factions: the moderates, who supported more limited reforms, and the progressives, who wanted to dismantle the entire structure of the old regime. Between 1835 and 1837, the regime implemented a set of progressive laws that allowed liberal reforms. These included the dissolution of feudal tenure, the decoupling of property, and the confiscation of property of the clergy. Other laws decreed the abolition of internal tariffs. This process culminated in the Constitution of 1837, which inaugurated a long period of constitutional monarchy in Spain.

The Regency of Espartero

In 1837, General Espartero came to power and tried to turn the process of revolution into a more conservative one. Espartero became regent and ruled with authoritarianism, which earned him the opposition of much of the country. In 1843, he resigned, and the Courts advanced the coming of age of Isabel II.