Spain's 1869 Constitution: Rights, Monarchy and Liberal Reform

Spain's 1869 Constitution

Legal text 33: The 1869 constitution was the first constitution articulated in 1869 during the provisional government and Prim and Serrano's dismissal of the throne after Isabella II's departure. The coalition constituent Cortes, a governmental body elected through universal male suffrage in primary elections, was composed of Progressives, Unionists and Democrats.

Preliminary title, article 1: The regime of freedoms was very wide. Spanish sovereignty resided in the whole nation.

Analysis

In this constitution, one can check the amount of the disposable income of the citizen to extrange. Some also believe that Article 2 can be observed, and also a private property right in Article 5, where no citizen can enter without the consent of the house owner or judge. In Article 17, one can observe the great freedom of expression that citizens and movements had. In Article 33, it is stated that the first monarchy of the nation remained as a form of government.

Commentary

The government formed by Serrano and Prim, after the dethronement of Isabella II, began a program of elections held by Primary, with universal suffrage. The coalition government and minorities gained victory in three important Cortes: Carlist, moderate, and republican. The 1869 constitution outlined a wide regime of freedoms. It proclaimed the sovereignty of the nation through universal suffrage, confirming the elections. It included the first wide universal rights, a declaration of freedoms, guaranteeing residence, the inviolability of domicile, teaching, and assembly. The way the monarchy was maintained as a form of government was proclaimed, along with the independence of the judicial power, opposed to the judge.

One of the main objectives was the reorientation of revolutionary politics and economics. It intended to establish the first legislation that facilitated capitalism and protected the economic interests of the bourgeoisie. It fixed the peseta as the monetary unit, in an attempt to unify the monetary system.

What was the Amadeo I project? It would meet the first question so much forced to use the heritage of Ministry, its sale, and the last action was the liberation of foreign exchanges. The constitution frustrated republican ideals and radical anti-clericalism, and its socio-economic model did not improve the situation of peasants and laborers.