Spain's 19th Century Disentailment

Mendizábal's Disentailment Objectives

Mendizábal pursued three main objectives:

• Financial: To seek income to repay state debts.
• Political: To expand the number of supporters of liberalism by creating a sector of owners who felt attached to the Isabelline liberal regime. Buyers of confiscated goods would thus bind their fate to victory in the liberal camp during the war.
• Social: To create an agrarian middle class of farmer-owners.

Outcomes of Mendizábal's Reforms

However, the results were disappointing. The enormous debt was not settled. The political objective was only partly achieved because liberalism gained fewer enemies among the most Catholic population than hoped. The social objective was not achieved because many of the lands were placed in the hands of nobles and wealthy burghers, and the humblest peasants were among the most harmed.

Paradoxically, in Spain, a large segment of the peasantry remained illiberal, while most of the nobility supported the liberal revolution. Following the confiscation, the economic foundations of the Church's power were dismantled. The clergy lost everything, and in return, the state committed to supporting the secular clergy.

Madoz's General Disentailment Law

On 1 May 1855, the progressive minister Pascual Madoz, a friend of Mendizábal, introduced his law of general confiscation, so called because it put on sale all collectively owned property. Church property was sold, as well as communal property belonging to towns. This confiscation continued until 1924.

Key Differences: Mendizábal vs Madoz

The procedure was a copy of Mendizábal's, however, there were two clear differences.

First, concerning the fate of the money raised, which was dedicated to the industrialization of the country (specifically, to the expansion of the railway).

Second, regarding the ownership of such money: the state was not the owner, but the municipalities were. The state would receive the value of sales on behalf of the municipalities and transform it into what today might be considered government bonds, which would use the money for the common good.

Long-Term Impact of Disentailment

The disentailment process did little to ensure land was allocated to the disadvantaged, as it did not attempt true land reform. While it provided funds for state plans (like the railway), its medium and long-term impact included increasing agricultural production by bringing previously untilled land into cultivation.