Spain's Independence War, Restoration and Liberal Revolution (1808-1874)

1. The Independence War (1808-1814)

1.1 The Abdication and Napoleonic Intervention

In 1808, Ferdinand VII succeeded his father after the Aranjuez Mutiny. Napoleon lured him to Bayonne, where he forced him to abdicate the crown in favor of his brother Joseph Bonaparte, who was adopted as the Napoleonic stadtholder and given a constitutional appearance: the Statute of Bayonne.

1.2 Popular Resistance

On 2 May 1808, the people of Madrid rebelled against French occupation. A Supreme Central Junta took power in the absence of Ferdinand VII. Part of the Spanish Army in Andalusia was defeated at the Battle of Bailén, and Joseph had to leave Madrid. Most of the peninsula was occupied after the Battle of Ocaña, and Cádiz became the center of the resistance. Between 1809 and 1813, guerrillas harassed the French Army, and the Duke of Wellington, allied with British troops, attacked Spanish and Portuguese territory. In the Treaty of Valençay, Napoleon and Ferdinand signed a treaty that ended the conflict.

1.3 The Cádiz Cortes and the 1812 Constitution

The First Central Junta convened the Cádiz Cortes, which proclaimed the national sovereignty. The deputies drafted the Constitution of 1812, which also approved freedom of the press, abolished the Inquisition and the guilds, and established freedom of trade and industry, ending the former regime. The 1812 Constitution, the first Spanish Declaration of Rights, recognized Ferdinand VII as King, limited royal prerogatives and instituted the division of powers.

2. The Reign of Ferdinand VII

2.1 The Absolutist Restoration

Ferdinand VII suspended the Constitution and restored the old absolutist regime.

2.2 The Liberal Triennium (1820-1823)

In 1820, a military uprising led by Riego forced the King to swear to abide by the Constitution. The Congress of Verona decided to intervene, and a French army invaded Spain in 1823 to restore Ferdinand's absolute power.

2.3 The Repression and Succession Crisis

The second wave of repression was cruel to liberals. In the final years of his reign, the birth of his daughter Isabella led to a succession conflict. Supporters of the Salic Law, which excluded women from the throne, opposed the Pragmatic Sanction that Ferdinand issued to allow his daughter Isabella to succeed him.

• Afrancesados: Spaniards who collaborated with the French occupation.
• Pronunciamiento: A military uprising that constituted a government against the central power.

2.4 Independence of the American Colonies

Between 1809 and 1814, the American colonies recognized Ferdinand VII, but the Spanish overseas territories gradually broke away. Argentina proclaimed its independence in 1816, as did Gran Colombia, Mexico and other territories. Florida was ceded to the United States. San Martín and Bolívar led the independence campaigns in South America, and in 1824 the Spanish Army was defeated at the Battle of Ayacucho, ending Spanish rule on the continent.

3. Maria Cristina and the Carlist Wars

3.1 The Carlist War

Ferdinand VII, dying, named his wife Maria Cristina de Borbón regent for their daughter Isabella, who was only three years old. A civil war began in 1833, when Infante Carlos, the King's brother, claimed the throne against his niece Isabella II. Carlist supporters shared only their opposition to liberalism. They defended the traditional monarchy, Catholicism and the fueros (regional privileges). Carlism had strong support in the Basque Country and Navarre. The war fronts were located in the Basque-Navarrese region and the Eastern region of Aragon and Catalonia, and the conflict ended with the Convention of Vergara in 1839 and the Treaty of Elliot in 1840.

3.2 The Liberal Reforms

Maria Cristina sought the support of liberals. She gave amnesty to liberal prisoners, and the liberals undertook political and administrative reforms. The Royal Statute of 1834 was the first Granted Charter, which reserved the Crown and bicameral Cortes control over legislative and executive powers. The liberals were divided into two parties: moderates and progressives.

3.3 The Constitution of 1837

The Constitution of 1837 established bicameral Cortes, census suffrage, and provinces and overseas territories, and proclaimed freedom of the press. It also institutionalized the National Militia. A key measure of the progressives was the desamortización (expropriation and public auction of Church land).

4. The Reign of Isabella II

4.1 Early Reign and Political Instability

In 1843, Isabella II was declared of age at only 13 years old. Her reign had the following characteristics:

• Military involvement in politics: Military figures were popular and dominated the government.
• Political weakness of the parties: The moderates and progressives were incapable of forming stable governments.
• Lack of neutrality of the Crown: The Crown shared sovereignty with the Cortes and intervened in favor of the moderates.

4.2 Stages of the Isabelline Period

The Moderate Decade (1844-1854): The moderates won the 1845 Constitution, which established moderate principles: shared sovereignty, limitation of individual rights, census suffrage and administrative centralism. They also created the Civil Guard, the first public order force that replaced the National Militia.

The Progressive Biennium (1854-1856): The progressive government implemented a second desamortización, especially affecting municipal lands.

The Second Moderate Period (1856-1868): Common practice in government reduced the prestige of the monarchy. A military coup in 1868 forced Isabella II to flee to exile in France.

5. The Democratic Sexenio (1868-1874)

5.1 Political Developments

The Democratic Sexenio is divided into several periods: the revolutionary period and the constituent period. The Constituent Cortes approved the Constitution of 1869, which established universal male suffrage and a democratic monarchy. Finally, Amadeo of Savoy was chosen as king. However, the democratic monarchy faced serious difficulties, and the progressives were divided into two currents: constitutionalists and radicals. In 1873, King Amadeo abdicated and left Spain.

5.2 The First Federal Republic

The First Republic was proclaimed, but it struggled to consolidate. The Constitution was never promulgated, and the cantonal revolt broke out in the southeast. The Republic became authoritarian when the Cortes were dissolved and the military leader Manuel Pavía seized power. A pronouncement led to the restoration of the Bourbons.

5.3 Republican Currents

Democratic and republican currents developed during this period, and the republicans were divided into unitarian and federal supporters. The federal republicans wanted a federal state formed by various regions or particular territories, with regional governments enjoying great autonomy.

6. The Economy of the Nineteenth Century

Spain was an eminently agrarian country. Its backwardness was due to several factors: the delay in technical and agricultural innovation, a very dependent climate, abundant manual labor, and the failure of the agrarian reform. Excessive land-owning elites were unable to sustain growth or invest capital in cities or the industrial sector.

6.1 Industrialization

Catalonia was the most industrialized region, where the cotton industry flourished. The steel industry developed in the Basque Country, while in Andalusia it failed. The lack of navigable rivers and the poor road network hindered trade. The railway was the first great opportunity to overcome these obstacles, but its implementation was slow and its radial layout was detrimental.

7. The Nineteenth-Century Society

7.1 Population and Living Conditions

Population growth was low. Life expectancy was very low due to several factors: wars, chronic malnutrition and poor health conditions.

7.2 An Oligarchic Society

The abolition of the mayorazgos (entailed estates) reduced the power of the nobility, but it was accompanied by the conversion of seigniorial rights into private property. This created a new oligarchy formed by a minority group that controlled the economy. The Spanish bourgeoisie was a speculative and investing class. It was the first industrial middle class. The rural peasantry suffered a strong decline as a consequence of the wars and the desamortización. The peasantry's situation worsened with the desamortización and the conversion of seigniorial rights into private property. The industrial proletariat predominated only in Catalonia.