Spain: The Ominous Decade, Dynastic Conflict & American Independence

The Ominous Decade (1823-1833)

The Alliance was paying attention to the requests of Ferdinand VII, who commissioned France to intervene in Spain. In April 1823, 100,000 soldiers (the Hundred Thousand Sons of St. Louis) stormed into Spain, and Ferdinand VII was restored as absolute monarch. The economic problem was another concern due to the definitive loss of the American colonies.

The Dynastic Conflict

In 1830, the birth of a king's daughter, Elizabeth, seemed to ensure Bourbon continuity. The Salic Law prevented women from accessing the throne, but Fernando VII, influenced by Maria Cristina, promulgated the Pragmatic Sanction (abolishing the Salic Law) to give way to the throne to his daughter and heiress. The most ultraconservative sector of absolutists, called Carlists, refused to accept the new situation and influenced the seriously ill king to reinstate the Salic Law, which benefited King Charles Maria Isidro's brother as a candidate for the throne.

Meanwhile, Maria Cristina realized that if she wanted her daughter to inherit the throne, she had to seek support in areas closest to liberalism.

In 1833, Ferdinand VII died, confirming in his will his daughter, aged 3, as heir to the throne and appointing Maria Cristina as governor until Elizabeth reached the age of majority.

The First Carlist War

The Independence of Hispanic America

The Process of Independence (1814-1824)

As of 1808, during the War of Independence, Creoles chose not to accept the authority of Joseph Bonaparte and created revolutionary boards that assumed power in their territories. Although theoretically remaining faithful to Ferdinand VII, they did not recognize the authority of the Supreme Central Junta; many colonies declared themselves autonomous in relation to the metropolis. The declarations of independence were:

• Viceroyalty of Rio de la Plata and José de San Martín: Argentina, Paraguay, and Chile
• Viceroyalty of New Granada and Simón Bolívar: the formation of Gran Colombia in Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, and Panama
• Viceroyalty of New Spain in Hidalgo, Morelos, and Iturbide: Mexico
• Viceroyalty of Peru and Jose Antonio Sucre: Peru and Bolivia

Only Cuba, Puerto Rico, and the Philippines remained as Spanish possessions (colonies).

The Problems of New American Nations

The creation of independent republics did not solve the existing problems in Hispanic American society:

• Commercial interests of the bourgeoisie and large landowners led to many wars.
• Political independence did not mean economic independence for America. Spanish domination was replaced by Great Britain and the USA, who were the first to recognize the new nations.