Spanish History: French War, Cadiz Cortes, Absolutism & Liberal Triennium

The French War (1808-1814)

These events led to the popular rebellion, and on 2 May 1808, there was an uprising in Madrid against the French troops. This example was followed in many other places. Boards were created to lead the resistance, coordinated by a Board of Supreme Central, while patriotic groups organized into guerrillas to fight the French.

Las Cortes de Cadiz

The abdications in Bayonne left a power vacuum, because King Joseph I never gained acceptance from the Spanish people. So, in 1810, the Central Board convened a meeting of parliament in the city of Cadiz, the only territory not occupied by the French. The first decision by the Parliament was revolutionary: all present, whatever their origin, gathered in a single House and their vote had the same weight. This new chamber was built, therefore, on behalf of the Spanish nation and drafted a constitution, adopted in 1812, reflecting the basic principles of political liberalism: national sovereignty, separation of powers, universal male suffrage, and a statement of broad rights.

The Restoration of Absolutism

Ferdinand VII, called "the desired one", returned to Spain in 1814. Liberals wanted the monarch to immediately swear to the Constitution of 1812, but the push for absolutism restored absolutism and repealed all legislation of the liberal Cortes of Cadiz. The king, convinced of the weakness of the Liberals, won a coup d'état by which the Parliament was closed and the constitution annulled. During the following months, the restoration of all the old institutions and the manorial system was restored. It was a return to the Ancien Régime. Many liberals were arrested, and others were exiled or went into hiding.

Liberal Triennium

In 1820, a statement by Colonel Riego in Cabezas de San Juan (Seville) achieved success and opened the Liberal Triennium (1820-1823). The king was forced to abide by the Constitution of 1812, to declare an amnesty, and call elections. The new parliament, made up of a majority of Liberal MPs, restored much of the reforms of Cadiz (abolition of the feudal regime, liberalization of trade and industry...). It also created the National Militia, an armed body of volunteers who defended the liberal order. However, this reform process did not have the sympathy of King Ferdinand VII, who sought help from the European powers to restore absolutism. The Holy Alliance commissioned France's military intervention in Spain, and in 1823, the so-called One Hundred Thousand Children of St. Louis, under the command of the Duke of Angouleme, entered Spain. They overthrew the liberals, and Ferdinand VII was restored as an absolute monarch.

The Failure of Absolutism

The return to absolutism (1823-1833) was followed by a crackdown against liberals and the destruction of all legislative work of the Triennium. But the governments of Fernando VII were unable to provide a solution to the serious problems that the country faced. First, the economic situation was difficult. The war had greatly weakened the economy, and finances had failed. Furthermore, the independence of the American colonies deprived state coffers of important revenue. Therefore, economic reforms were necessary, and Fernando VII timidly started approaching the moderate sectors of the bourgeoisie in Finance and Industry of Madrid and Barcelona. He even granted a protectionist tariff to Catalan manufacturing.