The Spanish Restoration: Canovas and the Monarchy

The government offered no resistance and formed a dimitio cabinet. Canovas communicated to the regency his proclamation as rey (king) for Alfonso. To restore the authority of the crown, Canovas appointed new monarchical governors and mayors and enacted a series of repressive measures against the opposition. He also re-established the concordat in its entirety and ensured the economic contributions of the state to the church. Canovas kept in touch with progressive and democratic leaders, wanting them to accept the monarchy.

The final campaign against the Carlists allowed their surrender in March 1876 (Somorrostro manifesto). Carlism had been defeated, but the problems associated with it remained unresolved. The end of the Carlist War allowed Cuba to send peacekeeping troops, but ending the war included a serious breach of legal reforms, which would lead to the Spanish-American War in 1895. Canovas was the key figure of the Restoration. His first objective was firmly planting the monarchy. The Crown should recover the prestige lost during the reign of Isabel II. The idea was a shared monarchy with the courts, with the King in second place. The constitutional framework was to accommodate all liberal trends. The goal was to create a lasting constitution that would allow different parties to govern, ending the pronunciamiento as a means of taking power. The army had returned social order through suffrage to all parties. The Constitution of 1876 is a flexible text and a doctrinal statement of conservative rights and duties.

State Powers and the Constitution

With regard to state powers, the constitution establishes the principle of shared sovereignty between the courts and the King. The courts are bicameral, directed by the Senate and members of Congress, and suffrage becomes universal male suffrage. The religious question is resolved by recognizing the country's Catholic confessional and guaranteeing the sustenance of the cult and clergy. However, the constitutional operation experienced a clear adulteration because governments did not change whether or not they supported the new cortes. The President was always the leader of the party and received his appointment to the decree of dissolution of the courts and the call for new elections. This electoral distortion worked without major problems during the first years of Alfonso XII's reign.

The Pact of El Pardo

After Alfonso XII died, his second wife, Maria Cristina of Hasburgo, became regent. Canovas and Sagasta established an agreement known in history as the Pact of El Pardo, where they pledged to support the regency and to facilitate governance when it lost prestige and support in public opinion. However, the legislation did not break down each power. The Army approved the pact to exacerbate the political corruption and distort the popular will, making it more and more alien to the parliamentary regime.