19th-Century Spanish Confiscations and Political Upheavals
Background and Manifesto (Sandhurst)
During Isabella II’s reign (1833-1868), Spain experienced significant political and social upheaval. The First Carlist War (1833-1840) occurred during Maria Cristina’s regency (1833-1840) and the progressive Mendizabal government. This was followed by the Espartero Regency (1840-1843) and the Moderate Decade (1844-1854), marked by doctrinaire liberalism, the 1845 Constitution, the Second Carlist War, and the Murillo government’s eventual political and economic crisis. The period between 1854 and 1856 saw the Progressive Biennium (Vicalvarada), with moderate reforms and the Progressive-Moderate reformist government (Liberal Union). This era concluded with a crisis and power alternations between the Liberal Union and the Moderates (Narváez and O’Donnell), culminating in the Pact of Ostend.
The Democratic Sexenio (1868-1874) began with a revolution initiated by the Pronunciamiento of Cadiz, led by Generals Prim and Serrano (progressive and unionist leaders), along with Topete. They proposed a provisional government and universal suffrage. Revolutionary meetings with Democrats ensued, leading to the liberal 1869 Constitution, which introduced collective rights, courts, and a bicameral parliamentary system. This period coincided with the start of the Ten Years’ War in Cuba, led by Céspedes. Amadeo I was appointed king after Prim’s assassination. Opposition arose from Alfonsinos, Carlists, the Church, and Republicans, though initially supported by the financial and industrial bourgeoisie.
A general boycott and army division led to Amadeo’s abdication and the First Spanish Republic’s establishment (1873-1874). Internal dissent, alienation from the bourgeoisie, and European isolation plagued the Republic. The push for a federal republic resulted in the Cantonal Revolution, facing threats from Alfonsinos and Carlists. The Republic became increasingly authoritarian, losing the army’s support, and ending with Martínez Campos’s pronunciamiento in Sagunto.
Decree of Confiscation Context
Confiscations, primarily during the 19th century, significantly impacted Spain. Aranda’s confiscation under Charles III targeted Jesuit properties, redistributing them among other orders. Godoy’s confiscation (1795-1805) focused on mortmain properties to address state debt and military campaigns, fueled by Enlightenment ideas. This resulted in an anti-clerical movement, social hardship, and increased debt.
Between 1808 and 1814, Joseph I confiscated abandoned or semi-abandoned convents to alleviate state debt, facing opposition. The Cortes of Cadiz also confiscated properties, including communal lands, for war funding and rewarding the military, leading to monastic opposition and property ambiguity. Both abolished jurisdictional regimes.
The Liberal Triennium (1820-1823) saw the confiscation and sale of monastic and communal properties, driven by liberal reforms and punishment of the regular clergy. This resulted in a throne-altar alliance and property ambiguity.
The 1834-1836 confiscations targeted destroyed monasteries, aiming to gain bourgeois support and weaken monastic orders. This led to a bourgeois monarchy under Isabella II, monastic opposition, and ecclesiastical division.
Mendizábal’s confiscations (1836-1844) affected regular and secular clergy assets to address state debt, gain bourgeois support, and fund the war. This resulted in the creation of estates, church-state confrontation, and debt reduction.
Madoz’s confiscation (1854-1856) during the Progressive Biennium targeted communal and amortized properties to complete liberal reforms, improve finances, strengthen private property, increase agricultural production, and fund railroads. This worsened peasant conditions, failed to finance municipalities, and broke with the Church, but financed the railroad, Sociedad de Crédito, and banking.
These confiscations impacted agriculture, leading to wasted land, labor-intensive practices, increased production but lower productivity, and decreased livestock. Key crops included wheat (Castile to Cuba via Santander), vineyards (Jerez, Rioja, Penedès), oil (Catalonia and Andalusia), and oranges (Andalusia, Mallorca, Valencia).