Alfonso XII’s Reign: The 1876 Constitution & Restoration
**Alfonso XII’s Reign: The Cánovas System and the 1876 Constitution**
The Regime of the Restoration (1875-1898)
The return of the Bourbon monarchy established a liberal-conservative, undemocratic regime. It brought together conservatives to prevent military coups and popular movements, avoiding a repeat of the previous administration.
Cánovas del Castillo
The political system devised by Cánovas for the Restoration was built on scarcely democratic foundations:
- A limited constitution, where the courts and the crown were the key institutions, both sharing sovereignty and legislative power.
- A political system that only gave input to two dynastic parties, the Conservative Party and the Liberal Party, excluding the opposition.
- Peaceful and agreed alternation in power, secured by continuing electoral fraud.
The system aimed to establish the monarchy, banish military coups, and give the king the power to change the government.
Features and Operation of the Cánovas System
Supporters of the Bourbon dynasty paved the way for the Restoration. Isabel II abdicated in favor of her son Alfonso (1870). Cánovas del Castillo created a climate of opinion favorable to the proclamation of the Prince, which contributed to the Sandhurst Manifesto. The decision of General Martínez Campos on December 29, 1874, precipitated events, leading to the Restoration.
The Cánovas system was supported by three main bases:
- The theory of internal or historical constitution, where sovereignty rested with the King and the Cortes.
- The power system, divided into two pairs of forces: those embodying sovereignty (the King) and the Cortes (bearers of freedom).
- The written constitution, organizing the actions of these two pairs of forces.
The Constitution of 1876
The Constituent Assembly adopted the constitution in May 1876. This was a more permanent constitution, based on the 1845 constitution and including rights proclaimed in 1869. The government proposed:
- Shared sovereignty between the Cortes and the King.
- Bicameral Court: Congress elected every five years; Senate, partly by its own right, others for life, and those elected by census-based voting among the biggest contributors.
- Strengthening the power of the crown.
- Executive power to appoint ministers and supreme command of the Armed Forces.
- Legislative power: The courts had the right to vote on all laws passed in parliament.
- The rights and duties of citizens would be developed by ordinary laws.
- No position was taken on the type of vote or the electoral process. In 1890, universal male suffrage was established.
- The Catholic religion was the official state religion, but other religions would be tolerated.
Bipartisanship
Two major parties, the Conservative and Liberal, would alternate in power and opposition. Cánovas configured the Conservative Party, while Sagasta created the Liberal Party with opposition collaboration.
The Conservative Party: Its social base was the upper class, aristocracy, army, landowners, and officials. Its ideology was based on census suffrage, order, fewer freedoms and rights, and a traditional and centralist approach.
The Liberal Party: This party brought together the Progressive Party, a sector of Democrats and Republicans, and other smaller groups. Its social base was the middle bourgeoisie. Its ideology included universal suffrage, greater freedom, juries, less centralism, and clericalism.
Cánovas, from the right of the regime, and Sagasta, from the left, tried to consolidate the political system through a peaceful shift between both parties, excluding the Carlists and Republicans.
The political machine created by Cánovas translated into a reality of farce and corruption:
- The alternation in power of the two major parties became, in fact, changes in government agreed upon in advance between them; it was the “turn of the parties.”
- Election results did not reflect the majority; elections were called and manipulated to show results favorable to the new ruling party. This was the practice of despotism.
- These fraudulent practices led to the disenchantment of a large proportion of the population and low voter turnout.
Social Support of the Restoration Scheme
The aristocratic and bourgeois landowning oligarchy, more careful to preserve their own interests, tried to avoid new attempts at political renewal. This oligarchy headed the parliamentary system, fixing elections according to the needs of the moment. The vote was controlled at the provincial level by the provincial governor and at the local level by the chief.
Alongside the chieftaincy was the technique of rigging, voter coercion, and the variation of poll results. In conclusion, the political system introduced by the Restoration was an institutional facade to hide the real control of power—economic, social, and political—by a small oligarchy.