Federalist Republicanism and Labor Movements in 19th Century Spain
Federalist Republicanism in 19th Century Spain
Within federalist republicanism, there are two trends:
- Federal-moderate Republicans (via parliamentary)
- Intransigent Federal Republicans (a movement that brought radical federalism to the cities)
From February to June 1873, Don Stanislao Figueras, supported by the unitary wings of the courts, fell. Constituent elections were held.
In May, the Federal Republicans won a majority. They named a new president, Pi y Margall (a federalist), and drafted a new constitution.
Spain was organized into 17 federal states, one of which was Cuba. Pi y Margall was overwhelmed by the cantonalists, who defended the opposite approach: that lower territorial institutions should form the Spanish federation. Pi y Margall, a valuable intellectual and capable statesman, was overtaken by events throughout Spain (Cadiz, Algeciras, San Lucar, Tarifa, Malaga, Seville, Loja, Salamanca, Granada, Alcoy, Cartagena). The cantonal uprising occurred in these regions, cities, counties, or cantons. They were declared independent republics, rebelling violently against the state. The president resigned.
He was succeeded by Don Nicolas Salmerón, who ordered the army to end the insurrection. This was achieved throughout Spain, except for Cartagena. The insurgents had seized the arsenal of weapons and armed federal troops. The Republicans were discredited by the violence and disorder of the cantonal uprising. After Salmerón’s resignation (due to his opposition to restoring the death penalty), Don Emilio Castelar was appointed president. The courts were suspended for three months. Federalism was declared illegal, and Castelar enlisted the support of the military against cantonalists, Carlists, and Cuban independentists. When the courts reopened, Castelar’s government was defeated in a motion of confidence, which prevented the federalists from retaking the government. Captain General Manuel Pavia of Madrid staged a coup and dissolved the Cortes with the help of the Civil Guard, two companies of infantry, and a mountain battery. Castelar did not want to support a non-democratic government and resigned. General Martinez Campos pronounced in Sagunto in favor of Alfonso XII, son of Elizabeth II, thanks to Cánovas del Castillo. Cánovas was named president of the Ministry of Regency.
The Labor Movement: Anarchism and Socialism
The labor movement consists of a series of actions and organizations carried out by workers to improve their living conditions (work absence and labor laws).
In the 19th century, workers became aware of belonging to a class with interests opposed to those of employers.
Labor claims later became political. There were two sectors in the labor movement: the peasants and the industrial workers.
The situation of the peasants worsened with the confiscation, especially for laborers in Extremadura and Andalusia. Industrial workers lived in poor conditions in Catalonia, the Basque Country, Madrid, Valencia, and Asturias. These issues appeared at the beginning of the reign of Elizabeth II and began to be of particular concern during the Progressive Biennium (1854-1856) and especially during the revolutionary six years, coinciding with more tolerant governments. The Spanish labor movement would undergo a progressive radicalization, becoming one of the most violent in Europe.
Peasant Revolts
At the beginning of the reign of Elizabeth II, peasant revolts resulted in the destruction of crops, assaults on landowners’ houses, and banditry.
In the 1840s, a wave of demonstrations and land occupations swept through the fields of Andalusia amid a chronic famine. It was then that banditry appeared in a climate of violence. Narváez reacted by creating the Civil Guard to ensure public order and protect the interests of landowners. After the Progressive Biennium and the confiscation of communal properties by Madoz, peasant insurrections became constant, especially in Andalusia and Extremadura. Peasant uprisings generally took the form of illegal land occupations, the allocation of land among laborers, the burning of notarial property records, and clashes with the Civil Guard.
This is what happened in 1855 in Andalusia, Aragon, and Castile.