Ferdinand VII’s Reign and Hispanic American Independence
The Reign of Ferdinand VII
The Restoration of Absolutism
Liberal distrust of the monarch and a predisposition to accept the new constitutional order led Ferdinand VII to travel to Madrid to feign acceptance of the constitution. However, absolutists saw this as their best chance to return to the Ancien Régime, and quickly organized to demand the restoration of absolutism (Manifesto of the Persians). Ferdinand, by Royal Decree of May 4, 1814, annulled the constitution and announced a return to absolutism.
The government of Ferdinand attempted the almost impossible: to remake a country torn by war, with devastated agriculture and paralyzed trade, and bankrupt finances. Liberal military pronouncements revealed the bankruptcy of the absolute monarchy.
The Liberal Triennium
On January 1, 1820, Colonel Rafael del Riego rose up in Andalusia and proclaimed the Constitution of 1812. Ferdinand VII, satisfied with the constitution, formed a new government on March 10, which proclaimed an amnesty and convened elections to the courts. The election results favored the most liberal members, who initiated major legislation, including freedom of industry, the abolition of guilds, and diminution of the tithe, to encourage the liberalization of industry and commerce.
These reforms quickly aroused the opposition of the monarchy. Ferdinand conspired against the government, trying to regain power through the intervention of absolutist powers. The nobility and the church, prejudiced by the suppression of tithes and the sale of monastic property, led the revolt against the rulers of the triennium, and in 1822, absolutist factions rose up. Liberal tensions also arose, eventually dividing supporters into moderate reformers and extremists who demanded radical reform.
The Ominous Decade
The end of the liberal regime was caused by the Holy Alliance, when the Hundred Thousand Sons of St. Louis (100,000 soldiers) entered Spanish territory and restored Ferdinand as absolute monarch. The difficulties of governing, compounded by the loss of the American colonies, ultimately forced tight control of public spending, which caused increasing distrust of the government. Ultra-conservatives defended the return to traditional customs.
The Dynastic Conflict
The birth of a king’s daughter, Isabel, ensured Bourbon continuity but created a conflict. The Salic law barred women from accessing the throne, so Ferdinand repealed it by the Pragmatic Sanction, allowing his daughter access to the throne and making her the heiress. The more conservative sector of the absolutists, called Carlists, refused to accept this situation.
Maria Cristina, wife of Ferdinand, during the King’s illness, decreed an amnesty that allowed the return of 10,000 exiled liberals and prepared to face the Carlists. Ferdinand died in 1833, reaffirming his will that his 3-year-old daughter was heir to the throne. That same day, Don Carlos was proclaimed king, beginning an absolutist uprising in northern Spain, which led to the Carlist War.
The Hispanic American Independence
The Spanish America in the Late Eighteenth Century
Concern for the overseas territories had led to an era of prosperity, fostering economic growth and the development of a powerful Creole bourgeois group, white but born in America.
The Process of Independence
As of 1808, during the War of Independence, the Creoles chose not to accept the authority of Joseph Bonaparte and created juntas that took power in their territories. The courts of Cadiz saw the colonies as Spanish territory and therefore recognized the rights of the natives. Paraguay and Argentina were considered independent nations.
The Problems of the New American Nation
- The interests of local warlords, the commercial bourgeoisie, and large landowners who wanted to dominate and exploit their territories led to countless wars and the division of territory into multiple republics.
- Political independence did not bring economic independence. Spanish domination was replaced by the interference of Great Britain and the United States.
- The Creoles who had led the independence movement left the vast majority of the Indian population, black population, and the poor stranded, which would lead to profound social upheavals in the years ahead.