Isabel II Reign & 19th Century Spain: Politics and Economy
Isabel II (1943-1968): United Cash
The Moderate Decade (1844-1854)
From the ideological standpoint, moderates defended the sovereignty shared between the king and the courts, rejecting the militia. On the contrary, progressives defended national sovereignty, militia, and free trade. With Narvaez as president, in addition to the incorporation of 1845, other measures were adopted. In 1846, political life was dominated by the intrigues around the future marriage of Isabel II. In the following years, the most important political issues were the economic crisis that began in 1847 and the political crisis of 1848. Narvaez was replaced by Murillo, who took out a policy that succeeded in solving the serious problem of public debt and completing the negotiations with the Vatican. The new Concordat was signed in 1851. With the Concordat, diplomatic relations between church and state resumed but again broke with the triumph of the revolution of 1868. Finally, Murillo’s very conservative attempt to reform the constitutional system failed, ending his government in 1852. After his fall, there were several governments, including that of Sartorius.
The Revolution of 1854 in the Progressive Biennium (1854-1856)
The failure of the military coup in Madrid led O’Donnell to meet with General Serrano Canovas. Canovas drafted the Manifesto of Manzanares, inviting progressives to join the rebellion. Shortly after the rebellion took momentum, Sartorius’ term ended, and the government resigned. It was chaired by Minister of War Espartero and O’Donnell. From the political viewpoint, the government unsuccessfully tried to pass a new constitution that reflected progressive ideas, as the creation of 1845 reflected the ideas of the moderates.
The Moderate Biennium (1856-1858)
Escosura and O’Donnell clashed in a Council of Ministers, and both resigned along with Espartero, intending to influence the Queen, but the Queen named O’Donnell president. O’Donnell’s government lasted barely three months and was replaced by Narvaez, who annulled O’Donnell’s constitutional reform and fully restored the constitution of 1845. But shortly after, he made his own more conservative reform that was in force until 1864 when the loss of influence within the moderate party was rejected. Biennium moderate governments initiated the creation of the general census of population and adopted the first general law of public instruction.
The Liberal Union (1852-1863) and the Last Government of Isabel II (1863-1868)
In 1858, O’Donnell returned to preside over the government as head of the Liberal Union. The match referee was moderate and progressive. Its main leaders were O’Donnell and Posada Herrera. The Liberal Union developed a practical interior policy. It also was based on the development of a prestigious foreign policy by sending an expedition to Mexico. Standing policy failure and the party began to be abandoned by one of its most prominent leaders. The last years of the reign of Isabel II were characterized by political instability exercised in political life by the queen and her coterie. Eventually, it brought the downfall of the monarchy, which was influenced by the economic crisis, poor harvests, authoritarianism exhibited by Bravo’s government, and its predecessors.
Economic Transformations in 19th Century Spain
The economy was influenced by three factors: first, the barriers to communication; second, the shortage of energy sources and raw materials; and third, capital shortages.
Process of Disentailment and Agrarian Change
The disentailment of Mendizabal had three goals: first, raise capital to pay back a portion of public debt; second and third, political and social objectives. Mendizábal’s plan abolished the tithe and spread the disentailment of assets from the secular clergy. It had different consequences:
- From a political standpoint, it increased liberalism but also those who defended the church and attacked liberalism.
- It increased the tension between the church and the liberal state.
- Socially, there was a slight widening of the rural middle class.
- It hurt settlers who had to leave the land they farmed.
- There was strong deforestation for rapid recovery of the money spent, thus the prohibition of the disentailment of Madoz.
- There was the dispersion of part of the artistic heritage.
The paying back process will resume with the publication of the decree, which affected Madoz Church property to the municipalities, local farms, and rural properties, while the affection Mendizabal and rustic buildings. Within agriculture, both grain and vineyards experienced tremendous growth throughout the nineteenth century. The main innovation was the development of agriculture exports.
The Industrial Revolution in Spain
Throughout the nineteenth century, old craft industries were maintained, but only in the steel industry were the craft workshops replaced by industrialization. This led to the emergence of new social problems, such as a rejection of the machinery and factories by burning, threatening employment. Regarding traditional mining, after the mining law, mining is partially new in Spanish hands, with iron exported mainly to England. In the manufacturing industry, the textile sector stands to benefit from protective tariffs. The remaining industries were just beginning to develop in the late nineteenth century.
Modernization of Infrastructure: The Impact of the Railway
The protagonist in the transportation revolution of the mid-nineteenth century was the railroad. During this period, communications were improved, the postal stamp was introduced, and a network of telegraph was built.
Trade and Finance
Foreign trade experienced significant growth in imports by rail. The interior grew slowly due to the lack of entrepreneurship, the low purchasing power, and the lack of a well-structured credit. Despite the increased trade, it was boosted by improved communications and the implementation of the metric system that favored the creation of the national market. Also, it influenced the organization of exhibitions and fairs. At the end of the century, internal trade created a framework for local and overseas trends. Those years were toward a reduction in the deficit by increasing exports over imports. In 1831, the Bombay Stock Exchange was created to channel savings into industrial sectors, with the peseta as the basis of the monetary system and the monopoly of issuing paper money to the Bank of Spain. Finally, the passage of the banking company allowed the creation of new banks. As for savings, it was aided by the return of capital after the loss of Cuba and the rest of the colonies and by its own internal growth.