Proclamation of the 1868 Spanish Revolution in Cadiz
Proclamation of the 19th of Rebel in Cadiz
March 1868
1. Classification
It is a primary source text of political nature, historical and circumstantial, with a statement of basic principles by the military insurgents in Cadiz in the revolution of September 1868 (the Glorious Revolution).
Author: It is signed by Prim and Serrano and a host of collaborators such as Admiral Topete and Primo de Rivera.
Chronology: Dated September 19, 1868, date of delivery.
Place of writing: Cadiz.
Target audience: The Spanish people.
2. Analysis
This proclamation is an appeal to the population to join the military uprising:
a) Appeal to the civilian population of Spain, stating that the province of Cadiz and the Armada are up in arms. This highlights the perceived vices of politicians in power in Madrid: Loss of national sovereignty, the constitution completely breached, with a very limited suffrage based on census and with the local debt.
b) Appeals to ethical elements such as dignity, honor, order, courage, and generosity, which are within the military language when mobilizing the people.
c) The program is summarized in the words: freedom and individual liberties, universal suffrage, a common legal, social, and political regeneration, and the formation of a provisional government.
d) Social and political support: The Liberals and the bourgeoisie are against the “royal clique”, the Church, and the rest of Europe.
e) Organization: Immediately through temporary boards, led by Democrats, inciting people to revolt. Following the proclamation of “the Glorious”, the first action of the government was to disarm the people.
3. Historical Comment
A) Background:
Unprecedented stress such as the uprisings of 1820 and Vicalvaro in 1854, popular uprisings in cities, student demonstrations (night of S. Daniel), economic events such as the sinking stock market and bad harvests, and political events such as discontent in the army after the executions of the sergeants at the S. Gil barracks.
In this atmosphere of crisis, the Ostend Pact was signed in 1866 by the Democratic Party, the Progressive Party, and diverse personalities to topple the throne of Isabel II, form an interim government, and elect a constituent assembly by direct universal suffrage.
B) Fact
Cadiz was chosen due to its broad liberal base, Topete’s command of the fleet anchored in the bay, and its distance from San Sebastian, where the Queen spent summers. Prim rose up, joining all forces except the Guardia Civil of Cadiz and artillery. Serrano arrived a day later and immediately organized the rebel army to march on Madrid, first going through the Mediterranean coast to gain more adherents. Bravo, upon hearing the news, resigned, and General José Concha was named president of the government. He sent the Marquis de Novaliches to Andalusia to crush the rebels, but he failed before Serrano’s army. Given this news, Isabel II left San Sebastian for France; the revolution had triumphed.
C) Implications
The resulting regime of the 1868 revolution was based on the following points: widespread recognition of individual rights and increased decision-making capacity by authorities arising from elections. The interim government formed in Madrid by Serrano dissolved the boards and issued a series of decrees, including freedom of education, printing, residence, domicile, correspondence, and worship.
The Septembrina Revolution had a dual nature: first, high-ranking military officers and wealthy oligarchs sought a moderate revolution, changing the monarchy and the constitution; and second, popular movements, embodied in the juntas, sought a democratic revolution.
4. Conclusion
Synthesis of Fragment: The manifesto to the general Spanish population in 1868 during the Glorious Revolution outlines the reasons for the mutiny: contempt for national sovereignty, lack of freedom, limited suffrage, and a call for dignity and honesty. It calls on people to arms, organized by revolutionary committees.
General sense of the text: The text is subjective, from the perspective of liberal progressives and unionists, and aims to attract various sectors of the population and the military to the revolutionary cause.
Scope and significance of the text: This opens the six-year revolutionary period, ranging from the uprising of Prim, Serrano, and Topete that overthrew Isabel II to the uprising of MartÃnez Campos in 1874, which proclaimed Alfonso XII as king of Spain and initiated the Canovist Restoration. This six-year period was marked by conflicts: republican insurrections, labor movements, the war in Cuba, and the Third Carlist War. The “disorganized democratic republic” led again to the military becoming arbiters of the situation and imposing the Bourbon restoration with Alfonso XII.