Spain: 1812 Constitution, Ferdinand VII & Napoleonic Era
The Cortes of Cadiz (1812)
In 1812, the Central Board, meeting in Seville, decided to hold elections for constituents to bring together representatives of the people in the first Cortes Generales. The majority of elected deputies, influenced by liberalism, adopted a constitution in Cadiz on March 19, 1812, the first in the history of Spain. Title IV of the Constitution described the areas in which the king was subordinate to Parliament. However, it retained two elements of traditional absolutism: the monarchy and Catholicism, the latter established as the official and only permitted religion.
Ferdinand VII’s Reign
After the Peninsular War ended and his father Charles IV died, Ferdinand VII returned to Spain in 1814. The king remained a supporter of absolutism and decided to abolish the Constitution of 1812. The army supported him.
During the following years, repression occurred under Ferdinand VII. In 1820, Lieutenant Colonel Riego took command of troops destined to sail to America and began a revolt against Ferdinand VII. Thus, the Liberal Triennium (1820-1823) began, marked by clashes between moderate liberals (so-called because many had participated in the Cortes of Cadiz) and radical liberals or exaltados.
In 1823, Ferdinand VII invoked the Treaty of the Holy Alliance, and a French army restored his absolute government. This marked the beginning of the Ominous Decade (1823-1833), during which the king took reactionary measures, reinstated the Inquisition, and closed universities. This provoked a reaction from absolutists who rallied around his brother Charles, giving rise to the future Carlist party. In 1833, Ferdinand VII died, leaving his daughter Isabella II as heir to the crown, opening the door to a civil war.
Industry and Finance under the Bourbons
Regarding handicrafts, enlightened governments favored popular or domestic industry, especially in the textile sector, with the establishment of thousands of looms dispersed among numerous houses where farmers produced cloth. Cotton factories began to produce larger quantities at better prices in Catalonia during the 19th century.
The financial policy of the Bourbons was based on reorganizing the Hacienda (Treasury). This involved, firstly, establishing a count of all people and calculating the total production in the country to determine the national wealth and the potential tax revenue for the state. Both objectives were pursued through the development of cadastres (land registers). However, indirect taxes were insufficient to cover all state expenditures.
Reign of Charles IV (1788-1808)
Charles IV became king in 1788. The execution of Louis XVI of France led Spain to send troops against the French Republic. When Napoleon came to power, the new Spanish prime minister, Godoy, returned to an alliance policy with France. This union led to the French-Spanish fleet attempting to enforce the blockade against Great Britain. The British defeated both fleets in the naval Battle of Trafalgar (1805).
In 1807, Godoy signed the Treaty of Fontainebleau with Napoleon, which allowed the entry into Spain of French troops to attack Portugal, an ally of England. Crown Prince Ferdinand, dissatisfied with Godoy’s policies and his personal enemy, encouraged a rebellion against his father, known as the Mutiny of Aranjuez (1808).
Napoleon, meanwhile, revealed that his plan was not just to cross Spain to Portugal but also to occupy the country with his troops and install a new dynasty. He forced Charles IV and his son, the future King Ferdinand VII, to Bayonne, France. There, Charles IV abdicated in favor of Napoleon. As prisoners of Napoleon, the Bourbon kings watched as Joseph Bonaparte arrived in Spain as the new king, Joseph I. Napoleon underestimated the rejection by the Spanish population, and on May 2, 1808, the people of Madrid spontaneously revolted against the French troops, sparking the Peninsular War.