Spain’s First Republic: Origins, Challenges, and Fall
The First Spanish Republic (1873-1874)
In February 1873, the First Spanish Republic was proclaimed by the Congress of Deputies and Senate, gathered in the National Assembly. A coalition government headed by the radical Republican Estanislao Figueras was chosen. The Republicans who brought about the Republic were a minority; surprisingly, it was the radical monarchists who played a key role. King Amadeo I abdicated, weary of the ongoing problems, leading the Radical Party to proclaim the Republic.
Challenges and Social Tensions
The proclamation of the Republic accelerated social tensions. The new system was born into a hostile environment. The masses saw it as a solution to all their problems and desired radical reforms in a very short time. However, Spain was a poor and backward country with limited industry, low-yield agriculture, and public finances in near bankruptcy. Two wars were ongoing: one in Cuba and another in the Basque Country and Navarre.
Against this backdrop, the social reforms promised by the Republicans were almost impossible to achieve and even endangered the new regime, as the army increasingly favored a monarchy.
Internal Divisions and the Fall of the Republic
Another factor that contributed to the fall of the Republic was the breakdown of the pact between radical Republicans and federal Republicans. The radicals wanted a unitary republic of order with few social reforms, while the federal Republicans desired a federal system and more significant social reforms. When the pact between the two parties broke, the Radicals attempted a coup, which was aborted by the Republicans. From this point on, the federal Republicans governed alone. New elections were called.
Figueras, the first President of the Republic, resigned in June, and Francisco Pi y Margall succeeded him, aiming to create a federal republic and maintain order. However, this goal proved very difficult.
The Cantonal Uprising
Problems of public order had been constant since the proclamation of the Republic, but upon Pi y Margall’s ascension to the presidency and the departure of federal extremists from Congress, the Cantonal Uprising occurred. Federal extremists believed that the state should be built from the bottom up: the union of regions and municipalities, and the union of these creating the country. They planned a general uprising led from Madrid, but it failed.
The Cantonal Uprising spread throughout the Mediterranean, from Catalonia to Andalusia, except in Alcoy. Each city proclaimed its own canton, ruled by a revolutionary junta that would share weapons, coin money, and sometimes declare war on neighboring towns. Pi y Margall was reluctant to use force and was accused of having provoked the uprising. He resigned.
Salmerón, Castelar, and the End of the Republic
The new president was the unitarist Nicolás Salmerón. Salmerón soon resigned as he did not want to sign the death sentences imposed by the army. Emilio Castelar became the new president, determined to restore order at all costs to save the Republic. He moved closer to the radicals to increase the regime’s social base and win the confidence of the army. He suspended constitutional guarantees and gave the army carte blanche to stop the chaos and stifle the cantons.
In a very short time, cantonalism was defeated, and order was restored with ease, given the ongoing Carlist War in the north and the Cuban conflict. However, Castelar’s expeditious actions caused discontent in the Republican-dominated, federalist parliament. They voted against Castelar in a motion of confidence, aiming to shift the Republic to the left. This was counterproductive, as the Captain-General of Madrid dissolved Parliament.
With Parliament dissolved, General Serrano headed a government of national character and gave a definitive conservative shift to the Republic: the labor movement was suppressed, Republicans were persecuted, and consumption taxes were restored. All this was done to impose order and stop the ongoing wars. However, a lack of solid support would cause the return of the Bourbons in the person of Alfonso XII after the pronouncement of Martínez Campos at Sagunto.
Economic Impact
The First Republic saw reduced industrial production and foreign investment, and increased the country’s debt. It was a time of confusion and anarchy. However, two economic measures enacted during this period had great importance:
- The Mining Act, which allowed foreign capital to invest in the mining sector.
- The Figuerola Tariff, which enabled the diversification of agriculture and the improvement of Spanish industry.
Both measures favored foreign investment, employment, and modernization.