Spain’s Political Turmoil: 1866-1902
The Fall of Isabella II and the Rise of the First Republic
The moderate period of Isabella II’s reign saw growing discontent. The people disliked the dictatorial government of Narváez and González Bravo, as well as the Queen herself. An economic crisis in 1866 further fueled the unrest. Narváez died in 1868. Progressives, led by General Prim, and Democrats, who were supporters of universal suffrage, signed the Pact of Ostend in 1866 to overthrow Isabella II. Finally, in 1868, a military revolt broke out, initiated by Admiral Topete in Cadiz. The uprising gained popular support, and Isabella II fled to France. An interim government was established, directed by Serrano, with General Prim as Minister of War. It was formed by Unionists, Progressives, and Democrats. Elections were held by universal suffrage, and the Progressives won. In 1869, a new constitution was established, with the following key features:
- National sovereignty
- Universal male suffrage (+25)
- Democratic monarchy (with limits on the king’s power)
- Division of powers:
- Executive (Cabinet)
- Legislative (bicameral Cortes: Congress and Senate)
- Judiciary
- Declaration of rights, including the rights of assembly and association
- Freedom of religion
Following the adoption of the constitution (which established a monarchy), Serrano was named regent, and Prim became head of a new government. The Cortes began to search for a candidate for the crown among European royal families and elected Amadeo of Savoy, son of the King of Italy and a liberal. When Amadeo arrived in Spain, General Prim, his main supporter, was assassinated. This weakened Amadeo’s position significantly. He faced numerous conflicting groups that opposed him. The two years of his reign were politically unstable, with increasing dissension among the parties that had supported the revolution. Amadeo I abdicated in 1873 and returned to Italy.
The Short-Lived First Republic
The Cortes proclaimed the First Spanish Republic on February 11, 1873. However, it had little social support, and the most powerful social groups and institutions in the country opposed the new regime. The Republic was marked by extreme political instability, with four presidents in one year: Figueras, Pi y Margall, Salmerón, and Castelar. Measures taken during this period included:
- Removal of the unpopular consumption tax to address the deficit
- Elimination of the *quintas* (military conscription)
- Lowering the voting age to 21
- Separation of Church and State
- Prohibition of child labor under 10 years old in factories and mines
- Abolition of slavery in Cuba and Puerto Rico
- A project to establish a constitutional federal republic
Challenges Faced by the Republic
The Republic faced several significant challenges:
- The Third Carlist War: The Carlist pretender, Charles VII, entered the Basque Country and Navarre and established a government in Estella, Navarre.
- The Cantonal Uprisings: Attempts by extremist federal Republicans to create small regional states in Valencia, Murcia, and Andalusia.
- The War in Cuba: An anti-colonial insurrection that led to the Ten Years’ War, lasting until the signing of the Peace of Zanjón.
- Alphonsine Military Conspiracies: Conspiracies to restore the Bourbon monarchy through a military uprising.
The Bourbon Restoration and the Reign of Alfonso XII
Antonio Cánovas del Castillo, a former minister of the Liberal Union with reactionary and undemocratic political thought, opposed universal suffrage. He orchestrated the return of the Bourbons to the throne and became a major political figure of the new regime. He was assassinated in 1897 by the anarchist Angiolillo. Cánovas had several key proposals:
- Alfonso XII should replace the unpopular Isabella II. The Queen renounced her claim to the throne in 1870.
- End military interventions in politics.
- Create a bipartisan system with two bourgeois parties alternating in power (Conservative and Liberal).
The Constitution of 1876
- Shared sovereignty between the Cortes and the King (no longer national sovereignty).
- Bicameral Cortes (Congress and Senate, where the powerful classes were represented).
- Strengthening the power of the Crown, which was established as the axis of the state.
- Theoretical recognition of rights and freedoms.
- The type of congressional vote was not specified.
- Catholicism was declared the official state religion.
Caciquismo and the *Turno* System
Caciques were local political bosses responsible for implementing the election results agreed upon by party elites. They were wealthy and influential figures in rural Spain who obeyed the civil governors of each province, rigging the elections. Their methods varied, including violence, threats, exchanging votes for favors, or simply cheating in elections.
The Regency of Maria Christina
Upon the death of Alfonso XII in 1885, the regency of Maria Christina of Austria began (1885-1902), lasting until Alfonso XIII came of age. After the King’s death, Cánovas and Sagasta reaffirmed the operation of the *turno* system in the so-called Pact of Pardo (1885). During Sagasta’s government, several political reforms were adopted:
- Freedom of academic thought, association, and press.
- Suppression of censorship.
- Universal male suffrage was reintroduced.