Spain’s Restoration Era: Politics, Nationalism, and Industrial Change
Canovas del Castillo drove a two-party system modeled on the English. His intention was to create two major political parties that could meet different criteria, provided they conformed to the law that he himself had designed.
Cánovas led the Conservative Party and Sagasta led the Liberal Party. The Conservative Party, which had won the elections, drafted the new Constitution of 1876. Since then, the country’s political life was based on the peaceful alternation of the two major parties.
Bipartisanship was cemented after the death of King Alfonso XII in 1885, without male issue and with the queen being pregnant. The aforementioned parties, through an alleged agreement known as the Pact of El Pardo (1885), agreed to a policy shift to ensure the stability of the regime.
Cánovas, to lead the country and give it a new political framework, thought that principles such as country, monarchy, the historic dynasty, liberty, property, and the joint rule of the King with the Cortes were unquestionable and key in the political organization (internal constitution). The sectors that did not accept these principles could not belong to the Restoration system and draft the constitution.
Aside from the basic principles Cánovas considered, there were various differences, such as the concept of sovereignty, the electoral system (based on census suffrage advocated by conservatives or universal male suffrage by the Liberals), and the confessional state.
These differences were resolved through the schematic drawing of the articles, where each government could adopt the procedure that best aligned with their ideology. As for religion, a solution of mutual tolerance was reached in which the state declared itself Catholic. To counter this, the Liberals managed to secure freedom of conscience. A large part of the contents of the Constitution of 1876 were already present in the 1869 Constitution.
He developed a moderate liberal society to avoid confrontations and, to appease the more conservative forces, gave progressives concessions in many fields. All efforts of the Canovist system were reflected in the legislative measures, aimed at enhancing stability and controlling blatant election results.
With the Constitution of 1876, each government could legislate according to their ideas, while maintaining some respect for what had previously been done by the adversary.
The Liberal government legislated more progressively, as in the case of legislation on freedom of assembly and expression, the Press Law of 1883, the Associations Act, the Civil Code (1889), and the Electoral Law of universal male suffrage (1890).
Elections were never transparent, and the parliamentary system was discredited by the practice of electoral distortions and despotism. This was the instrument that allowed the political class to dominate the political system. The shift in power between liberals and conservatives ensured the continuity of the Restoration without violence, in exchange for the systematic violation of the parliamentary system.
Nationalism
For the parties in power, the idea of the state was centralized. However, Federalists and Carlists claimed a decentralized model that allowed for different forms of government.
This movement gained importance in regions with a stronger sense of identity (their own language, traditions, and ancient privileges), such as the Basque Country, Catalonia, and Galicia.
In Catalonia, a cultural movement called the Renaixença emerged to recover history, art, literature, etc.
Over time, these political parties contested the elections of 1869 and won a majority.
In 1885, they submitted a Memorial to the Regent’s Ombudsman, maintaining their allegiance to the Crown while asking for wide autonomy.
Basque nationalism was based on the defense of the ancient charters and was supported by the clergy, the peasantry, the petty bourgeoisie, and the Carlists, having a distinctly conservative character.
98 Disaster
In the late 1890s, there was a combination of political confrontation, economic depression, and, above all, the war in Cuba.
In 1895, the “Grito de Baire” initiated a statement that spread throughout the island. The intellectual José Martí led this movement. Spain sent an army under the command of Martínez Campos, who combined feats of arms with negotiations, but failed.
Supporters of turnismo were willing to grant some concessions to the Cubans but not to grant independence.
On the other hand, the U.S., led by the newly elected President McKinley, intended to replace the Spanish in controlling the island. Taking advantage of an incident that is still not clarified, the explosion of the U.S. warship Maine, the U.S. declared war on Spain.
Cánovas was assassinated in 1897, and Sagasta took office. He tried a peaceful solution by adopting a constitution for Cuba that granted it an autonomous government, but the tension on the island was unbearable.
The U.S. won the naval battle of Santiago de Cuba (July 3, 1898), and the Spanish government had no choice but to sue for peace. This peace was signed on December 10, 1898, in the Peace of Paris, in which Spain lost its colonies (Cuba, Puerto Rico, the Philippines, Marianas).
These defeats led to criticism of the system and the emergence of the idea of regenerating the country by rehabilitating the finances, promoting economic growth, improving education, etc. The loss of the colonies was a severe setback to exports, resulting in lost income and resources.
The group of intellectuals and writers of the Generation of ’98 also raised the need to regenerate Spanish society.
Industry
Industrial Change
Spain failed to undergo an industrial revolution like other European countries due to:
- Poor people’s purchasing power.
- Excessive protectionism of existing industry, which did not stimulate technological revolution, making Spanish products more expensive and less evolved than foreign ones.
- Shortage of raw materials, especially coal and iron.
- Lack of investment.
- Poor communication: lack of commercial networks.
We can say there was a steady evolution since 1820, with moments of crisis, such as in the 1860s and after the disaster of 1898.
The Textile Industry
In Catalonia, an important textile industry was created due to:
- Pros:
- State protection.
- Production of cheap cotton fabrics, allowing for new patterns and designs, etc.
- Entrepreneurial spirit of Catalan society.
- Cons:
- Lack of coal and cotton.
From the 1840s, the use of steam expanded, so we can consider that in Catalonia, the industrial revolution had taken place.
From 1860, coal was replaced by electricity obtained from waterfalls. “Colonies” were built, in which plants were installed next to the power source, creating small towns.
These industries, without upgrading and facing low prices from England, went into crisis.
The government adopted protectionist measures, but they also prevented their development.
The Steel Industry
In 1831, the first blast furnace (smelting factory) was built in Manchester. The Hall family expanded to other areas of Andalusia.
This industry had a very short life due to the lack of ore and coal.
In the 1840s, another core was formed in Asturias, where coal mines reduced the cost of smelting.
The main core was Basque, favored by:
- Protectionist policies.
- Removal of privileges, facilitating trade with the rest of the country.
- The existence of mines, even producing for export.
- The substitution of iron for steel production, requiring less coal.
The marine industry developed for trade with the United Kingdom.
From the mid-century and especially in the fourth quarter, the Basque steel industry experienced significant development.
Several companies merged, creating Altos Hornos de Vizcaya. This led to the creation of subsidiary industries (machinery, tools, transportation, etc.).