Spain’s Restoration: Politics and Society (1874-1900)
The Political System of the Restoration
The Restoration represented the end of the First Republic. The founder of the new regime was Antonio Cánovas del Castillo, who organized a liberal royalist system.
The Bourbon Restoration
In December 1874, General Arsenio Martínez Campos proclaimed King Alfonso XII. The Restoration would replace the monarchical period of democratic administration (1868-1873). The entry of Alfonso XII into Spain was the beginning of a long period of political stability based on a conservative value system: order, property, and monarchy.
Bipartisanship
Political parties loyal to the crown, called dynastic parties, were the Conservative Party and the Liberal Party. The Conservative Party, led by Antonio Cánovas del Castillo, represented the interests of the bourgeoisie, landowners, and financial groups of the old regime. The Liberal Party, led by Práxedes Mateo Sagasta, wanted to incorporate the less radical aspects of the Revolution of 1868 into the Restoration.
The Constitution of 1876
The Constitution of 1876 stipulated that sovereignty was shared by the Courts and the Crown. The king was inviolable. The Courts were bicameral, with an elitist Senate. It recognized rights and liberties and Catholicism as the official religion.
Alfonso XII’s Reign (1875-1885)
Alfonso XII’s reign was characterized by the interference of the monarch in political activity.
Carlism
It was divided into two trends:
- The fundamentalists, led by Ramón Nocedal, who criticized the liberals and the exiled pretender Charles VII.
- Traditionalists, ideologically influenced by Juan Vázquez de Mella, evolved into regionalist positions.
Republicanism
- Federalists: Led by Francisco Pi y Margall, they leaned toward socialist positions.
- Unionists: Led by Nicolás Salmerón, they formed the Centralist Party (1891).
- Radicals: They created the Progressive Republican Party, led from exile by Manuel Ruiz Zorrilla.
- Possibilists: A conservative minority group, led by Emilio Castelar, they gave support to the regime to achieve some goals, such as universal suffrage.
The Labor Movement
Anarchism was the doctrine with greater social acceptance. Unlike socialism, it refused to participate in politics and believed in organized direct action from the trade unions. Socialism advocated political participation. In 1879, Pablo Iglesias founded, in secrecy, the Spanish Socialist Workers’ Party (PSOE).
Regionalism
It is a movement that claims differential recognition of the identity of a region, advocating a decentralized state, and in some cases, federalism.
The Problem of the Spanish Countryside
Spanish agriculture in the 19th century was characterized by stagnation. Its competitiveness was low, and it worsened in the 1890s, when the modernization of transport allowed the entry of similar products from other countries into the European market. Faced with this crisis, Spanish agriculture pressured to achieve the application of protectionist laws; this was to avoid the entry of foreign products. The Mediterranean coast developed a specialized agriculture capable of competing in the European market. The vine came to monopolize the European market between 1875 and 1890, when phylloxera ruined French production, causing a serious economic and social crisis in the countryside.
Liberal Economic Policy
- Free traders defended free competition because it would help modernization.
- Protectionists asked for the application of tariffs on foreign products.
The International Workingmen’s Association (IWA)
- Marx’s socialism advocated a communist society without classes or private property.
- Anarchism advocated a society without any kind of political authority or private property; it defended collectivism.