Spain’s Six-Year Democratic Period: 1868 Revolution & Political Instability
The Six-Year Democratic Period in Spain
The 1868 Revolution and the Provisional Government
The September 1868 revolution, known as “The Glorious Revolution,” marked the end of Isabel II’s monarchy and ushered in six years of political instability.
1.1. The Economic Crisis
In 1866, a major economic crisis began, triggered by falling stock prices. The crisis stemmed from the railway sector, where large investments yielded lower returns than anticipated. Financial institutions canceled loans, spreading panic among individuals and businesses. This coincided with a crisis in the Catalan textile industry, heavily reliant on U.S. cotton imports disrupted by the American Civil War. Poor harvests from 1866 onwards led to wheat shortages, rising prices, rural hunger, and social unrest, coupled with urban unemployment.
1.2. Political Decline
By the mid-1860s, widespread discontent with the Elizabethan system brewed. Businesses wanted government intervention to protect their investments, industrialists and workers demanded safeguards, and farmers suffered. In 1866, after the San Gil sergeants’ revolt, Queen Isabel II removed O’Donnell from government. Subsequent moderate cabinets ruled by decree. Excluded from power through constitutional means, the Progressive Party, led by Prim, signed the 1866 Pact of Ostend with the Democratic Party. This pact aimed to overthrow the monarchy and establish a Constituent Assembly, elected by universal suffrage, to decide on the new form of government (monarchy or republic). Following O’Donnell’s death, the Union joined the pact in November 1867.
1.3. The 1868 Revolution
In September 1868, Brigadier Topete’s squadron in Cadiz launched a military uprising against Isabel II’s government. Prim and Serrano joined the rebels, gaining popular support after publishing a manifesto. The government’s army clashed with the rebels at the Bridge of Alcolea, near Córdoba. The rebels won, forcing the government to resign and the Queen into exile. Revolutionary committees formed in Spanish cities, advocating for freedom, sovereignty, separation of church and state, universal suffrage, property division, and even a republic. However, the Union and Progress leaders didn’t share the committees’ radicalism. An interim government, led by Regent General Serrano and President General Prim, was formed, comprising progressives and unionists. The government dissolved and disarmed the National Militia.
The 1869 Constitution and the Regency
The interim government called elections for a Constituent Assembly. These elections, the first in Spain with universal male suffrage (men over 25), resulted in a victory for the governing coalition, but also saw the emergence of Carlist and Republican factions. The Assembly drafted a new constitution, adopted on June 1, 1869. It established a system of rights and liberties, including demonstration, assembly, association, education, and equal opportunity employment. It recognized religious freedom while maintaining Catholicism as the state religion. National sovereignty was proclaimed, legitimizing the monarchy and the three powers. A monarchical state was declared, but legislative power resided solely with the Assembly. The Assembly, comprising Congress and Senate, promoted the King. Cuba and Puerto Rico were granted equal rights with Spaniards. With the constitution proclaimed and the throne vacant, Parliament established a regency under General Serrano, with Prim as head of government. Prim faced challenges: Republican discontent, Carlist insurrection, a struggling economy, and the task of finding a new monarch.