Spain’s Tumultuous 19th Century: From Absolutism to Liberalism
After the Treaty of Valençay in 1813, Fernando VII was prepared to return to Spain. However, his political principles were completely opposite to those of the absolutists.
Fernando VII arrived in Spain on March 22, 1814, and received continuous popular acclaim. On April 12, a group of absolutist deputies to the Cortes presented the Manifesto of the Persians, demanding a return to absolutism.
Finally, on May 4, 1814, in Valencia, Ferdinand VII issued a decree dissolving Parliament, abolishing the 1812 Constitution and all the legislative work of the Cortes of Cadiz, and re-establishing absolutism.
Absolutist Sexenio (1814-1820)
The decree of May 4 launched a period marked by the systematic cancellation of the reforms of the Cortes of Cadiz and the return to the old regime and absolutism.
With the Napoleonic Wars concluded, Ferdinand VII was disinterested in external affairs. Spain was sidelined, and the victorious powers of the Congress of Vienna in 1815 disregarded Spain’s interests, leaving the country in a supporting role in international affairs.
With a recently concluded war and American colonies that did not produce any benefit, Fernando VII, attached to the privileges of the estates, refused any tax reform that would increase the income of a bankrupt state.
The government’s work focused on the suppression of enemies of the restored monarchy. More than 12,000 afrancesados were exiled, and a harsh crackdown against liberals began.
Many military personnel chose liberal positions and joined secret societies of liberal ideology, such as Freemasonry. These groups staged several military coups, or pronunciamientos, all of which were repressed.
The Liberal Triennium (1820-1823)
Lieutenant Colonel Rafael del Riego’s pronunciamiento in 1820 proclaimed the Constitution of 1812. For the first time, the constitution was applied in a situation of peace, with the king in the country. Fernando VII, however, tried to obstruct the work of liberal governments and the normal constitutional functioning.
This attitude provoked a political divide among the Liberals:
- The “doceanistas” sought to amend the Constitution in agreement with the King. They became the moderates.
- The “veinteañistas,” also known as progressives, demanded the strict application of the 1812 Constitution.
The division of the liberals introduced great political instability during the Triennium. The liberals in power applied anticlerical policies: expulsion of the Jesuits, abolition of tithes, abolition of the Inquisition, and confiscation of property of religious orders. These measures tried to weaken the Church, a powerful institution opposed to dismantling the Old Regime. The confrontation with the Church became a key element of the Spanish liberal revolution.
Encouraged by the king’s conspiracies and spurred by the severe economic crisis, counter-revolutionary movements arose in Madrid. The absolutist opposition created the Supreme Regency of Urgel near the French border, an absolutist alternative to King Ferdinand VII and the liberal government in Madrid.
The only solution to end the liberal regime was the intervention of the absolutist European powers. After Napoleon’s defeat in 1815, the great powers gathered in the Congress of Vienna and formed the Holy Alliance, committing to intervene against any liberal threat in Europe. In 1822, at the Congress of Verona, the powers agreed to intervene in Spain. On April 7, 1823, a French army, known as the “Hundred Thousand Sons of St. Louis,” entered Spain unopposed and easily conquered the country.
Ominous Decade (1823-1833)
After being liberated by the Hundred Thousand Sons of St. Louis, Fernando VII issued a decree annulling all legislation of the Triennium. The monarch returned to absolutism and the Old Regime. Repression against the liberals was launched. Riego was hanged in Madrid in November, and Boards of Faith exerted an inquisitorial role.
Liberal military conspiracies continued. The danger of new pronunciamientos led Ferdinand VII to dissolve the army. In parallel, the absolutist regime purged the administration, expelling thousands of officials. One positive factor was the financial reform undertaken by López Ballesteros, which allowed for a balanced budget.