Spanish History: From Disentailment to the Esperpento

Posted on Oct 18, 2024 in History

T-8a) Disentailment – Liberal Doctrine

According to the main natural law doctrine, an individual is happy when they are a property owner. To achieve their objectives, individuals need freedom and opportunities in society. In the Courts of Cadiz in 1812, it was decided to bring the properties of the nobility and clergy up for sale.

• Disentailment: Supposed to delete the estate.
• Confiscation: Church property was taken over by more liberal governments.
• This process resulted in a number of confiscations, such as Godoy’s in 1798.

In 1835, the situation of Isabel II was uncertain because of the Carlist War. To win the war, the government needed money but had difficulties obtaining credit due to the Hacienda’s poor financial situation. Mendizabal resorted to new financing sources to reduce public debt.

• In 1836 and 1837, decrees were issued putting all clergy assets up for public sale.
• These measures caused a rupture in relations with the Vatican.
• From the sale of church property until 1924, 40% of the country’s surface passed into private hands.
• The confiscation process did not serve to distribute lands among the most disadvantaged.

T-4 The French Revolution

The French Revolution of 1789 caused fear that the same thing would happen in Spain. From the eighteenth century, enlightened thinkers (among them, Jovellanos and Campomanes) aimed to develop the country. They defended enlightened despotism under the slogan “everything for the people, by the people or without the people”.

From 1792 to 1808, the government of Godoy, fearful of the revolution, favored education reforms and the suppression of some taxes, reducing the power of the guilds. Following the execution of Louis XVI in 1793, Spain went to war against France, the War of the Convention. Godoy signed the Peace of Basel, recovering the occupied territories in exchange for Santo Domingo.

During the reign of Charles IV, the crisis worsened with rising prices and the state deficit, forcing the government to issue public debt, which became increasingly costly to repay. To alleviate the situation, a disentailment of church property was carried out, benefiting the state. In 1801, Godoy was forced to wage war against England with the objective of closing its ports to British commerce.

In 1805, the Spanish fleet was annihilated by the English in the Battle of Trafalgar, further aggravating the country’s situation. In 1807, the Treaty of Fontainebleau was signed, which authorized France to occupy part of Spain with the objective of invading Portugal. The advance of French troops scared Godoy, who fled to Andalusia with the Royal Family. However, the future King Ferdinand VII took advantage of the crisis to promote a riot, the Mutiny of Aranjuez, which resulted in the abdication of Charles IV and the dismissal of Godoy.

T-6 The Return of Ferdinand VII

In 1814, Ferdinand VII returned to Spain with the intention of restoring absolute power. He declared the Cortes of Cadiz illegal and ordered the imprisonment and execution of those who defended the Constitution. He abolished freedom of the press and reinstated the Inquisition. Many liberals disappeared or went into exile.

Ferdinand VII returned to the previous tax regime, which increased the state deficit. Separatist sentiment had been emerging since the eighteenth century. Total control of trade by Spain prevented Creoles from competing freely with foreign traders. The number of Spaniards who had displaced Creoles from their positions increased. The clergy attacked American politics. The crown’s confiscating policy fueled the independence movements in the Spanish colonies.

The opportunity to begin the independence process came with the abdication of Ferdinand VII in 1808 and the ascension of Joseph Bonaparte to the throne. The independence movement turned into a civil war. However, in 1820, Colonel Riego and his troops revolted in favor of the Constitution of 1812. The rebellion spread throughout Spain, and the king was forced to swear to uphold the Constitution, ushering in the Liberal Triennium.

The new government took the following actions:

• Confirmed the rights of citizens.
• Imposed the Cadiz tax system.
• Abolished the Inquisition.
• Granted freedom for the creation of industries.

However, the government faced difficulties due to opposition from absolutists in other European states who plotted to restore Ferdinand VII to power. There was also citizen incomprehension. In 1822, Mexico declared independence. After the Battle of Ayacucho, Spain lost an important source of resources and markets. The liberal regime ended in 1823 when an army commanded by the Duke of Angoulême invaded the Peninsula and returned absolute power to Ferdinand VII.

The new government attempted to carry out minor administrative reforms. This displeased the more conservative sectors of society, who supported Carlos Maria Isidro. However, Ferdinand VII reacted by abolishing the Salic Law. At the end of 1833, Ferdinand VII died, and his widow Maria Cristina inherited the Spanish crown on behalf of their daughter Isabel.

T-1 The Reign of Philip IV

The reign of Philip IV was full of internal and external difficulties in maintaining the empire. For 20 years, he left the government in the hands of his favorite, the Count-Duke of Olivares, whose political actions had several failures.

In 1624, Olivares presented the king with the Great Memorial, which outlined his political objectives, the essence of which was to strengthen the monarchy. He attempted to carry out a program against corruption and abuses of previous governments, contain inflation, implement protectionist economic measures, and promote public works. However, the depletion of financing sources due to the squandering of resources in continuous wars, lack of consistency, and opposition from broad sectors of the population prevented him from achieving his objectives.

The population of Spain declined considerably throughout the 17th century due to continuous wars, epidemics, and emigration to America. The economic situation deteriorated, affecting agriculture and livestock, and constant tax increases were implemented. The crisis polarized society into two groups: those few who could live on their income and the impoverished majority. Differences in religious and political power among European nations led to the Thirty Years’ War in 1618.

Conflicts spread throughout Europe, especially in Flanders and Northern France. In 1648, due to exhaustion from the long war, the Peace of Westphalia was signed, recognizing the right of each state to defend its own interests and religion. The war between France and Spain lasted until 1659 and ended with the victory of France and the obligation of Spain to cede Roussillon and Cerdanya (Peace of the Pyrenees), establishing the border.

T-2 The War of Succession and Centralization

A) War of Succession (1701-1714)

The last king of the House of Austria, Charles II, died in 1700 without an heir. In his will, he designated Philip of Bourbon as his successor, who was proclaimed King Philip V in 1701. This triggered a conflict between supporters of Philip and supporters of Archduke Charles of Austria.

Philip V had the support of France, Castile, and Aragon. Those who supported Charles feared losing power due to Bourbon centralism, including Great Britain, Holland, and Portugal. In Spain, only a part of Catalonia resisted Philip V. In Europe, both sides were evenly balanced until the Austrian Emperor died in 1711, and Archduke Charles succeeded him to the throne.

In 1713, both sides signed the Treaty of Utrecht. Spain ceded Milan, Sardinia, Naples, and Flanders to Austria, and Great Britain received Gibraltar and Menorca, in addition to some trade privileges in America.

B) Centralization Process

The Austrian Habsburgs initiated a centralization process in previous centuries in Castile, where the courts only met to approve taxes for the Crown. In the Crown of Aragon, the courts were preserved, giving them a certain autonomy. With the arrival of Philip V, absolutism was reinforced. The monarch assumed all powers: executive, legislative, and judicial.

These plans were implemented in the Nueva Planta Decrees. The courts of Aragon were abolished and integrated into those of Castile, thus losing their sovereignty. The institutions of Castile were extended throughout the kingdom. The following measures are particularly noteworthy:

• The old viceroys (in the Americas) were removed.
• The country was divided into provinces with a capital and a Captain General.
• Royal Courts were created.
• Magistrates were appointed to manage the cities.
• An attempt was made to ensure that all inhabitants paid taxes in relation to their wealth.

Collective Protagonist

The collective protagonist is not an individual person but a group of people living in a specific time and place. This type of protagonist was not new at the time. The most important reference is a novel by John Dos Passos called Manhattan Transfer, which features 160 characters.

According to the census, there are 206 characters in The Hive, plus 50 real people, but only 45 of them are highlighted. Within these 45, there are a dozen who stand out:

• Martín Marco: A poor vagabond who becomes a writer of poems.
• Doña Rosa: The grumpy owner of the cafe.
• Filo: Martín Marco’s sister, always sacrificing herself for her brother’s economic excesses.
• Roberto: Filo’s husband, a poor man who moonlights.
• Doña Visitación: A blind beata who is oblivious to her surroundings.
• Don Roque: Her greedy and adulterous son.
• Doña Elvira and Julita: Mother and daughter.
• La Marxista: A prostitute who sells herself to buy food and medicine for her tuberculous boyfriend.

Around these characters are others: the scrounger, the guard, the moneylender, the pedant, the gypsy… The people are mediocre and amoral. Despicable and hypocritical figures abound, but there are also noble ones.

One very important aspect is the relationship between the characters, forming a novel like a clock with multiple pieces that are needed for it to work.

Esperpento

The term “esperpento” is used to describe a literary style created by Ramón María del Valle-Inclán (and the Generation of ’98). It is characterized by the grotesque distortion of reality, serving an implicit intention of critiquing society. This technique was also used in the trilogy Bohemian Lights and has its precedents in Quevedo and Francisco de Goya.

Some of its characteristics are:

• The grotesque as a form of expression: Degradation of the characters, objectification of the characters (reduced to mere signs or dolls), animalization or merging of human and animal forms, literarization of colloquial language (often invested with all sorts of intertextuality), abuse of contrast, a combination of real and nightmarish worlds, and the distortion of the scene.
• The systematic distortion of reality: The appearance of ridicule and caricature of reality, the deeper meaning (semi-transparent, full of critical and satirical intention, which is the real moral lesson).
• The presence of death as a fundamental character.

Valle’s stagecraft was a precedent for film, due to the continuous changes of scenery and the profusion of stories during the development of the work, which eventually ended up intersecting. The idea of monstrosity is associated with the author’s perception of the mixture of grandeur and grotesqueness that is considered characteristic of Spanish society.

One of the most important considerations raised by the grotesque creation is whether it is a distorted picture of reality or a true image of a distorted reality.