The Spanish Empire and its Decline in the 17th and 18th Centuries

Posted on Oct 18, 2024 in History

T-11: The Decline of the Spanish Empire in the Late 19th Century

In the second half of the 19th century, the only remaining territories of the Spanish colonial empire were Cuba, Puerto Rico, the Philippines, and some Pacific islands. Cuba and Puerto Rico had an economy based on sugar cane harvesting, which contributed to a continuous flow of money to Spain. However, high taxes were imposed on Creoles, who were obligated to pay the Spanish government. This money was not reinvested in the islands’ economic development.

In the Philippines, Spain merely maintained a reduced military presence and the presence of various religious orders. In 1868, Cuba experienced a popular uprising led by Manuel Cespedes, who initiated the fight for the abolition of slavery and political autonomy. After 10 years of war, a peace treaty was signed, in which General Martinez Campos committed to granting greater political autonomy to Cuba.

The Cuban ruling class was divided into two factions: the Creole bourgeoisie, who supported the sugar estate economy, and those who opposed any type of reform. The unfulfilled promises of the Spanish government reignited the conflict. In 1892, Jose Marti founded the Cuban Revolutionary Party. The Spanish government sent General Weyler to command troops in Cuba, who implemented a harsh policy of repression against civilians, imprisoning thousands of farmers in concentration camps.

The Philippine insurrection began due to the excessive power of religious orders. Jose Rizal founded the Liga Filipina with a political agenda that included the expulsion of the Spanish and the confiscation of their property. In 1897, McKinley became the U.S. president, supporting the Cuban and Filipino independence movements and raising awareness in the American press.

That same year, following the assassination of Canovas, the Spanish Liberal government declared the end of the conflict.

T-8a: Disentailment – Liberal Doctrine

According to liberal doctrine, the main natural right of an individual is to be happy. To achieve this, it is necessary to be a property owner. To ensure this in the future, it is necessary for the individual to have freedom to achieve their objectives in society. This requires having equal opportunities.

With this in mind, the deputies of the Courts of Cadiz in 1812 decided to put the properties of the nobility and clergy up for sale.

  • Disentailment: This meant removing the properties from the estate.
  • Confiscation: Church property was taken, which was seen as a significant step by more liberal governments.

This process resulted in a number of confiscations, such as the one by Godoy in 1798. In 1835, the situation of Isabel II was uncertain due to the Carlist War. To win the war, the government needed money but had difficulties obtaining credit due to the poor state of the treasury. 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. This caused a rupture in relations with the Vatican. From the time the church property went on sale until 1924, 40% of the country’s land passed into private hands.

The disentailment process did not serve to distribute the lands among the most disadvantaged.

T-12: Spain at the Beginning of the 20th Century

At the beginning of the 20th century, Spain still faced major problems:

  • The unfair distribution of wealth.
  • Cultural backwardness compared to the rest of Europe.
  • Political corruption.
  • An antiquated army, humiliated by the defeat in Cuba.
  • Rejection of most peripheral Spanish nationalisms.

In 1902, Alfonso XIII ascended to the throne. In 1907, the conservative Antonio Maura formed a government and tried to stop the workers’ movement and end patronage, encouraging economic development despite strong opposition from his own party. Meanwhile, with the consent of France, Spain occupied northern Morocco with two objectives:

  • To obtain raw materials for industry, such as iron, and to allow for investment in railroads and public works.
  • To regain prestige and honor after the disaster of 1898 and to become a colonial power again.

In 1909, financial clashes with Moroccans forced the government to call up reservists, which sparked a wave of protests, especially in Catalonia, which turned into an armed struggle between workers and the military. The Liberals took advantage of the crisis to join the two parties of the Catalan Commonwealth and demand Maura’s resignation, which meant his departure and the breaking of the Pardo Pact.

In 1917, a crisis developed that affected three areas of society:

  • The army demanded raises and promotions based on seniority.
  • Catalan and reformist members formed a Parliamentary Assembly and requested the convening of Cortes to draft a new constitution, but were eventually dissolved by public order forces.
  • The UGT and CNT called a general strike that resulted in heavy fighting between the army and workers, and the arrest of its top leaders.

To achieve some stability, attempts were made to form new governments with the presence of leaders from all parties except the Republicans and the Catalan Commonwealth, but the results were even worse. Social unrest grew, partly influenced by the Russian Revolution of 1917, and there were many attacks. The situation became more complicated in 1921 with the Annual military disaster, in which Spanish soldiers fled in disarray during attacks by Moroccan separatists, leaving behind 12,000 dead.

In the following two years, the problems that successive governments were unable to solve accumulated, and the pressure that the Republican parties and the left suffered led to the disappearance of the Restoration regime. On September 13, 1923, days before the report on Morocco was due in Parliament, Captain General Primo de Rivera staged a coup and suspended the Constitution.

T-4: The French Revolution and its Impact on Spain

The French Revolution of 1789 caused fear in Spain that the same thing could happen there. Since the 18th century, the ilustrados (including Jovellanos and Campomanes) had been working to develop the country. They defended enlightened despotism under the slogan “everything for the people, but without the people.” From 1792 to 1808, the government was in the hands of Godoy, who, fearing the revolution, favored education reforms, the suppression of some taxes, and the reduction of the power of guilds.

Following the execution of Louis XVI in 1793, Spain started a war against France, the War of the Convention. Godoy took advantage of the situation to sign the Peace of Basel, through which Spain recovered 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 several public debt bonds, which became increasingly costly to repay. To alleviate the situation, a disentailment of church property was carried out to benefit the state.

In 1801, Spain was forced into a war against Great Britain with the objective of closing its ports to British trade. Shortly after, in 1805, the Spanish fleet was annihilated by the British 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-5: The Peninsular War and the Constitution of 1812

As a consequence of the Mutiny of Aranjuez, King Charles IV was forced to abdicate in favor of his son Ferdinand. Napoleon took advantage of the confrontation between father and son and made them travel to France, where he forced Spain to cede the throne to him. While these events were unfolding, on May 2, 1808, the people of Madrid rose up against the French. Although they occupied the capital, the revolt was harshly repressed by General Murat.

The anti-French rebellion spread throughout Spain, becoming a war that would last five years and leave over 300,000 dead. Joseph Bonaparte was forced to undertake a series of reforms to appease the Spanish. In June 1808, a large French army entered Spain but encountered unexpected resistance in Zaragoza and Girona, thwarting their plans.

This series of setbacks forced Joseph Bonaparte to leave Madrid and head north. At the end of 1808, Napoleon occupied all the cities that offered resistance one after another. Given the inferiority of the Spanish army, a new way of fighting was adopted: “guerrilla warfare.”

Constitution of 1812

During the war, Cadiz became the only city that resisted with the help of the British. Due to its inability to govern, the Central Junta decided to convene the Cortes Generales. Their first decision was to develop a new liberal Constitution, which was enacted in 1812 (known as “La Pepa”). According to it:

  • It established the division of powers: the monarch held the executive power, and the judicial power was in the hands of the courts.
  • It established a common taxation system.

Other contributions of the Cortes were the decree of freedom of the press, the elimination of the sale of municipal lands, the suppression of the Mesta, and the abolition of the Inquisition.

In 1812, the war took an unexpected turn due to:

  • The defeat of the French army in Russia.
  • General Wellington’s defeat of the French.

Napoleon, unable to maintain two fronts, signed a peace treaty with Spain in late 1813, recognizing Ferdinand VII as the legitimate monarch. The Treaty of Valençay was signed, and Ferdinand was allowed to return to Spain.

T-6: The Reign of Ferdinand VII and the Rise of Independence Movements

Ferdinand VII returned to Spain in 1814 with the intention of regaining absolute power. He declared the Cortes of Cadiz illegal, ordered the imprisonment and execution of those who defended the Constitution, abolished freedom of the press, and reinstated the Inquisition. Despite all this, the liberal movement did not disappear, and many military personnel who had fought against the French conspired to restore the laws of Cadiz and staged a series of failed coups.

Ferdinand VII returned to the previous tax regime, which increased the state deficit. Since the 18th century, separatist sentiment had been emerging due to several factors:

  • Total control of trade prevented Creoles from competing freely with foreign traders.
  • The increasing number of Spanish officials displaced natives from their posts.
  • American priests attacked the crown’s disentailment policy.

These factors contributed to the rise of independence movements against the Spanish crown.

The opportunity to begin the independence process arose with the abdication of Ferdinand VII in 1808 and the ascension of Joseph Bonaparte to the throne. Americans organized themselves into local juntas under the pretext of preserving the authority of the monarch and soon declared independence. The fight for independence turned into a civil war.

However, in 1820, Colonel Riego led his troops in an uprising in favor of the Constitution of 1812. The rebellion spread throughout Spain, and the king was forced to swear allegiance to the Constitution, ushering in the Liberal Triennium. The new government took the following actions:

  • Confirmed the rights of citizens.
  • Imposed the tax system approved in Cadiz.
  • Abolished the Inquisition.
  • Granted freedom to create industries.

However, the new government faced great difficulties:

  • Opposition from Europe’s absolutist states.
  • Conspiracies by Ferdinand VII to regain power.
  • Misunderstanding from citizens.

In 1822, Mexico declared independence after the Battle of Ayacucho, where Spain lost an important source of resources and markets. The liberal regime ended in 1823 when an army led by the Duke of Angoulême invaded the peninsula and restored absolute power to Ferdinand VII.

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

T-1: The Reign of Philip IV and the Thirty Years’ War

The reign of Philip IV was full of internal difficulties and external struggles to maintain 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 the abuses of previous governments, to contain inflation, to implement protectionist economic measures, and to promote public works. However, the depletion of financial resources due to wasteful spending in continuous wars, lack of consistency, and opposition from broad sectors of the population prevented him from achieving his objectives.

The population of Spain decreased considerably throughout the 17th century due to continuous wars, epidemics, and emigration to America. The economic situation deteriorated, with agriculture and livestock farming declining and constant tax increases.

The crisis polarized society into two groups: the few who could live on their income and the impoverished majority. Political and religious differences among European powers led to the outbreak of the Thirty Years’ War in 1618.

The conflicts spread throughout Europe, especially in Flanders and northern France. In 1648, due to exhaustion from the long war and the devastation of Europe, the treaties of Westphalia were signed, granting each state the right to defend its own interests and religion. The war between France and Spain lasted until 1659 and ended with a French victory and the obligation of Spain to cede Roussillon and Cerdanya (Peace of the Pyrenees). This established the border between the two countries.

T-2: The War of the Spanish Succession and the Centralization Process

A) War of the Spanish 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, and he had the support of Great Britain, Holland, and Portugal.

In the Iberian Peninsula, only a part of Catalonia resisted Philip V. In Europe, both sides were evenly matched until the Austrian emperor died in 1711, and Archduke Charles succeeded him to the throne.

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

B) Centralization Process

The Austrian Habsburgs had initiated a centralization process in previous centuries in Castile, where the Cortes only met to approve taxes for the Crown. In the Crown of Aragon, the Cortes were preserved, which gave them a certain autonomy.

With the arrival of Philip V, absolutism was reinforced. The monarch became an absolute king who assumed all powers: executive, legislative, and judicial. These plans were implemented in the Nueva Planta Decrees:

  • The Cortes of Aragon were abolished by integrating them into those of Castile, thus losing the Council of Aragon and the total sovereignty of the kingdom.
  • Castilian institutions were extended throughout the kingdom.

The following measures were particularly significant:

  • The old viceroys in the Americas were removed.
  • The country was divided into provinces, each with a capital and a Captain General.
  • Royal Courts were created.
  • Magistrates were appointed to manage the cities.
  • An attempt was made to establish a tax system based on the wealth of the inhabitants.