I85PREP
⌘ K
Cantabria PAU History of Spain study materials
Cantabria PAU History of Spain study resources

Cantabria PAU History of Spain: Restoration and early twentieth century: caciquism, regionalism, labour and Morocco

Cantabria PAU History of Spain · Work through your exam, one topic at a time.

All guide sections

Restoration and early twentieth century: caciquism, regionalism, labour and Morocco

This independent module develops the stated Spanish-history theme through chronology, concepts and source analysis. Regional examples provide comparisons within Spanish history; they do not define the Basque examination syllabus, prescribed documents, question format or marking criteria. Use the substantive material to distinguish causes, consequences, continuity and change.

The Restoration political system

  • The 1874 pronunciamiento at Sagunto, in Valencia, prepared the return of Alfonso XII. The Constitution of 1876 established a constitutional monarchy with a bicameral Cortes.
  • Cánovas del Castillo and Sagasta alternated in power through the turno pacífico. Elections were manipulated by caciques, especially in rural districts; the system excluded the working class and most reformist movements from real power.
  • The disaster of 1898 and the loss of Cuba, Puerto Rico and the Philippines stimulated regenerationism and criticism of the oligarchy.

Regionalism and labour

  • Catalan regionalism grew through the Lliga Regionalista and demands for autonomy. Valencian regionalism was cultural and literary first: Lo Rat Penat (1878), Teodor Llorente and Constantí Llombart; later it acquired political forms, including republican federalism and Valencianist groups.
  • The labour movement organised in the UGT (1888) and CNT (1910). Anarcho-syndicalism was strong in Valencia and Catalonia; strikes, repression and pistolerismo marked the period after 1917.

Morocco and Primo de Rivera

  • Spanish intervention in Morocco led to the Melilla campaign of 1909 and the disaster of Annual in 1921. The landing at Alhucemas in 1925 reversed the military situation.
  • General Primo de Rivera seized power in 1923 with royal support. His dictatorship suspended constitutional guarantees, repressed the labour movement and promoted public works, but failed to create a stable civilian base; he resigned in 1930.

Worked example

An election table for a Valencian district between 1891 and 1901 shows high turnout and the same family network alternating between Liberal and Conservative candidates. Classify it as an electoral source. Explain the mechanism: the turno required the interior ministry and local caciques to distribute districts. Then assess significance: formal suffrage existed, but the result was negotiated, not freely decided. The answer must use the table as evidence of caciquism, not as proof of a healthy democracy.

Traps that cost marks

  • Calling the Restoration a full democracy because it had elections.
  • Confusing the turno with universal suffrage; male suffrage existed from 1890 but was manipulated.
  • Reducing Valencian regionalism to a single party or to separatism.
  • Treating Primo de Rivera as a fascist dictator on the model of Mussolini; his regime was military and corporatist but not a single-party fascist state.
  • Mixing the dates of Annual (1921) and Alhucemas (1925).