Crisis of the Old Regime and Liberal Revolution: from 1808 to the Restoration
This domain tests the collapse of absolutism, the liberal revolution and the political instability of the nineteenth century. Questions often ask you to relate the War of Independence, the Cortes of Cádiz, the reign of Isabella II and the Democratic Sexennium to the broader struggle between liberalism and the old regime.
War of Independence and Cádiz
- The French invasion of 1808 provoked the Madrid rising of 2 May, the abdications of Bayonne and the creation of juntas. The war combined regular operations, the siege of cities and guerrilla warfare.
- The Cortes of Cádiz, elected during the war, approved the Constitution of 1812: national sovereignty, constitutional monarchy, indirect male suffrage, equality before the law and abolition of seigneurial jurisdiction.
- Ferdinand VII abolished the Constitution in 1814; the Liberal Triennium (1820–1823) restored it after Riego’s pronunciamiento but ended with French intervention.
Isabella II and the liberal state
- After Ferdinand’s death (1833), the Carlist wars pitted supporters of Carlos against Isabella and the liberals. The regencies of María Cristina and Espartero saw the construction of a centralised liberal state.
- The desamortización of Mendizábal (1836) sold church lands; the Constitution of 1837 and the more conservative Constitution of 1845 defined the moderate liberal order. Carlism, the army and the parties disputed power.
Democratic Sexennium and Restoration
- The Glorious Revolution of 1868 overthrew Isabella II; the Constitution of 1869 established universal male suffrage and a constitutional monarchy. Amadeo of Savoy abdicated and the First Republic (1873–1874) faced cantonal revolt, including in Valencia, and war.
- The Restoration (1874) restored the Bourbons under Alfonso XII and created the Canovist party system.
Worked example
Article 1 of the Constitution of 1812 states that the Spanish nation is the union of all Spaniards of both hemispheres. Classify it as a constitutional text. Explain its principles: national sovereignty, unity of the nation and inclusion of overseas territories. Then assess its significance: it challenged absolutism and colonial hierarchy, although it excluded women and many dependent people. The answer must connect the article to the Cortes of Cádiz and to the liberal revolution.
Traps that cost marks
- Confusing the Constitution of 1812 with later constitutions.
- Saying universal male suffrage existed in 1812; it was indirect and restricted by complex procedures.
- Mixing up Mendizábal’s desamortización (1836) with Madoz’s (1855).
- Treating the First Republic as stable; it faced cantonalism and war.
- Forgetting that the Restoration began in 1874, before the 1876 Constitution.