Carlos IV was not very interested in running his own country. In his place, Manuel Godoy served as ruler. In 1807 he signed the Treaty of Fontainebleau with Napoleon, by which Spain gave France permission to cross its territory. Napoleon’s objective was to attack Portugal, but the French Army took advantage of the occasion to occupy Spain and retain the royal family. In a very foolish way, Spain had lost control over its own territory. Napoleon then placed his brother Joseph Bonaparte on the throne of the country as Joseph I. Then the people revolted against the invaders. Thus began the Spanish War of Independence (1808-1814).
Spain was divided between the Frenchified and the Fernandinos. The Frenchified were enlightened who supported José I trusting that the new monarch would make reforms. On the other hand, the Fernandinos remained loyal to Fernando VII, rejecting the French invasion. Several cities in the country, such as Zaragoza, suffered heavy attacks from the French Army. In Cádiz, the only city not occupied in 1810 by the enemy, the Central Board – the Boards were the local governments that had been formed against José I – called the Cortes, to change the absolutist political system.
The Cortes abolished the privileges of the clergy and the nobility and developed the Constitution of 1812. A liberal regime inspired by the French of 1791 was established, whose main characteristics were the following:
- Recognition of individual rights, such as freedom of expression, the right to property, equality before the law, etc.
- National sovereignty, which abolished the divine right of the kings and caused power to derive from the Spanish nation.
- Universal suffrage for the election of mayors and deputies.
- Separation of powers, which attributed the executive power to the king, the legislative power to the Courts and the judicial power to the courts. With this the absolutist system was ended.
- Confessional state, in which the Catholic religion was the official religion of the kingdom.
The Constitution of 1812 was never applied, because in 1814, after the defeat of the French, Ferdinand VII returned to re-establish absolutism during the Absolutist Sexennium (1814-1820). In 1820 the successful military pronouncement of Rafael del Riego forced Fernando VII to swear the Constitution of 1812 and began the so-called Liberal Triennium (1820-1823). Although the first liberal government of Spain tried to make reforms, quickly the European army of the Hundred Thousand Sons of San Luis invaded Spain to restore Ferdinand VII to the throne. During the Ominous Decade (1823-1833) the king persecuted the liberals. In 1833 he died leaving the throne to his little daughter Isabel, aged three.
SpainLiberalismPhasesWho should occupy the throne after Fernando VII?
In Spain the Salic Law was in force, which prevented women from reigning. As Fernando VII had not had male children, in 1830 he promulgated the Pragmatic Sanction, which repealed the Salic Law. This way his daughter Elizabeth could reign. Many absolutists did not accept it and supported the brother of Fernando VII, Carlos María Isidro. Then the First Carlist War broke out (1833-1840), between Elizabethans (liberals who supported Elizabeth II and wanted to make reforms) and Carlistists (absolutists who supported Carlos María Isidro and wanted to maintain the Ancien Régime). There were up to three Carlist wars during the 19th century, but the heirs of Carlos María Isidro could never prevail over the defenders of Isabel II.
Reign of Elizabeth II
The reign of Elizabeth II was like a roller coaster, the best example of political instability. A succession of governments, coups d’etat, rebellions, constitutions, pronouncements, wars … From the regency of María Cristina (1833-1840) to the Glorious Revolution (1868) there were a lot of governments. You can read a summary on liberalism here. After the reign of Isabel II (1833-1868) a new stage marked by instability began, the Democratic Sexenio, in which Spain had a provisional government, a foreign king and a republic. Everything ended with a new coup d’état that gave way to the Restoration, a stage of stability based on the manipulation of elections and bipartisanship.
