Reign of Isabella II of Spain

The reign of Isabella II of Spain is the period of the modern history of Spain between the death of Ferdinand VII of Spain in 1833 and the Spanish Glorious Revolution of 1868, which forced Queen Isabella II of Spain into exile and established a liberal state in Spain.[1]

Kingdom of Spain

Reino de España
1833–1868
Seal of Spain
Anthem: 
CapitalMadrid
GovernmentUnitary monarchy
Historical era19th century
1833
1868
Preceded by		Succeeded by
Ominous Decade
Sexenio Democrático

On the death of Ferdinand VII on 29 September 1833, his wife María Cristina de Borbón-Dos Sicilias assumed the regency with the support of the liberals, on behalf of their daughter and future queen, Isabella II. Conflict with her brother-in-law, Carlos María Isidro de Borbón, who aspired to the throne by virtue of a supposedly valid Salic Law - already repealed by Carlos IV and Ferdinand VII himself - led the country into the First Carlist War.[2]

After the brief regency of Espartero, which succeeded the regency of María Cristina de Borbón-Dos Sicilias, Isabella II was proclaimed of age at the age of thirteen by resolution of the Cortes Generales in 1843. Thus began the effective reign of Isabella II, which is usually divided into four periods: the moderate decade (1844-1854); the Progressive Biennium (1854-1856); the period of the Liberal Union governments (1856-1863) and the final crisis (1863-1868).

The reign of Isabella II was characterised by an attempt to modernise Spain which was contained, by the internal tensions of the liberals, the pressure that continued to be exerted by the supporters of more or less moderate absolutism, the governments totally influenced by the military establishment and the final failure in the face of the economic difficulties and the decline of the Liberal Union which led Spain into the experience of the Democratic Sexenio. Her reign was greatly influenced by the personality of Queen Isabella, who had no gifts for government and was under constant pressure from the Court, especially from her own mother, and also from Generals Narváez, Espartero and O'Donnell, which prevented the transition from the Old Regime to the Liberal State from being consolidated, and Spain reached the last third of the 19th century in unfavourable conditions compared to other European powers.

The reign of Isabella II was divided into two major stages:

  • her minority reign (1833–1843), during which the regency of Spain was assumed first by her mother Maria Christina of the Two Sicilies and later by general Baldomero Espartero. Upon the death of Ferdinand VII on 29 September 1833, his wife, Maria Christina of the Two Sicilies assumed the regency with the support of the liberals, in the name of her daughter and future queen, Isabella II. The conflict with her brother-in-law, Infante Carlos, Count of Molina, who aspired to the throne in virtue of the presumed validity of Salic law—which had been abolished by Charles IV and ignored by Ferdinand VII—brought the nation into the First Carlist War.[1]
  • her true reign (1843-1868), which began with the declaration of the Cortes Generales that her majority reign was to begin when she was thirteen years old. This period can also be subdivided in following periods :
Isabella II
  • 1844 - 1854 : The Moderate decade (Década moderada), a period of conservative retrenchment under the Moderate Party after the passing of the progressive constitution of 1837.
  • 1854 - 1856 : The Progressive two years (Bienio progresista), following the unrest of the Vicalvarada, as the Progressive Party attempted to implement the reformist Manzanares manifesto.
  • 1856 - 1868 : The Liberal Union period, as the Liberal Union government, a centrist coalition, tried to maintain a balance between the two positions
  • 1868 : The crisis (La Gloriosa) and downfall of Queen Isabela, leading to her exile to France.

The Regencies of María Cristina and Espartero

The Regency of María Cristina de Borbón was marked by the civil war arising from the succession dispute between the supporters of the future Isabel II or "Isabelinos" (or "Cristinos" after the name of the regent) and those of Carlos María Isidro or "Carlists". Francisco Cea Bermúdez, who was very close to the absolutist theses of the late Ferdinand VII, was the first President of the Council of Ministers. The absence of liberal gains forced the departure of Cea and the arrival of Martínez de la Rosa, who convinced the Regent to enact the Royal Statute of 1834, a charter granted that did not recognise national sovereignty, which was a step backwards compared to the Constitution of Cadiz of 1812, granted by Ferdinand VII.[2]

Baldomero Espartero

The failure of the conservative or "moderate" liberals brought the progressive liberals to power in the summer of 1835. The most prominent figure of this period was Juan Álvarez Mendizábal, a politician and financier of great prestige who institutionalised the "revolutionary juntas" that had arisen during the liberal revolts of the summer and initiated several economic and political reforms, including the confiscation of the property of the regular orders of the Catholic Church. During the second progressive government presided over by José María Calatrava and with Mendizábal as the strong man in the Treasury portfolio, the new Constitution of 1837 was approved in an attempt to combine the spirit of the Cadiz Constitution and achieve consensus between the two main liberal parties, moderates and progressives.

The Carlist War caused serious economic and political problems. The fight against the army of the Carlist Tomás de Zumalacárregui, who had been in arms since 1833, forced the Regent to place a large part of her trust in the Christian military, who achieved great renown among the population. One of these was General Espartero, who was responsible for certifying the final victory in the Oñate Agreement, better known as the Abrazo de Vergara (the embrace of Vergara).

In 1840, María Cristina, aware of her weakness, tried to reach an agreement with Espartero, but he sided with the progressives when the "revolution of 1840" broke out in Madrid on 1 September. María Cristina was then forced to leave Spain and leave the Regency in Espartero's hands on 12 October 1840.

During Espartero's Regency, the general did not know how to surround himself with the liberal spirit that had brought him to power, and preferred to entrust the most important and transcendental matters to like-minded military officers, known as Ayacuchos because of the false belief that Espartero had been at the Battle of Ayacucho. In fact, General Espartero was accused of exercising the Regency in the form of a dictatorship.

For their part, the conservatives represented by Leopoldo O'Donnell and Narváez did not cease their pronouncements. In 1843 the political deterioration worsened and even the liberals who had supported him three years earlier were conspiring against him. On 11 June 1843 the revolt of the moderates was also backed by Espartero's trusted men, such as Joaquín María López and Salustiano Olózaga, which forced the general to abandon power and go into exile in London.

The effective reign of Elizabeth II

With the fall of Espartero, the political and military class as a whole came to the conviction that a new Regency should not be called for, but that the Queen's majority should be recognised, despite the fact that Isabella was only twelve years old. Thus began the effective reign of Isabella II (1843-1868), which was a complex period, not without its ups and downs, which marked the rest of the political situation of the 19th century and part of the 20th century in Spain.[1][2]

The proclamation of the coming of age of Isabella II and the "Olózaga incident"[edit code - edit] The exile of the regent, General General General Olózaga. The exile of the regent General Baldomero Espartero produced a political vacuum. The "radical" progressive Joaquín María López was restored by the Cortes to the post of Head of Government on 23 July, and to do away with the Senate, where the "Esparteristas" had a majority, he dissolved it and called elections to renew it completely - in violation of Article 19 of the 1837 Constitution, which only allowed it to be renewed by thirds. He also appointed the City Council and the Diputación de Madrid -which was also a violation of the Constitution- to prevent the "Spartacists" from taking over both institutions in an election -López justified it as follows: "when fighting for existence, the principle of conservation is the one that stands out above all: one does what one does with the sick person who is amputated so that he may live ".[1]

In September 1843 elections to the Cortes were held in which progressives and moderates stood in coalition in what was called a "parliamentary party", but the moderates won more seats than the progressives, who were also still divided between "temperates" and "radicals" and thus lacked a single leadership. The Cortes approved that Isabella II would be proclaimed of age in advance as soon as she reached the age of 13 the following month. On 10 November 1843 she swore in the Constitution of 1837 and then, in accordance with parliamentary custom, the government of José María López resigned. The task of forming a government was given to Salustiano de Olózaga, the leader of the "temperate" sector of progressivism. He was chosen by the queen because he had made an agreement with María Cristina on his return from exile.[2]

The first setback suffered by the new government was that its candidate to preside over the Congress of Deputies, the former Prime Minister Joaquín María López, was defeated by the Moderate Party candidate Pedro José Pidal, who not only received the votes of his party but also those of the "radical" sector of the progressives headed at the time by Pascual Madoz and Fermín Caballero, who were joined by the "temperate" Manuel Cortina. When the second difficulty arose, to push through the Law on Town Councils, Olózaga appealed to the queen to dissolve the Cortes and call new elections that would provide him with a supportive House, instead of resigning because he had lost the confidence of the Cortes. It was then that the "Olózaga incident" occurred, which shook political life as the president of the government was accused by the moderates of having forced the queen to sign the decrees of dissolution and calling of the Cortes. Olózaga, despite proclaiming his innocence, had no choice but to resign and the new president was the moderate Luis González Bravo, who called elections for January 1844 with the agreement of the progressives, despite the fact that the government had just come to power and had reinstated the 1840 Law on Town Councils - which had given rise to the progressive "revolution of 1840" that ended with the regency of María Cristina de Borbón and the assumption of power by General Espartero.[2]

Bibliographia
  • Burdiel, Isabel (2004). Isabel II : no se puede reinar inocentemente. Ed. Espasa Calpe. ISBN 978-84-670-1397-9.
  • Vilches García, Jorge (2001). Progreso y Libertad. El Partido Progresista en la Revolución Liberal Española. Alianza Editorial. ISBN 978-84-206-6768-3.
  • Historia contemporánea de España. Siglo XIX. Madrid: Edit. Ariel. 2004. ISBN 84-344-6755-0.
  • Burgos, Javier de (1850). Anales del Reinado de Isabel II. Madrid.
  • Comellas, José Luis (1983). HHistoria de España moderna y contemporánea. Madrid: Rialp. ISBN 978-84-321-0330-8.
  • Llorca, Carmen (1984). Isabel II y su tiempo. Madrid: ISTMO. ISBN 978-84-7090-142-3.
  • Martínez Gallego, Francesc-Andreu (2001). Conservar progresando, la Unión Liberal (1856-1868). Alzira (Valencia): Centro Francisco Tomás y Valiente UNED. ISBN 978-84-95484-11-6.
  • Rico, Eduardo G. (1999). La vida y la época de Isabel II. Barcelona: Planeta. ISBN 978-84-08-02622-8.
  • Suárez Cortina, Manuel (2003). Las máscaras de la libertad: el liberalismo español, 1808-1950. Madrid: Marcial Pons Historia. ISBN 978-84-95379-63-4.

References
  1. Historia de España. Carr, Raymond., Gil Aristu, José Luis. Barcelona: Ediciones Península. 2001. ISBN 84-8307-337-4. OCLC 46599274.CS1 maint: others (link)
  2. Vilches García, Jorge. (2001). Progreso y libertad : el Partido Progresista en la revolución liberal española. Madrid: Alianza Editorial. pp. 37–38. ISBN 84-206-6768-4. OCLC 48638831.
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