Transformations in 19th century Spain

• After the outbreak of the French Revolution…

• Isolation from France: no “contagion”

• 1792: Godoy minister and royal favourite

• Failed war against France (1793) and subsequent Peace of Basel

The reign of Carlos IV (1788-1808)

• Return to the old alliance with France

• Treaty of Saint Ildefonso, 1796

• Spain, ally of France and Napoleon and enemy of Britain

• Naval defeat in Trafalgar (1805)

The reign of Carlos IV (1788-1808)

• Treaty of Fontainebleau (1807): French troops entered Spain “to invade Portugal”

• Growing discontent with Godoy, encouraged by a faction led Fernando, Prince of Asturias

The reign of Carlos IV (1788-1808)

• Peaceful entrance of French troops in Spain actual invasion

• Mutiny of Aranjuez(1808)

• Godoy sacked and Carlos IV dethroned

• Napoleon intervened • Abdications of

Bayonne (Joseph I Bonaparte)

The war of independence (1808-1814)

• Abdications of Bayonne took place when Madrid was occupied by French troops led by general Murat

• Disconfort and unrest grew dramatically among Madrid’s population

The war of independence (1808-1814)

• 2nd May 1808 insurrection in Madrid which was put down fiercely by Napoleon’s troops

• Anti-French uprisings spread all over the country the following days

• The “War of Independence” had broken out

The war of independence (1808-1814)

• Over the war, the territories free of the French occupation were led by Juntas Provincialeswhich later ceded their power to a Junta SupremaCentral

• Liberals (ideals of the French Revolution) and Absolutists (Old Regime) fought against Napoleon

• The Afrancesadossupported the new king Joseph I

The war of independence (1808-1814)

• Bailén (1808)• Napoleon came in Spain

with 250.000 soldiers• Guerrilla warfare (small

groups attacked and fled and hid)

• British support (Wellington)

• Napoleon’s defeat in Russia (1812)

• The French were finally expelled from our country

• Treaty of Valençay (1813)

The war of independence (1808-1814)

• Elections called by the Junta Suprema Central

• Representatives in Cortes gathered in Cádiz, which was protected by the British Navy

• Most of them had liberal ideas, what did not fully represent the actual country (liberal bourgoisie was a weak social group in Spain)

The Cortes of Cádiz

• A set of law which demolished the Old Regime:

• Abolition of privileges

• Abolition of guilds

• Suppression of the Inquisition

• Freedom of speech

The Cortes of Cádiz

• Constitution of 1812• National sovereignty • Equal rights before the

law• Division of powers

(King, Cortes, Courts)

• A new liberal regime was established

• It was short-lived, when Fernando VII got back to Spain, absolutism was restored.

The Cortes of Cádiz

1st Absolutist period (1814-1820)

• Fernando VII, king with extreme absolutist convictions, came back to Spain and 0n 4th May 1814 abolished all the legislative labour of the Cortes of Cádiz, including the 1812 Constitution

The Reign of Fernando VII (1814-1833)

1st Absolutist period (1814-1820)

• Suppression of all reforms

• Attempt to restore the Old Regime

• Secondary role in Europe and the world (Congress of Vienna)

The Reign of Fernando VII (1814-1833)

1st Absolutist period (1814-1820)

• Harsh repression against liberals and “afrancesados”

• More of 12.000 went into exile.

The Reign of Fernando VII (1814-1833)

The Liberal Triennium (1820-1823)

• A military, Rafael de Riego, led a coup (pronunciamiento) which proclaimed the 1812 Constitution

• Against his will, Fernando VII accepted to govern according to the constitution

The Reign of Fernando VII (1814-1833)

The Liberal Triennium (1820-1823)

The Reign of Fernando VII (1814-1833)