Spain

B

5

The First Bourbons

Bourbon rule was notable for domestic changes and internal development. Schooled in the absolutism of Louis XIV, Philip brought Catalonia and Aragón, which still preserved traces of their medieval status as independent states, under central bureaucratic control. Administrative and fiscal reforms of the Bourbon kings made government more effective and reduced the privileges of the Church and the nobility. Large programmes of public works were begun, and commerce, industry, and agriculture received royal encouragement. Intellectual life gradually revived, as did economic and population growth. The American colonies were also reorganized, and Spain’s commercial ties with them were improved.

In foreign affairs, the early Bourbons were usually allied with France and hostile to Great Britain, Spain’s chief naval and colonial rival. Spain joined France against Austria in the Wars of the Polish Succession (1733-1735) and the War of the Austrian Succession (1740-1748). As a result, Spain regained some of the Italian influence it had lost in 1713.

In 1762 Spain entered the Seven Years’ War as an ally of the French against Britain; it lost Florida when the British won, but received Louisiana from France as compensation. The two nations allied again in 1779 to support the American War of Independence against Britain, and by the Treaty of Versailles in 1783 Spain recovered Florida. The Spanish presence now extended over much of the North American continent. Under Charles III, an enlightened ruler responsible for many foreign and domestic achievements, Spain regained some of its former greatness.

B

6

Effects of the French Revolution

The next king, Charles IV, was a weak ruler, prey to intrigues and corruption particularly after 1792, when he gave Manuel de Godoy the direction of the government. The extraordinary upheavals that the French Revolution engendered throughout Europe after 1789 had especially adverse effects on Spain. Fear that revolutionary ideology might spread to Spain caused the revival of repressive policies. In 1793, after the French Bourbon king was executed, Spain joined other European powers in declaring war against the revolutionary government, but soon had to admit defeat as French armies ravaged its northern provinces.

As revolutionary fervour diminished in France, Godoy reversed course in 1796 and formed an alliance with that country against Britain. British naval supremacy could not be overcome, however, and for the next decade Spain was usually cut off from its American colonies, with disastrous economic consequences. Worse still, France began to act more like a master than an ally once Napoleon gained effective control over it in 1799. Louisiana was ceded back to France in 1800, and by the War of the Third Coalition in 1805, Spain, its fleet lost at the Battle of Trafalgar, (in the Napoleonic Wars) had become a French puppet.

Resentment grew among the Spanish people, who in March 1808 overthrew Godoy and forced Charles to abdicate in favour of his son, Ferdinand. Napoleon, who had already decided to assume direct control of Spain, took advantage of the disarray to oust both Ferdinand and Charles, placing his brother, Joseph Bonaparte, on the throne.

B

7

War of Independence

The Spanish people refused to recognize Joseph as king and organized resistance against French occupation. A British force came to their aid; in Britain the conflict was known as the Peninsular War because it also involved Portugal. By January 1810 the French had defeated the major Spanish armies and occupied most of the country, but Spanish guerrilla bands effectively harassed the French forces and kept them from either smashing the British army in Portugal or completely taking over Spain. Thus, a national assembly (1810-1813) could meet in Cádiz and proclaim a constitution that ended absolutist rule, established parliamentary government, suppressed the Inquisition, limited the power of the nobles and clergy, and instituted other reforms. Very advanced for its time, the constitution became a paramount issue in subsequent Spanish politics.

The war against Napoleon was a heroic period for Spain and contributed to his eventual downfall in Europe. Six years of warfare, however, greatly harmed the economy of Spain, and its American colonies began to win their independence. By 1826 only Cuba and Puerto Rico remained under Spanish rule; the mainland colonies had all gained their freedom, and their resources were lost to Spain.

C

The Troubled Monarchy

Ferdinand VII returned to Spain after Napoleon’s defeat in 1814. He at once abrogated the Cádiz constitution, restored absolutist rule, and instituted repressive policies against the liberals. Six years later a revolution led by army officers restored the constitution, but the liberals were unable to install effective rule, and Spain remained politically divided. Because the members of the Holy Alliance feared that revolution might spread across Europe, in 1823 they authorized French armies to quell the liberal regime. Thus, Ferdinand and absolutism were again restored.

C

1

The Carlist War

In 1831 Ferdinand, who had no male heir, designated his infant daughter Isabella as his successor. His brother Carlos, however, appealed more to the political extremists; in 1833 they insisted that Carlos, rather than Isabella II, inherit the throne. This dynastic split resulted in civil war, with the Carlists ranged against the Cristinos, named after Isabella’s mother, Maria Christina, who acted as regent.

To win over the liberals, Maria Christina in 1834 granted a royal charter in lieu of a constitution. Carlist support came from rural areas of northern Spain (notably the Basque provinces and Catalonia), where the clergy’s influence was strong and centralized rule was resented. Spain’s more advanced areas were opposed to the Carlists, as were Portugal, Britain, and France, which aided the Cristinos. After a long struggle, the main Carlist forces were defeated in 1839. Victory had come slowly because continuous political conflict had weakened the anti-Carlist forces. Popular revolts had compelled Maria Christina in 1837 to grant a more liberal constitution than the 1834 charter. Her court was disrupted by intrigues, and she tried to manoeuvre the factions to her own advantage. In 1840, following a joint military-civilian revolt, Maria Christina resigned her regency and left Spain. Isabella was declared legally of age in 1843.