Antonio Cánovas Del Castillo
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Antonio Cánovas del Castillo (8 February 18288 August 1897) was a Spanish politician and historian known principally for serving six terms as
Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...
and his overarching role as "architect" of the regime that ensued with the 1874 restoration of the Bourbon monarchy. He died in office at the hands of an
anarchist Anarchism is a political philosophy and movement that is skeptical of all justifications for authority and seeks to abolish the institutions it claims maintain unnecessary coercion and hierarchy, typically including, though not neces ...
,
Michele Angiolillo Michele Angiolillo Lombardi (; 5 June 1871 – 20 August 1897) was an Italian anarchist, born in Foggia, Italy. He assassinated Spanish Prime Minister Antonio Cánovas del Castillo in 1897 and was captured and executed by Spanish authorities in t ...
. Leader of the
Liberal-Conservative Party The Liberal-Conservative Party (french: le Parti libéral-conservateur) was the formal name of the Conservative Party of Canada until 1873, and again from 1922 to 1938, although some Conservative candidates continued to run under the label as la ...
—also known more simply as the Conservative Party—the name of Cánovas became symbolic of the alternate succession in the Restoration regime along with
Práxedes Mateo Sagasta Práxedes Mariano Mateo Sagasta y Escolar (21 July 1825 – 5 January 1903) was a Spanish civil engineer and politician who served as Prime Minister on eight occasions between 1870 and 1902—always in charge of the Liberal Party—as part of th ...
's.


Early career

Born in
Málaga Málaga (, ) is a municipality of Spain, capital of the Province of Málaga, in the autonomous community of Andalusia. With a population of 578,460 in 2020, it is the second-most populous city in Andalusia after Seville and the sixth most pop ...
as the son of Antonio Cánovas García and Juana del Castillo y Estébanez, Cánovas moved to
Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the second-largest city in the European Union (EU), and ...
after the death of his father where he lived with his mother's cousin, the writer
Serafín Estébanez Calderón Serafín Estébanez Calderón (27 December 1799 – 5 February 1867) was a Spanish author, best known by the pseudonym of El Solitario. He was born in Málaga. His first literary effort was ''El Listen verde'', a poem signed "Safinio" and wr ...
. Although he studied
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at the University of Madrid, he showed an early interest in politics and Spanish history. His active involvement in politics dates to the 1854 revolution, led by General
Leopoldo O'Donnell Leopoldo O'Donnell y Jorris, 1st Duke of Tetuán, Grandee, GE (12 January 1809 – 5 November 1867), was a Spanish general and Grandee who was Prime Minister of Spain on several occasions. Early life He was born at Santa Cruz de Tenerife in t ...
, when he drafted the
Manifesto of Manzanares The Manifesto of Manzanares ( es, Manifiesto de Manzanares) was issued 7 July 1854 in Manzanares, Spain. Drafted by Antonio Cánovas del Castillo and signed by General Leopoldo O'Donnell, it called for political reforms and a constituent Cortes to ...
, which accompanied the military overthrow of the sitting government, laid out the political goals of the movement, and played a critical role as it attracted the masses' support when the coup seemed to fail. During the final years of Isabel II, he served in a number of posts, including a diplomatic mission to
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, governor of
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, and director general of local administration. That period of his political career culminated in his being twice made a government minister, first taking the interior portfolio in 1864 and then the overseas territories portfolio in 1865 to 1866. After the 1868 Glorious Revolution (Revolución Gloriosa), he retired from the government, but he was a strong supporter of the restoration of the Bourbon monarchy during the
First Spanish Republic The Spanish Republic ( es, República Española), historiographically referred to as the First Spanish Republic, was the political regime that existed in Spain from 11 February 1873 to 29 December 1874. The Republic's founding ensued after th ...
(1873–1874) and as the leader of the
conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization i ...
minority in the
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, he declaimed against
universal suffrage Universal suffrage (also called universal franchise, general suffrage, and common suffrage of the common man) gives the right to vote to all adult citizens, regardless of wealth, income, gender, social status, race, ethnicity, or political stanc ...
and
freedom of religion Freedom of religion or religious liberty is a principle that supports the freedom of an individual or community, in public or private, to manifest religion or belief in teaching, practice, worship, and observance. It also includes the freedom ...
. He also drafted the and prevailed upon Alfonso XII to issue it, just as he had done years previously with O'Donnell.


Prime Minister

Cánovas returned to active politics with the 1874 overthrow of the Republic by General Martínez Campos and the
elevation The elevation of a geographic location is its height above or below a fixed reference point, most commonly a reference geoid, a mathematical model of the Earth's sea level as an equipotential gravitational surface (see Geodetic datum § Vert ...
of Isabell II's son
Alfonso XII Alfonso XII (Alfonso Francisco de Asís Fernando Pío Juan María de la Concepción Gregorio Pelayo; 28 November 185725 November 1885), also known as El Pacificador or the Peacemaker, was King of Spain from 29 December 1874 to his death in 188 ...
to the throne. He served as Prime Minister (''Primer presidente del Consejo de Ministros'') for six years starting in 1874 (although he was twice briefly replaced in 1875 and 1879). He was a principal author of the
Spanish Constitution The Spanish Constitution (Spanish, Asturleonese language, Asturleonese, and gl, Constitución Española; eu, Espainiako Konstituzioa; ca, Constitució Espanyola; oc, Constitucion espanhòla) is the Democracy, democratic law that is supreme l ...
of 1876, which formalised the constitutional monarchy that had resulted from the restoration of Alfonso and limited suffrage to reduce the political influence of the working class and assuage the voting support from the wealthy minority becoming the protected status quo. Cánovas Del Castillo played a key role in bringing an end to the last
Carlist Carlism ( eu, Karlismo; ca, Carlisme; ; ) is a Traditionalism (Spain), Traditionalist and Legitimists (disambiguation), Legitimist political movement in Spain aimed at establishing an alternative branch of the House of Bourbon, Bourbon dynasty ...
threat to Bourbon authority (1876) by merging a group of dissident Carlist deputies with his own Conservative party. More significantly, his term in office saw the victory achieved by the governmental Spanish troops in the
Third Carlist War The Third Carlist War ( es, Tercera Guerra Carlista) (1872–1876) was the last Carlist War in Spain. It is sometimes referred to as the "Second Carlist War", as the earlier "Second" War (1847–1849) was smaller in scale and relatively trivial ...
, the occupation of the Basque territory and the decree establishing an end to the centuries-long Basque specific status (July 1876) that resulted in its annexation to a centralist Spain. Against a backdrop of martial law imposed across the Basque Provinces (and possibly
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), heated negotiations with Liberal Basque high-ranking officials led to the establishment of the first Basque Economic Agreement (1878). An artificial two-party system designed to reconcile the competing militarist, Catholic and Carlist power bases led to an alternating prime ministership (known as the ''
turno pacifico In Spanish politics during the late 19th and early 20th centuries, ''El Turno Pacífico'' ("The Peaceful Turn") was an informal system operated by the two major parties for determining in advance the result of a general election. The system ensu ...
'') with the progressive
Práxedes Mateo Sagasta Práxedes Mariano Mateo Sagasta y Escolar (21 July 1825 – 5 January 1903) was a Spanish civil engineer and politician who served as Prime Minister on eight occasions between 1870 and 1902—always in charge of the Liberal Party—as part of th ...
after 1881. He also assumed the functions of the head of state during the regency of María Cristina after Alfonso's death in 1885.


Political crisis

By the late 1880s, Cánovas' policies were under threat from two sources. First, his overseas policy was increasingly untenable. A policy of repression against Cuban nationalists was ultimately ineffective and Spain's authority was challenged most seriously by the 1895 rebellion led by
José Martí José Julián Martí Pérez (; January 28, 1853 – May 19, 1895) was a Cuban nationalist, poet, philosopher, essayist, journalist, translator, professor, and publisher, who is considered a Cuban national hero because of his role in the libera ...
. Spain's policy against Cuban independence brought her increasingly into conflict with the United States, an antagonism that culminated in the
Spanish–American War , partof = the Philippine Revolution, the decolonization of the Americas, and the Cuban War of Independence , image = Collage infobox for Spanish-American War.jpg , image_size = 300px , caption = (clock ...
of 1898. Second, the political repression of Spain's working class was growing increasingly troublesome, and pressure for expanded suffrage mounted amid widespread discontent with the ''cacique'' system of electoral manipulation. Cánovas' policies included mass arrests and a policy of
torture Torture is the deliberate infliction of severe pain or suffering on a person for reasons such as punishment, extracting a confession, interrogation for information, or intimidating third parties. Some definitions are restricted to acts c ...
:
During a religious procession in 1896, at Barcelona, a bomb was thrown. Immediately three hundred men and women were arrested. Some were Anarchists, but the majority were
trade union A trade union (labor union in American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers intent on "maintaining or improving the conditions of their employment", ch. I such as attaining better wages and benefits ( ...
ists and Socialists. They were thrown into the notorious prison at the fortress of
Montjuïc Montjuïc () is a hill in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. Etymology Montjuïc translates to "Jewish Mountain" from medieval Latin and Catalan, and remains of a medieval Jewish cemetery have been found there. Some sources suggest that Montjuïc ...
in Barcelona and tortured. After a number had been killed, or had gone insane, their cases were taken up by the liberal press of Europe, resulting in the release of a few survivors. Reputedly it was Cánovas del Castillo who ordered the torture, including the burning of the victims' flesh, the crushing of their bones, and the cutting out of their tongues. Similar acts of brutality and barbarism had occurred during his regime in Cuba, and Canovas remained deaf to the appeals and protests of civilized conscience.
His attempts to stabilize Spain's parliamentary system achieved a measure of success until
World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
in which Spain was not spared the disturbances that ravaged much of the European continent. According to some views, his regime was a welcomed change from
Spanish liberalism This article gives an overview of liberalism and radicalism in Spain. It is limited to liberal and radical parties with substantial support, mainly proved by having been represented in parliament. The sign ⇒ denotes another party in that sche ...
, considered by some to deny equal participation to political rivals. The restored
parliamentary monarchy A constitutional monarchy, parliamentary monarchy, or democratic monarchy is a form of monarchy in which the monarch exercises their authority in accordance with a constitution and is not alone in decision making. Constitutional monarchies dif ...
recognized the principle of allowing rival political opponents within the framework of a
constitution A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organisation or other type of Legal entity, entity and commonly determine how that entity is to be governed. When ...
. Yet, it would be decades before universal male sufferage and other typical characteristics of modern democratic systems were implemented; it was still very much an electoral system dominated by parties of established local elites.


Man of letters

At the same time, Cánovas remained an active man of letters. His historical writings earned him a considerable reputation, particularly his ''History of the Decline of Spain'' (Historia de la decadencia de España) for which he was elected at the young age of 32 to the
Real Academia de la Historia The Real Academia de la Historia (RAH, 'Royal Academy of History') is a Spanish institution in Madrid that studies history "ancient and modern, political, civil, ecclesiastical, military, scientific, of letters and arts, that is to say, the diff ...
in 1860. That was followed by elevation to other bodies of letters, including the
Real Academia Española The Royal Spanish Academy ( es, Real Academia Española, generally abbreviated as RAE) is Spain's official royal institution with a mission to ensure the stability of the Spanish language. It is based in Madrid, Spain, and is affiliated with ...
in 1867, the Academia de Ciencias Morales y Políticas in 1871 and the
Real Academia de Bellas Artes de San Fernando The Real Academia de Bellas Artes de San Fernando (RABASF; ), located on the Calle de Alcalá in the heart of Madrid, currently functions as a museum and gallery. A public law corporation, it is integrated together with other Spanish royal acad ...
in 1887. He also served as the head of the Athenaeum in Madrid (1870–74, 1882–84 and 1888–89).


Assassination

In 1897, he was shot dead by
Michele Angiolillo Michele Angiolillo Lombardi (; 5 June 1871 – 20 August 1897) was an Italian anarchist, born in Foggia, Italy. He assassinated Spanish Prime Minister Antonio Cánovas del Castillo in 1897 and was captured and executed by Spanish authorities in t ...
, an Italian
anarchist Anarchism is a political philosophy and movement that is skeptical of all justifications for authority and seeks to abolish the institutions it claims maintain unnecessary coercion and hierarchy, typically including, though not neces ...
, at the spa ''Santa Águeda'', in
Mondragón Mondragón ( eu, Arrasate or ''Mondragoe''), officially known as Arrasate/Mondragón, is a town and municipality in Gipuzkoa Province, Basque Country, Spain. Its population in 2015 was 21,933. Economic and historical significance The town is be ...
, Guipúzcoa. Angiolillo invoked vengeance on Canovas on behalf of the execution of
Jose Rizal Jose is the English transliteration of the Hebrew and Aramaic name ''Yose'', which is etymologically linked to ''Yosef'' or Joseph. The name was popular during the Mishnaic and Talmudic periods. * Jose ben Abin * Jose ben Akabya *Jose the Gali ...
and other Barcelona anarchists. He thus did not live to see Spain's loss of her final colonies to the
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after the
Spanish–American War , partof = the Philippine Revolution, the decolonization of the Americas, and the Cuban War of Independence , image = Collage infobox for Spanish-American War.jpg , image_size = 300px , caption = (clock ...
.


Personal life

He married María de la Concepción Espinosa de los Monteros y Rodrigo de Villamayor on 20 October 1860; he was widowed on 3 September 1863. He married Joaquina de Osma y Zavala on 14 November 1887. No progeny survived him.


Ideology and thought

Cánovas was the chief architect of the
Restoration Restoration is the act of restoring something to its original state and may refer to: * Conservation and restoration of cultural heritage ** Audio restoration ** Film restoration ** Image restoration ** Textile restoration * Restoration ecology ...
regime, that strived for bringing stability to the Spanish society. It has been emphasized that the two figures most influential to his political ideas were
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(from whom he derived a brand of traditionalism with a historicist rather than religious matrix) and
Joaquín Francisco Pacheco Don Joaquín Francisco Pacheco y Gutiérrez-Calderón (22 February 1808 – 8 October 1865) also known as El Pontífice (The Pontiff), was a Spanish politician and writer who served as Prime Minister of Spain in 1847 and held other important off ...
. Cánovas embraced an
essentialist Essentialism is the view that objects have a set of attributes that are necessary to their identity. In early Western thought, Plato's idealism held that all things have such an "essence"—an "idea" or "form". In ''Categories'', Aristotle si ...
, metaphysical and providentialist conception of the nation. A staunch opponent to
universal suffrage Universal suffrage (also called universal franchise, general suffrage, and common suffrage of the common man) gives the right to vote to all adult citizens, regardless of wealth, income, gender, social status, race, ethnicity, or political stanc ...
, he held the view that "universal suffrage begets socialism in a natural, necessary and inevitable way". In reference to his political and intellectual stature, Cánovas was nicknamed as ''el Monstruo'' ("The Monster") by his peers.


Legacy

The policies of repression and political manipulation that Cánovas made a cornerstone of his government helped foster the nationalist movements in both
Catalonia Catalonia (; ca, Catalunya ; Aranese Occitan: ''Catalonha'' ; es, Cataluña ) is an autonomous community of Spain, designated as a ''nationality'' by its Statute of Autonomy. Most of the territory (except the Val d'Aran) lies on the north ...
and the Basque provinces and set the stage for labour unrest during the first two decades of the 20th century. The disastrous colonial policy not only led to the loss of Spain's remaining colonial possessions in the Pacific and Caribbean but also seriously weakened the government at home. A failed postwar coup by
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set off a long period of political instability, which ultimately led to the collapse of the monarchy and the dissolution of the constitution that Cánovas had authored. His white marble mausoleum was carved by
Agustí Querol Subirats Agustí Querol i Subirats (or ''Agustín Querol y Subirats'') (May 17, 1860 – December 14, 1909) was a prominent Spanish sculptor, born in Tortosa, Catalonia, Spain. Life Born to a poor family, the son of a baker, Querol was educated u ...
at the
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, in Madrid.


Arms

File:Coat of Arms of Antonio Cánovas del Castillo.svg


References

;Citations ;Bibliography * * * *


Further reading

*
1893: Spanish Conservative Leader Escapes Dynamite Attack
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Other sources

''The original version of this article draws heavily on the corresponding article in the Spanish-language Wikipedia, which was accessed in the version of 6 September 2007.'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Canovas Del Castillo, Antonio 1828 births 1897 deaths People from Málaga Assassinated heads of government Assassinated Spanish politicians Deaths by firearm in Spain Knights of St. Gregory the Great Knights of the Golden Fleece Leaders of political parties in Spain Members of the Royal Spanish Academy Members of the Royal Academy of Belgium Economy and finance ministers of Spain Presidents of the Congress of Deputies (Spain) Conservative Party (Spain) politicians People murdered in Spain Prime Ministers of Spain Spanish untitled nobility Spanish murder victims Male murder victims 1897 murders in Europe 1890s murders in Spain Spanish political party founders