![Alegoría de la Primera República Española, por Tomás Padró](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/ce/Alegor%C3%ADa_de_la_Primera_Rep%C3%BAblica_Espa%C3%B1ola%2C_por_Tom%C3%A1s_Padr%C3%B3.jpg)
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 the abdication of
King Amadeo on 10 February 1873. On the next day the republic was proclaimed by a parliamentary majority made up of radicals, republicans and democrats. The period was beset by tensions between federal republicans and unitarian republicans. The period also saw the end of compulsory conscription, the regulation of child labor and the abolition of slavery in Puerto Rico. The government inherited a state of war, the so-called
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 ...
, ongoing since 1872, and the
Ten Years' War
The Ten Years' War ( es, Guerra de los Diez Años; 1868–1878), also known as the Great War () and the War of '68, was part of Cuba's fight for independence from Spain. The uprising was led by Cuban-born planters and other wealthy natives. O ...
, ongoing since 1868, to which the
Cantonal rebellion
The Cantonal rebellion was a cantonalist insurrection that took place during the First Spanish Republic between July 1873 and January 1874. Its protagonists were the "intransigent" federal Republicans, who wanted to establish immediately the F ...
added up in 1873.
The January 1874 coup of Pavía ousted the government, giving way to a praetorian republic under
General Serrano. In December 1874, General
Arsenio Martínez Campos
Arsenio Martínez-Campos y Antón, born Martínez y Campos (14 December 1831, in Segovia, Spain – 23 September 1900, in Zarauz, Spain), was a Spanish officer who rose against the First Spanish Republic in a military revolution in 1874 and res ...
staged a ''
pronunciamiento'' in Sagunto, which delivered the
coup de grâce
A coup de grâce (; 'blow of mercy') is a death blow to end the suffering of a severely wounded person or animal. It may be a mercy killing of mortally wounded civilians or soldiers, friends or enemies, with or without the sufferer's consent. ...
to the Republic and brought the
Bourbon Restoration.
Overview
The Constituent
Cortes
Cortes, Cortés, Cortês, Corts, or Cortès may refer to:
People
* Cortes (surname), including a list of people with the name
** Hernán Cortés (1485–1547), a Spanish conquistador
Places
* Cortes, Navarre, a village in the South border of ...
was called upon to write a federal constitution. The radicals preferred a unitary republic, with a much lesser role for the provinces, and once the republic had been declared the two parties turned against each other. Initially, the radicals were largely driven from power, joining those who had already been driven out by the revolution of 1868 or by the
Carlist War
The Carlist Wars () were a series of civil wars that took place in Spain during the 19th century. The contenders fought over claims to the throne, although some political differences also existed. Several times during the period from 1833 to 187 ...
.
The first republican attempt in the history of Spain was a short experience, characterized by profound political and social instability and violence. The Republic was governed by four distinct presidents—
Estanislao Figueras
Estanislao Figueras y de Moragas ( ca, Estanislau Figueras i de Moragas ; 13 November 1819 – 11 November 1882) was a Spanish politician who served as the first President of the First Spanish Republic from 12 February to 11 June 1873.
Figuera ...
,
Francesc Pi i Margall
Francesc Pi i Margall (Spanish: Francisco Pi y Margall) (29 April 1824 – 29 November 1901) was a Spanish federalist and republican politician and theorist who served as president of the short-lived First Spanish Republic in 1873. He was a ...
,
Nicolás Salmerón
Nicolas or Nicolás may refer to:
People Given name
* Nicolas (given name)
Mononym
* Nicolas (footballer, born 1999), Brazilian footballer
* Nicolas (footballer, born 2000), Brazilian footballer
Surname Nicolas
* Dafydd Nicolas (c.1705–1774), ...
,
Emilio Castelar
Emilio Castelar y Ripoll (7 September 183225 May 1899) was a Spanish republican politician, and a president of the First Spanish Republic.
Castelar was born in Cádiz. He was an eloquent orator and a writer. Appointed as Head of State in 1873 i ...
; then, only eleven months after its proclamation, General
Manuel Pavía
Manuel may refer to:
People
* Manuel (name)
* Manuel (Fawlty Towers), a fictional character from the sitcom ''Fawlty Towers''
* Charlie Manuel, manager of the Philadelphia Phillies
* Manuel I Komnenos, emperor of the Byzantine Empire
* Manu ...
led a coup d'état and established a unified republic dominated by
Francisco Serrano.
The period was marked by three simultaneous civil wars: 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
Cantonal Revolution
The Cantonal rebellion was a cantonalist insurrection that took place during the First Spanish Republic between July 1873 and January 1874. Its protagonists were the "intransigent" federal Republicans, who wanted to establish immediately the F ...
, the
Petroleum Revolution
The Petroleum Revolution (Valencian: ''La Revolució del Petroli'') was a libertarian and syndicalist leaning workers' revolution that took place in Alcoy, Alicante, Spain in 1873. The event is called the ''Petroleum Revolution'' since the worker ...
in
Alcoy
Alcoy ( ca-valencia, Alcoi) is an industrial and university city, region and municipality located in the Valencian Community, Spain. The Serpis river crosses the municipal boundary of Alcoy. The local authority reported a population of 61,135 res ...
; and by the
Ten Years' War
The Ten Years' War ( es, Guerra de los Diez Años; 1868–1878), also known as the Great War () and the War of '68, was part of Cuba's fight for independence from Spain. The uprising was led by Cuban-born planters and other wealthy natives. O ...
in
Cuba
Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbea ...
. The gravest problems for the consolidation of the regime were the lack of true republicans, their division between federalists and unitarians, and the lack of popular support.
Subversion in the army, a series of local
cantonalist risings, instability in
Barcelona
Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...
, failed anti-federalist coups, calls for revolution by the
International Workingmen's Association
The International Workingmen's Association (IWA), often called the First International (1864–1876), was an international organisation which aimed at uniting a variety of different left-wing socialist, communist and anarchist groups and trad ...
, the lack of any broad political legitimacy, and personal in-fighting among the republican leadership all further weakened the republic.
![Cantonvalencia1873](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/eb/Cantonvalencia1873.png)
The Republic effectively ended on 3 January 1874, when the
Captain General
Captain general (and its literal equivalent in several languages) is a high military rank of general officer grade, and a gubernatorial title.
History
The term "Captain General" started to appear in the 14th century, with the meaning of Comma ...
of
Madrid
Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the Largest cities of the Europ ...
,
Manuel Pavía
Manuel may refer to:
People
* Manuel (name)
* Manuel (Fawlty Towers), a fictional character from the sitcom ''Fawlty Towers''
* Charlie Manuel, manager of the Philadelphia Phillies
* Manuel I Komnenos, emperor of the Byzantine Empire
* Manu ...
, pronounced against the federalist government and called on all parties except Federalists and Carlists to form a national government. The monarchists and Republicans refused, leaving the unitary Radicals and Constitutionalists as the only group willing to govern; again a narrow political base. General
Francisco Serrano formed a new government and was appointed President of the Republic although it was a mere formality since the Cortes had been dissolved.
Carlist forces managed to expand the territory under their control to the greatest extent in early 1874, though a series of defeats by the republic's northern army in the second half of the year might have led to the end of the war had it not been for bad weather. However the other monarchists had taken the name of ''Alfonsists'' as supporters of
Alfonso
Alphons (Latinized ''Alphonsus'', ''Adelphonsus'', or ''Adefonsus'') is a male given name recorded from the 8th century (Alfonso I of Asturias, r. 739–757) in the Christian successor states of the Visigothic kingdom in the Iberian peninsula. ...
, the son of the former Queen
Isabel
Isabel is a female name of Spanish origin. Isabelle is a name that is similar, but it is of French origin. It originates as the medieval Spanish form of '' Elisabeth'' (ultimately Hebrew ''Elisheva''), Arising in the 12th century, it became popul ...
, and were organised by
Cánovas del Castillo.
This period of the Republic lasted until Brigadier
Martínez-Campos pronounced for Alfonso in
Sagunto
Sagunto ( ca-valencia, Sagunt) is a municipality of Spain, located in the province of Valencia, Valencian Community. It belongs to the modern fertile ''comarca'' of Camp de Morvedre. It is located c. 30 km north of the city of Valencia, cl ...
on 29 December 1874 and the rest of the army refused to act against him. The government collapsed, leading to the end of the republic and 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
...
of the
Bourbon Bourbon may refer to:
Food and drink
* Bourbon whiskey, an American whiskey made using a corn-based mash
* Bourbon barrel aged beer, a type of beer aged in bourbon barrels
* Bourbon biscuit, a chocolate sandwich biscuit
* A beer produced by Bras ...
monarchy with the proclamation of Alfonso XII as king.
Proclamation of the Republic
![Escudo de la Primera República Española (bandera)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/94/Escudo_de_la_Primera_Rep%C3%BAblica_Espa%C3%B1ola_%28bandera%29.svg)
King
Amadeo I
Amadeo ( it, Amedeo , sometimes latinized as Amadeus; full name: ''Amedeo Ferdinando Maria di Savoia''; 30 May 184518 January 1890) was an Italian prince who reigned as King of Spain from 1870 to 1873. The first and only King of Spain to come fro ...
abdicated from the Spanish throne on 11 February 1873. His decision was mainly due to the constant difficulties he had to face during his short tenure, as the
Ten Years' War
The Ten Years' War ( es, Guerra de los Diez Años; 1868–1878), also known as the Great War () and the War of '68, was part of Cuba's fight for independence from Spain. The uprising was led by Cuban-born planters and other wealthy natives. O ...
, the outbreak of 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 opposition from ''alfonsino'' monarchists, which hoped for the
Bourbon Restoration in the person of
Alfonso
Alphons (Latinized ''Alphonsus'', ''Adelphonsus'', or ''Adefonsus'') is a male given name recorded from the 8th century (Alfonso I of Asturias, r. 739–757) in the Christian successor states of the Visigothic kingdom in the Iberian peninsula. ...
, son of
Isabella II
Isabella II ( es, Isabel II; 10 October 1830 – 9 April 1904), was Queen of Spain from 29 September 1833 until 30 September 1868.
Shortly before her birth, the King Ferdinand VII of Spain issued a Pragmatic Sanction to ensure the successi ...
, the many republican insurrections and the division among his own supporters.
The
Spanish Cortes
The Cortes Generales (; en, Spanish Parliament, lit=General Courts) are the bicameral legislative chambers of Spain, consisting of the Congress of Deputies (the lower house), and the Senate (the upper house).
The Congress of Deputies meets i ...
, which were assembled in a joint and permanent session of both the
Congress of Deputies
The Congress of Deputies ( es, link=no, Congreso de los Diputados, italic=unset) is the lower house of the Cortes Generales, Spain's legislative branch. The Congress meets in the Palace of the Parliament () in Madrid.
It has 350 members elect ...
and the
Senate, declared themselves the National Assembly while waiting for any final notice from the King. The overwhelming majority was with the monarchists from the two dynastic parties that had exercised the government until then: the
Radical Democratic Party of
Manuel Ruiz Zorrilla
Manuel Ruiz Zorrilla (22 March 183313 June 1895) was a Spanish politician. He served as Prime Minister of Spain for a little over ten weeks, in the summer of 1871, and again for eight months, between June 1872 and February 1873.
Biography
Born ...
and the
Constitutional Party of
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 ...
. There also was a small republican minority in the National Assembly, ideologically divided between federalism and centralism. One of them,
Federal Democratic Republican Party
The Federal Democratic Republican Party ( es, Partido Republicano Democrático Federal, PRDF) was a Spanish political party founded in 1868 during the Glorious Revolution that was active until 1912. Its ideology was federal republicanism and pro ...
member
Francisco Pi y Margall moved the following proposal: "The National Assembly assumes powers and declares the Republic as the form of government, leaving its organization to the Constituent Cortes."
In his speech for the proposal (to which he was a signatory, along with Figueras, Salmerón, and other opponents), Pi y Margall—himself a federalist—renounced for the moment to establish a federal republic, hoping the would-be-assembled
Constituent Cortes
The Constituent Cortes ( es, Las Cortes Constituyentes) is the description of Spain's parliament, the Cortes, when convened as a constituent assembly.
In the 20th century, only one Constituent Cortes was officially opened (Cortes are "opened" in ...
to decide over the issue, and announced his acceptance of any other democratic decision. Then another republican,
Emilio Castelar
Emilio Castelar y Ripoll (7 September 183225 May 1899) was a Spanish republican politician, and a president of the First Spanish Republic.
Castelar was born in Cádiz. He was an eloquent orator and a writer. Appointed as Head of State in 1873 i ...
, took the floor and said:
After Castelar's powerful speech, amidst passionate applause, the Republic was declared with a resignation of the monarchists, with 258 votes in favour and only 32 against: "The National Assembly assumes all powers and declares the Republic as the form of government of Spain, leaving its organization to the Constituent Cortes. An Executive Power shall be elected directly by the Cortes, and it shall be responsible to the same."
In the same session, the first government of the Republic was elected. Federal republican
Estanislao Figueras
Estanislao Figueras y de Moragas ( ca, Estanislau Figueras i de Moragas ; 13 November 1819 – 11 November 1882) was a Spanish politician who served as the first President of the First Spanish Republic from 12 February to 11 June 1873.
Figuera ...
was elected the first "President of the Executive Power", an office incorporating the heads of State and Government. No "President of the Republic" was ever elected, as the Constitution creating such office was never enacted. In his speech, Figueras said that the Republic "was like a rainbow of peace and harmony of all Spaniards of good will."
The passage of these resolutions surprised and stunned most Spaniards, as the recently elected Cortes (now National Assembly) had a wide majority of monarchists. Ruiz Zorrilla spoke in these terms: "I protest and will keep doing so, even if I'm left on my own, against those representatives that having come to the Cortes as constitutional monarchists feel themselves authorized to make the decision to turn the nation from monarchist to republican overnight."
For most monarchists, though, the impossibility of restoring
Isabella II
Isabella II ( es, Isabel II; 10 October 1830 – 9 April 1904), was Queen of Spain from 29 September 1833 until 30 September 1868.
Shortly before her birth, the King Ferdinand VII of Spain issued a Pragmatic Sanction to ensure the successi ...
as Queen, and the youth of the future
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 1885 ...
made the Republic the only, though transitory, viable course of action, particularly given the inevitable failure that awaited it.
Figueras government
The first government of the Republic was formed of federalists and progressives who had been ministers during the monarchy. Four ministers, in particular, had served with King Amadeo: Echegaray (Finance), Becerra (War), Fernández de Córdoba (Navy) and Berenguer (Infrastructure).
At the beginning, they were plagued by a terrible economic situation, with a 546M
peseta budgetary
deficit, 153M in debts requiring immediate payment and only 32M available to fulfill them. The Artillery Corps had been dissolved in the most virulent moment of the
Carlist
Carlism ( eu, Karlismo; ca, Carlisme; ; ) is a Traditionalist and Legitimist political movement in Spain aimed at establishing an alternative branch of the Bourbon dynasty – one descended from Don Carlos, Count of Molina (1788–1855) – ...
and Cuban wars, for which there were not enough soldiers or armament, nor money to feed or purchase them. Besides, Spain was going through a deep
economic crisis
An economy is an area of the production, distribution and trade, as well as consumption of goods and services. In general, it is defined as a social domain that emphasize the practices, discourses, and material expressions associated with th ...
matching the
Panic of 1873
The Panic of 1873 was a financial crisis that triggered an economic depression in Europe and North America that lasted from 1873 to 1877 or 1879 in France and in Britain. In Britain, the Panic started two decades of stagnation known as the ...
and which was exacerbated by the political instability. In previous years,
unemployment
Unemployment, according to the OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development), is people above a specified age (usually 15) not being in paid employment or self-employment but currently available for work during the refere ...
had risen steeply amongst field and industrial workers, and proletarian organizations responded with
strikes,
demonstrations, protest rallies and the occupation of abandoned lands.
On 23 February the newly elected Speaker of the National Assembly, radical
Cristino Marcos, plotted a failed
coup d'etat in which the
Civil Guard occupied the Ministry of Governance and the National Militia surrounded the
Congress of Deputies
The Congress of Deputies ( es, link=no, Congreso de los Diputados, italic=unset) is the lower house of the Cortes Generales, Spain's legislative branch. The Congress meets in the Palace of the Parliament () in Madrid.
It has 350 members elect ...
, in order to establish a unitary republic. This prompted the first remodeling of the government in which the progressives were ousted and replaced with federalists. Twelve days after the establishment of the Republic, compulsory
military service
Military service is service by an individual or group in an army or other militia, air forces, and naval forces, whether as a chosen job ( volunteer) or as a result of an involuntary draft (conscription).
Some nations (e.g., Mexico) require ...
was removed and voluntary service set up with a daily salary of 1 peseta and one crust (loaf?) of bread. A ''Republican volunteers'' corps was also established with an enlistment salary of 50 pesetas and a daily salary of 2 pesetas and 1 crust of bread.
The second Figueras government had to face the attempt of proclamation of the
Estat Català
Estat Català (, literally "Catalan State") is a pro-independence nationalist historical political party of Catalonia (Spain).
History
Estat Català is a historical pro-independence political party in Catalonia, Spain. It was founded by France ...
inside the Spanish Federal Republic on 9 March which was overcome by a series of
telegraphic
Telegraphy is the long-distance transmission of messages where the sender uses symbolic codes, known to the recipient, rather than a physical exchange of an object bearing the message. Thus flag semaphore is a method of telegraphy, whereas p ...
contacts between the government and the Catalan leaders. On 23 April a new coup attempt was set in motion; this time by a collusion of ''alfonsino'' monarchists, members of the old Liberal Union and monarchic sectors of the Army; but failed when several units refrained from supporting it at the last hour.
Francisco Pi y Margall is usually considered the heart of this government, which had to face several problems already endemic to the Republic, such as the Third Carlist War, separatist insurrections (this time from Catalonia), military indiscipline, monarchic plots, etc. His government dissolved the National Assembly and summoned
Constituent Cortes
The Constituent Cortes ( es, Las Cortes Constituyentes) is the description of Spain's parliament, the Cortes, when convened as a constituent assembly.
In the 20th century, only one Constituent Cortes was officially opened (Cortes are "opened" in ...
for 1 May. On 23 April Cristino Martos, Speaker of the old National Assembly, attempted a new coup, now supported by the Civil Governor of Madrid: a battalion of militiamen took positions along the
Paseo del Prado
The Paseo del Prado is one of the main boulevards in Madrid, Spain. It runs north–south between the Plaza de Cibeles and the Plaza del Emperador Carlos V (also known as Plaza de Atocha), with the Plaza de Cánovas del Castillo (the locati ...
, and four thousand more perfectly armed volunteers gathered near
Independence Square under the pretext of passing review. Having heard from the plot, Pi i Margall mobilized the
Civil Guard. For his part, after the Minister of War appointed
Baltasar Hidalgo as the new
Captain General
Captain general (and its literal equivalent in several languages) is a high military rank of general officer grade, and a gubernatorial title.
History
The term "Captain General" started to appear in the 14th century, with the meaning of Comma ...
for Madrid, he ordered Brigadier Carmona and a battalion of infantry and various artillery and cavalry units, to march on the militiamen. The coup d'état failed as soon as it started, and the government dissolved the military units participating and the Permanent Committee of the Assembly.
The writs were issued for Constituent Cortes elections on 10 May which resulted 343 seats for federal republicans and 31 for the rest of the political forces. The elections themselves developed in a quite unorthodox environment, and the resulting representation was ridiculous, as most factions in Spain did not participate: the Carlists were still waging war against the Republic, while the ''alfonsino'' monarchists of
Antonio Cánovas del Castillo
Antonio Cánovas del Castillo (8 February 18288 August 1897) was a Spanish politician and historian known principally for serving six terms as Prime Minister and his overarching role as "architect" of the regime that ensued with the 1874 restor ...
, the unitary republicans and even the incipient workers' organization close to the
First International
The International Workingmen's Association (IWA), often called the First International (1864–1876), was an international organisation which aimed at uniting a variety of different left-wing socialist, communist and anarchist groups and trad ...
all called for
abstention. The result was clearly favourable to the federal republicans, which captured 343 of the 371 seats, but turnout was probably the lowest in Spanish history, with about 28% in Catalonia and 25% in Madrid.
The Federal Republic
On 1 June 1873 the first session of the Constituent Cortes was opened and the presentation of resolutions began. The first one was debated on the seventh of June, written by seven representatives: "First Article. The form of government of the Spanish Nation is the Democratic Federal Republic".
The president, having carried out the Cortes' regulations for the definite approval of proposal of law, arranged to hold a nominal vote the next day. The resolution was passed 8 June by a favorable vote of 219 representatives and only 2 against, and the Federal Republic was thus declared. Most of the federalists in parliament supported a
Swiss-like
confederative model, with regions directly forming independent cantons. Spanish writer
Benito Pérez Galdós, aged 21 at the time, wrote about the parliamentary atmosphere of the First Republic:
The situation reached such levels of
surrealism that, while presiding over a Cabinet session, Estanislao Figueras yelled: "Gentlemen, I can't stand this any more. I am going to be frank with you: I'm fed up with all of us!" So fed up that on 10 June he left his resignation letter in his office, went for a walk through the
Parque del Buen Retiro
The Buen Retiro Park (Spanish: ''Parque del Buen Retiro'', literally "Good retirement park"), Retiro Park or simply El Retiro is one of the largest parks of the city of Madrid, Spain. The park belonged to the Spanish Monarchy until the late 19th ...
and, without telling anyone, boarded the first train departing from the
Atocha Station
Madrid Atocha ( es, Estación de Madrid Atocha), also named Madrid Puerta de Atocha–Almudena Grandes, is the first major railway station in Madrid. It is the largest station serving commuter trains (Cercanías Madrid, ''Cercanías''), regional ...
. He would only step down upon arriving in
Paris
Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...
.
The government of Pi i Margall
After Figueras' flight to France, the
power vacuum
In political science and political history, the term power vacuum, also known as a power void, is an analogy between a physical vacuum to the political condition "when someone in a place of power, has lost control of something and no one has repla ...
created was tempting general
Manuel Sodas into starting a
pronunciamiento when a
Civil Guard colonel, José de la Iglesia, showed up at Congress and declared that nobody would leave until a new president was elected. Figueras' fellow federalist and government minister
Francisco Pi y Margall was elected on 11 June, but on his speech to the Assembly he declared he was at a complete loss and without a program. The main efforts of the new government focused on the drafting of the new
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 entity and commonly determine how that entity is to be governed.
When these princ ...
and some social character-related bills:
* Apportionment of
disamortized lands among lessees, settlers and ''aparceros''.
* Reestablishment of the regular Army, with mandatory
conscription.
* Separation of Church and State, which had been deeply intertwined under
Ferdinand VII
, house = Bourbon-Anjou
, father = Charles IV of Spain
, mother = Maria Luisa of Parma
, birth_date = 14 October 1784
, birth_place = El Escorial, Spain
, death_date =
, death_place = Madrid, Spain
, burial_plac ...
and only slightly separated by
Isabella II
Isabella II ( es, Isabel II; 10 October 1830 – 9 April 1904), was Queen of Spain from 29 September 1833 until 30 September 1868.
Shortly before her birth, the King Ferdinand VII of Spain issued a Pragmatic Sanction to ensure the successi ...
.
* Abolition of
slavery
Slavery and enslavement are both the state and the condition of being a slave—someone forbidden to quit one's service for an enslaver, and who is treated by the enslaver as property. Slavery typically involves slaves being made to perf ...
throughout the nation. Though the 1812
Cádiz Constitution had already taken some steps on the issue, the colonies remained opposed to the move from mainland Spain. Also, plans were made to limit
child labor
Child labour refers to the exploitation of children through any form of work that deprives children of their childhood, interferes with their ability to attend regular school, and is mentally, physically, socially and morally harmful. Such e ...
.
* Establishment of a system ensuring free and compulsory education.
* Legalization of the right of
syndication
Syndication may refer to:
* Broadcast syndication, where individual stations buy programs outside the network system
* Print syndication, where individual newspapers or magazines license news articles, columns, or comic strips
* Web syndication, ...
, creation of mixed workers-managers juries and establishment of the
8 hours work day.
On 16 June a 25-member Committee was set up by the Cortes to study the draft
Constitution of the Federal Republic of Spain, the redaction of which is mainly attributed to
Emilio Castelar
Emilio Castelar y Ripoll (7 September 183225 May 1899) was a Spanish republican politician, and a president of the First Spanish Republic.
Castelar was born in Cádiz. He was an eloquent orator and a writer. Appointed as Head of State in 1873 i ...
, with debate starting the following day. On 28 June Pi i Margall renewed the composition of his government, but due to the slow pace of the constitutional debates in the Cortes, events came crashing down on the government at a stunning pace. On 30 June the City Council of
Seville
Seville (; es, Sevilla, ) is the capital and largest city of the Spanish autonomous community of Andalusia and the province of Seville. It is situated on the lower reaches of the River Guadalquivir, in the southwest of the Iberian Peninsula ...
passed a motion declaring the town a Social Republic, and the next day many federalist deputies left the Cortes in protest. About a week later, on 9 July, Alcoy followed suit, when during a strike directed by local leaders of the
First International
The International Workingmen's Association (IWA), often called the First International (1864–1876), was an international organisation which aimed at uniting a variety of different left-wing socialist, communist and anarchist groups and trad ...
, the police fired to the gathered workers who responded by taking up arms and gaining control of the city.
These events became known as the
Petroleum Revolution
The Petroleum Revolution (Valencian: ''La Revolució del Petroli'') was a libertarian and syndicalist leaning workers' revolution that took place in Alcoy, Alicante, Spain in 1873. The event is called the ''Petroleum Revolution'' since the worker ...
.
![Revolución cantonal de 1873](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f5/Revoluci%C3%B3n_cantonal_de_1873.png)
Shortly after, the
Cantonal Rebellion
The Cantonal rebellion was a cantonalist insurrection that took place during the First Spanish Republic between July 1873 and January 1874. Its protagonists were the "intransigent" federal Republicans, who wanted to establish immediately the F ...
swept across Spain with the federalist sentiment giving rise to several independent cantons. Uprisings were daily news in the south-eastern area of
Valencia
Valencia ( va, València) is the capital of the autonomous community of Valencia and the third-most populated municipality in Spain, with 791,413 inhabitants. It is also the capital of the province of the same name. The wider urban area al ...
,
Murcia
Murcia (, , ) is a city in south-eastern Spain, the capital and most populous city of the autonomous community of the Region of Murcia, and the seventh largest city in the country. It has a population of 460,349 inhabitants in 2021 (about one ...
and
Andalusia
Andalusia (, ; es, Andalucía ) is the southernmost autonomous community in Peninsular Spain. It is the most populous and the second-largest autonomous community in the country. It is officially recognised as a "historical nationality". The t ...
. Some cantons were provincial in nature, like
Valencia
Valencia ( va, València) is the capital of the autonomous community of Valencia and the third-most populated municipality in Spain, with 791,413 inhabitants. It is also the capital of the province of the same name. The wider urban area al ...
or
Málaga, but most comprised just a city and its surroundings, like the more localised cantons of
Alcoy
Alcoy ( ca-valencia, Alcoi) is an industrial and university city, region and municipality located in the Valencian Community, Spain. The Serpis river crosses the municipal boundary of Alcoy. The local authority reported a population of 61,135 res ...
,
Cartagena,
Seville
Seville (; es, Sevilla, ) is the capital and largest city of the Spanish autonomous community of Andalusia and the province of Seville. It is situated on the lower reaches of the River Guadalquivir, in the southwest of the Iberian Peninsula ...
,
Cádiz
Cádiz (, , ) is a city and port in southwestern Spain. It is the capital of the Province of Cádiz, one of eight that make up the autonomous community of Andalusia.
Cádiz, one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in Western Europe, ...
,
Almansa
Almansa () is a Spanish town and municipality in the province of Albacete, part of the autonomous community of Castile-La Mancha. The name "Almansa" stems from the Arabic (al-manṣaf), "half way of the road". The municipality borders with Al ...
,
Torrevieja
Torrevieja (; ca-valencia, Torrevella ) is a seaside city and municipality located on the Costa Blanca in the province of Alicante, in the southern part of the Valencian Community, on the southeastern Mediterranean coast of Spain.
Torrevieja ...
,
Castellón,
Granada,
Salamanca
Salamanca () is a city in western Spain and is the capital of the Province of Salamanca in the autonomous community of Castile and León. The city lies on several rolling hills by the Tormes River. Its Old City was declared a UNESCO World Herit ...
,
Bailén
Bailén (archaically known as Baylen in English) is a town in the province of Jaén, Spain.
History
Bailén is probably the ancient Baecula, where the Romans, under Scipio the elder, signally defeated the Carthaginians in 209 and 206 B.C. In i ...
,
Andújar
Andújar () is a Spanish municipality of 38,539 people (2005) in the province of Jaén, in Andalusia. The municipality is divided by the Guadalquivir River. The northern part of the municipality is where the Natural Park of the Sierra de Andú ...
,
Tarifa
Tarifa (, Arabic: طريفة) is a Spanish municipality in the province of Cádiz, Andalusia. Located at the southernmost end of the Iberian Peninsula, it is primarily known as one of the world's most popular destinations for windsports. Tarifa ...
and
Algeciras
Algeciras ( , ) is a municipality of Spain belonging to the province of Cádiz, Andalusia. Located in the southern end of the Iberian Peninsula, near the Strait of Gibraltar, it is the largest city on the Bay of Gibraltar ( es, Bahía de Algeci ...
. Even smaller were the village-based cantons of
Camuñas (in Albacete) and
Jumilla
Jumilla () is a town and a municipality in southeastern Spain. It is located in the north east of the Region of Murcia, close to the towns of Cieza and Yecla. According to the 2018 census, the town population was 25,547.
Geography
The municip ...
(in Murcia). The latter is said to have issued a
manifesto stating:
There is, however, no record of such a manifesto, nor of any similar declaration, in the municipal archives; and the proceedings of the time seemed to be within normality. This has motivated several historians to deny the authenticity of the manifesto and even the very existence of the Jumilla canton, stating that its invention was merely a form of anti-republican propaganda.
The most active – and known – of the cantons was the
Canton of Cartagena
The Canton of Cartagena ( es, Cantón de Cartagena), also known as the Canton of Murcia ( es, Cantón Murciano), was a period of Cartagena, Spain's history when it was governed by a radical cantonalist junta for six months between 1873 and 1874. ...
, its autonomy declared on 12 July at the city naval base under the inspiration of the federalist congressman
Antonio Gálvez Arce, known as ''Antonete''. The Canton of Cartagena would live six months of constant wars, and even minted its own currency, the ''duro cantonal''.
The first deed of the Cartagenan cantonalists was the capture of the
Saint Julian castle, which motivated a strange telegram sent by the city's captain-general to the Minister of the Navy: "Saint Julian castle shows Turkish flag". Such "Turkish flag" was in fact the cantonal flag, the first
red flag in Spanish history (the
Ottoman Civil Ensign was a plain red flag, hence the captain-general's terminology). Gálvez's passionate speeches allowed him to gain control of the Navy ships docked in the city, which at that time were among the best in the Spanish Navy. Under his command, the fleet wreaked havoc on the nearby Mediterranean shore, causing the Madrid government to declare him a
pirate
Piracy is an act of robbery or criminal violence by ship or boat-borne attackers upon another ship or a coastal area, typically with the goal of stealing cargo and other valuable goods. Those who conduct acts of piracy are called pirates, v ...
and set a bounty on his head. Back on land, he led an expedition towards Madrid that was defeated at
Chinchilla.
Two cantonal frigates, the ''Almansa'' and the ''Vitoria'', set sail towards a "foreign power" (the Spanish city of
Almería
Almería (, , ) is a city and municipality of Spain, located in Andalusia. It is the capital of the province of the same name. It lies on southeastern Iberia on the Mediterranean Sea. Caliph Abd al-Rahman III founded the city in 955. The city g ...
) for fund-raising. As the city would not pay, it was bombarded and taken by the cantonalists. General Contreras, commanding officer of the cantonal fleet, ordered the
Marcha Real
The (; "Royal March") is the national anthem of Spain. It is one of only four national anthems in the world – along with those of Bosnia and Herzegovina, San Marino and Kosovo – that have no official lyrics. Although it had lyrics in the ...
to be played as he unboarded. Afterwards, the deed would be repeated in
Alicante
Alicante ( ca-valencia, Alacant) is a city and municipality in the Valencian Community, Spain. It is the capital of the province of Alicante and a historic Mediterranean port. The population of the city was 337,482 , the second-largest in t ...
, but on the trip back to Cartagena they were captured as pirates by the armoured frigates
HMS Swiftsure and
SMS Friedrich Karl, under the UK and German flags respectively.
An even worse problem was 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 ...
, in which the rebels controlled most of the
Basque Country,
Navarre and
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 nort ...
without opposition, and sent raid parties throughout the Peninsula. The Carlist pretender,
Charles VII, had formed a rival government in
Estella
Estella may refer to:
People
* Diego de Estella (1524–1578)
* Estella Sneider (born 1950)
*Estella Warren (born 1978), Canadian actress
*Estella, the ''nom de guerre'' of Italian labor leader Teresa Noce
Fictional
*Estella Havisham, a charact ...
with his own ministers and was already minting currency, while the French connivance allowed him to receive external aid and fortify his defences. Between the Carlists and the cantonal revolution, the actual territory in which the short-lived Republic exerted undisputed authority did not extend much further than the province of Madrid itself and North-Western Spain, as cantonal uprisings took place as far north as
Ávila.
Due to the rapid pace of the events, and without time for the new Constitution to be passed by the Cortes, Pi i Margall found himself between a rock and the proverbial hard place of the cantonal revolution. However, the effective Commander in Chief of the Republic rejected all calls, from both military and political instances, to exert repression on the cantonal uprisings, as he argued they were just following his very own doctrine. Thus, he was forced to resign on 18 July after just 37 days in office. He would later sorely describe his experience as premier:
Drafting the Federal Constitution
The draft of the Federal Constitution of the First Republic of Spain developed at length into 117 articles organized under 17 titles.
In the first article, the following is found:
Composing the Spanish Nation the states of Andalucía Alta, Andalucía Baja, Aragón, Asturias, Baleares, Canarias, Castilla la Nueva, Castilla la Vieja, Cataluña, Cuba, Extremadura, Galicia, Murcia, Navarra, Puerto Rico, Valencia, Regiones Vascongadas. The states will be able to conserve the actual provinces and modify them, according to their territorial necessities.
These states would have "complete economic-administrative autonomy and political autonomy compatible with the existence of the nation" such as "the ability to give it a political constitution" (articles 92 and 93).
The constitutional draft anticipated in Title IV—in addition to the classic Legislative Power, Executive Power and
Judicial Power
The judiciary (also known as the judicial system, judicature, judicial branch, judiciative branch, and court or judiciary system) is the system of courts that adjudicates legal disputes/disagreements and interprets, defends, and applies the law ...
—a fourth Relational Power that would be exercised by the president of the Republic.
Legislative Power would be in the hands of the Federal Cortes, which would be composed of the Congress and the Senate. Congress was to be a house of proportional representation with one representative "for every 50,000 souls", renewing every two years. The Senate was to be a house of territorial representation, four senators being elected by the Cortes of each one of the states.
Executive Power would be exercised by the Ministry of Advisors, whose president would be elected by the president of the republic.
Article 40 of the draft stated: "In the political organization of the Spanish nation, all things individual are the pure domain of the individual; all things municipal are that of the municipality; all things regional are that of the state; and all things national, of the Federation." The following article declared that "All powers are elective, revocable, and accountable", and Article 42 that "Sovereignty resides in all citizens, which they exercise by their own representation by the political organizations of the Republic, constituted through universal suffrage."
Judicial Power would reside in the Federal Supreme Court, which would be composed "of three magistrates for each state of the federation" (Article 73) that would never be elected by the Executive Power or the Legislative Power. It also would establish that all courts would be profession and the judicial institution for all classes of representatives.
Relational Power would be exercised by the president of the Federal Republic whose mandate would last "four years, not being immediately reeligible", as says Article 81 of the draft.
The government of Nicolás Salmerón
After accepting the resignation of Pi i Margall,
Nicolás Salmerón
Nicolas or Nicolás may refer to:
People Given name
* Nicolas (given name)
Mononym
* Nicolas (footballer, born 1999), Brazilian footballer
* Nicolas (footballer, born 2000), Brazilian footballer
Surname Nicolas
* Dafydd Nicolas (c.1705–1774), ...
was elected president of the Executive Power, with 119 votes in favor and 93 votes against.
The new president, who was a moderate federalist republican, defended the necessity of arriving at an understanding with the more moderate or conservative groups and a slow transition toward a federal republic. His oratory was crushing:
Francisco Silvela
Francisco Silvela y Le Vielleuze (15 December 1843, in Madrid – 29 May 1905, in Madrid) was a Spanish politician who became Prime Minister of Spain on 3 May 1899, succeeding Práxedes Mateo Sagasta. He served in this capacity until 22 October ...
said that in his speeches, Salmerón only used one weapon—artillery.
Antonio Maura
Antonio Maura Montaner (2 May 1853 – 13 December 1925) was Prime Minister of Spain on five separate occasions.
Early life
Maura was born in Palma, on the island of Mallorca, and studied law in Madrid. In 1878, Maura married Constanc ...
characterized the professorial tone of Don Nicolás, saying that "it always seemed that he was addressing the metaphysicists of Albacete."
Already during his stints as Minister of Mercy and Justice in the government of Estanislao Figueras, he brought about the abolition of the death penalty, even the independence of judicial power in the face of the political.
His nomination produced an intensification of the cantonal movement, which to control he had to resort to generals openly against the Federal Republic, sending military expeditions to Andalucía and Valencia under the respective command of generals Pavía and Martínez Campos. One after another the separate cantons were subdued, except that of Cartagena, which resisted until 12 January 1874.
His generals asked the "awareness" of the government and his signature to execute various death sentences on various deserting soldiers on the Carlist front; according to them, this was essential to reestablishing discipline on the army. Salmerón, man of very advanced liberal principles, declined to concede the "awareness" and, as is written on the wall of his mausoleum, "abandoned power to not sign a death sentence." In this way, he resigned on 6 September.
The government of Emilio Castelar
The next day, 7 September, the man elected to occupy the presidency of the Executive Power was unitarian Emilio Castelar, professor of History and distinguished orator, by 133 votes in favor against the 67 obtained by Pi y Margall. During his previous time as Minister of State in the government of Estanislao Figueras, Castelar promoted and achieved the approval of
the abolition of slavery in the overseas territory of Puerto Rico, although not in Cuba because of the continuing war situation. This act by the First Spanish Republic is commemorated in Puerto Rico up to the present day.
Motivated by the difficult situation through which the Republic was passing, with the aggravation of the Carlist War, Emilio Castelar commenced the reorganization of the army, announcing before the Cortes "to sustain this form of government, I need much infantry, much cavalry, much artillery, much Civil Guard, and many riflemen." In spite of the federalist opposition, the Cortes conceded to him extraordinary powers to govern, after which they closed the Cortes on 20 September. He confirmed the death sentences that provoked the resignation of his predecessor, reestablished order, and was at the point of surrendering to the cantonalists of Cartagena.
Without doubt, the chaos incited by the cantonal revolt and the worsening of the Carlist War led them to reopen the Cortes on 2 January 1874, in order to bring to a vote the management and ask for unlimited powers with which to save the Republic from complete discredit.
In effect, the Cortes session opened on 2 January 1874, but the federalists rose up against Don Emilio Castelar, who was supported by the captain general of Madrid, Don Manuel Pavía, former supporter of Prim, with whom he had rebelled in
Villarejo de Salvanés
Villarejo de Salvanés is a municipality
A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate.
T ...
. Two very different forces threatened to interrupt the deliberations of the Cortes: the federalists, eager to finish Castelar with mighty wrath, and the troops of General Pavía, supporter of Castelar, who had decided to show up in his support to avoid his defeat before the federalists.
The committed regiments had already left at the captain general's orders when the Cortes recognized Castelar's defeat by 119 votes against 101. The former president of the Republic, and the president of the Cortes, Nicolás Salmerón, called for a new vote to elect a new chief of the Executive Power.
Pavía situated himself in front of the building with his staff and ordered two adjutants to impose upon Salmerón the dissolution of the Cortes session and the evacuation of the building in five minutes. The Civil Guard, which guarded the Congress, put into action the general's orders and occupied the halls of Congress (without entering the floor). It was 6:55 in the morning, when the vote to elect the federalist candidate Eduardo Palance was proceeding, and Salmerón, upon receiving the captain general's order, suspended the vote and communicated the grave situation to the representatives. The representatives abandoned the building with all speed, amidst scenes of exaggerated hysterics; some even threw themselves out the windows. Pavía, surprised, asked: "But gentlemen, Why jump out the windows when you can leave through the door?"
Pavía, who was a unitarian republican, offered to allow Emilio Castelar to continue in the presidency, but he refused, not wanting to maintain power through undemocratic means. These acts signified the unofficial end of the First Republic, although it officially continued for almost a year.
The unitary republic
At the same time as the political convulsions were taking place, General
López Domínguez entered into Cartagena on 12 January, replacing Martínez Campos, while Antonete Gálvez, with more than a thousand men, struggled to elude him near the border of
Numancia ''(Numantia)'' and set course for
Oran, (
Algeria
)
, image_map = Algeria (centered orthographic projection).svg
, map_caption =
, image_map2 =
, capital = Algiers
, coordinates =
, largest_city = capital
, relig ...
). The end of the cantonal experience was marked by Gálvez with his exile, but the Bourbon Restoration permitted him through amnesty to return to his native Torreagüera. In this period he would strike up a strange and warm friendship with Don
Antonio Cánovas del Castillo
Antonio Cánovas del Castillo (8 February 18288 August 1897) was a Spanish politician and historian known principally for serving six terms as Prime Minister and his overarching role as "architect" of the regime that ensued with the 1874 restor ...
, most responsible for the Restoration, who considered Gálvez a sincere, honorable, and valiant man, although one of exaggerated political ideas.
Meanwhile, after Emilio Castelar's refusal to continue as president, he put General Serrano, recently returned from his exile in
Biarritz for his implication in the attempted coup of 23 April, in charge of the formation of a coalition government that grouped together monarchists, conservatives, and unitarian republicans, but excluded federalist republicans.
Francisco Serrano, Duke of Torre, 63 years old, former collaborator of Isabel II, had already twice freed the leadership of the state. He proclaimed the Unitary Republic, taking control of the presidency of the Executive Power, and dispensing with the Cortes in a conservative republican dictatorship. During his mandate he once and for all subdued the cantonal insurrections, and that of Cartagena, and concentrated his forces on the Carlist War in the north of Spain. The general attempted without success to consolidate power to himself in dictatorship form, following the example of the regime of dukes and generals that prevailed in France upon the fall of
Napoleon III
Napoleon III (Charles Louis Napoléon Bonaparte; 20 April 18089 January 1873) was the first President of France (as Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte) from 1848 to 1852 and the last monarch of France as Emperor of the French from 1852 to 1870. A nephew ...
and after the defeat of the
Paris Commune
The Paris Commune (french: Commune de Paris, ) was a revolutionary government that seized power in Paris, the capital of France, from 18 March to 28 May 1871.
During the Franco-Prussian War of 1870–71, the French National Guard had defended ...
.
In just a few months, on 13 May, Serrano ceded the presidency of the government to
Juan de Zavala y de la Puente
Juan de Zavala y de la Puente, 1st Marquess of Sierra Bullones (27 December 1804, in Lima, Viceroyalty of Peru – 29 December 1879, in Madrid, Spain) was a Spanish noble and politician. After fighting in the First Carlist War, the Marquess ser ...
to personally take control of the operations against the Carlists in the north.
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 ...
took charge of the government on 3 September. On 10 December the siege of Pamplona began, but it was interrupted by the Proclamation of Sagunto.
The end of the Republic
On 29 December 1874 in
Sagunto
Sagunto ( ca-valencia, Sagunt) is a municipality of Spain, located in the province of Valencia, Valencian Community. It belongs to the modern fertile ''comarca'' of Camp de Morvedre. It is located c. 30 km north of the city of Valencia, cl ...
, General
Arsenio Martínez Campos
Arsenio Martínez-Campos y Antón, born Martínez y Campos (14 December 1831, in Segovia, Spain – 23 September 1900, in Zarauz, Spain), was a Spanish officer who rose against the First Spanish Republic in a military revolution in 1874 and res ...
came out in favor of the restoration to the throne of the Bourbon monarchy in the personage of Don Alfonso de Borbón, son of Isabel II. The government of Sagasta did not oppose this announcement, permitting the restoration of the monarchy. The triumph of the Bourbon Restoration succeeded thanks to the previous work of
Antonio Cánovas del Castillo
Antonio Cánovas del Castillo (8 February 18288 August 1897) was a Spanish politician and historian known principally for serving six terms as Prime Minister and his overarching role as "architect" of the regime that ensued with the 1874 restor ...
, which without a doubt was contrary to military rule.
Until 1931, the Spanish republicans celebrated the 11 February anniversary of the First Republic. Thereafter, the commemoration was moved to 14 April, the anniversary of the proclamation of the
Second Republic in 1931.
See also
*
Second Spanish Republic
The Spanish Republic (), commonly known as the Second Spanish Republic (), was the form of government in Spain from 1931 to 1939. The Republic was proclaimed on 14 April 1931, after the deposition of King Alfonso XIII, and was dissolved on 1 ...
Footnotes
Further reading
* Brandt, Joseph A. (1977) ''Toward the New Spain: the Spanish Revolution of 1868 and the First Republic''
*
Carr, Raymond, ed. (2001) ''Spain: a History''
External links
Historiaantiqua.''Primera República'' (2008)
{{Authority control
Spanish Republic, First
Spanish Republic, First
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 ...
Republicanism in Spain
States and territories established in 1873
States and territories disestablished in 1874
1873 establishments in Spain
1874 disestablishments in Spain