Manuel Pavia y Rodriguez de Alburquerque (August 2, 1828 – January 4, 1895) was a Spanish general, born in Cadiz, who was an important part of Spanish political life during the second half of the 19th century. He participated in the

Revolution of 1868 The Glorious Revolution ( es, la Gloriosa or ) took place in Spain in 1868, resulting in the deposition of Queen Isabella II. The success of the revolution marked the beginning of the with the installment of a provisional government. Backgrou ...

, which removed Isabella II from power, and led the

coup d'état A coup d'état (; French for 'stroke of state'), also known as a coup or overthrow, is a seizure and removal of a government and its powers. Typically, it is an illegal seizure of power by a political faction, politician, cult, rebel group, ...

which brought down the First Spanish Republic, giving way to the Restoration and the rule of Isabella's son Alfonso XII.

Early career

His military career began in 1841, when he entered the Royal Artillery College at Segovia. He became a lieutenant in 1846 and a captain in 1855. Pavía returned to Spain after fighting in the Hispano-Moroccan War (1859–60) and in the European expedition to Mexico in 1862; in the latter year he was proclaimed major. In January 1866, he was a commander under the general Juan Prim. He participated in an unsuccessful

mutiny Mutiny is a revolt among a group of people (typically of a military, of a crew or of a crew of pirates) to oppose, change, or overthrow an organization to which they were previously loyal. The term is commonly used for a rebellion among member ...

against the regime of Isabella II, ruined in Madrid. Prim left the Liberal Union of Leopoldo O'Donnell and joined the new Progressive Party. At the end of that year, Pavía and Prim organised a mutiny with other generals, but this rebellion didn't succeed due to lack of popular and military support. O'Donnell sent a detachment to detain the conspirators. Prim and Pavía escaped to Portugal, persecuted by Zavala and Echagüe. During the escape they received much support from the Spanish population.

1868 revolution to restoration

After two years of exile, Pavía returned to Spain collaborating again with Prim, but this time he began a successful revolutionary movement in August 1866 with the with the Federal Democratic Republican Party. Armed insurrection broke out in

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, prepared by revolutionary juntas composed by democrats and progressives, which acted in favour of a military conspiracy. In September 1868, after proclaiming the slogan ''España con honra'' (Spain with honour), Prim disembarked in Cádiz. On 28 September he won the battle of Alcolea, and the support of

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and the Mediterranean coast, which was decisive for the victory of the revolution. The queen left the country in September 30 and a provisional government was set up under General Francisco Serrano. During this period, Pavía fought in Navarra at the beginning of the Third Carlist War. With the First Spanish Republic proclaimed, during the presidency of Francesc Pi i Margall he and General Arsenio Martínez Campos put down the cantonalist insurrection initiated on 12 July 1873 in Cartagena, which aspired to constitute a federation of the autonomic territorial organizations of the central power. Pavía and Martínez Campos one by one took almost all the cantons between July 26 and August 8, being the president Emilio Castelar. Only the canton of Cartagena resisted, until January 13 of the following year. At the end of 1873, Pavía was again Captain general of Castilla la Nueva, with a capital in Madrid. He still held the position when the president Castelar, during the first days of 1874, asked the "Congreso de los Diputados" for a vote of confidence, which was rejected. On 3 January Pavía (whose political posture favoured united centralism) presented himself in the Congress and ordered the evacuation the building at the moment that it was proceeding to a new presidential election ruled by a federalist. With the coup d'état over, the ''Fase Pretoriana'' of the First Republic began, led by Francisco Serrano (Duque de la Torre). This rapidly gave way to the return of the monarchy of the

House of Bourbon The House of Bourbon (, also ; ) is a European dynasty of French origin, a branch of the Capetian dynasty, the royal House of France. Bourbon kings first ruled France and Navarre in the 16th century. By the 18th century, members of the Spanis ...

with Alfonso XII, son of Isabella II. During the Restoration, Pavía was the captain general of

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 no ...

from 1880 until 1881 and again captain general of "Castilla la Nueva" in 1885, under the regency of María Cristina de Habsburgo-Lorena. In 1886, carrying out these duties, he defeated the popular anti-dynastic in Madrid.

Death

During his last years of life, he was promoted to captain general, was president of the "Consejo Supremo de Guerra y Marina" and wrote military histories. Manuel Pavía died on January 4, 1895.

References

*Some information has been taken from a book called ''Historia de España Nº13-Revolución y Restauración'' from a collection of '' El Mundo'' newspaper. {{DEFAULTSORT:Pavia y Rodriguez de Alburquerque, Manuel 1828 births 1895 deaths Spanish captain generals Spanish generals People from Cádiz Spanish military personnel of the Third Carlist War (Governmental faction)