Rafael del Riego y Flórez (7 April 1784 – 7 November 1823) was a Spanish general and liberal politician, who played a key role in the outbreak of the Liberal Triennium (''Trienio liberal'' in Spanish).

Early life

Riego was born on 7 April 1784 (according to other sources 24 November 1785) in

Tuña Tuña is one of 44 parishes (administrative divisions) in Tineo, a municipality within the province and autonomous community of Asturias, in northern Spain. Notable people * Rafael del Riego Rafael del Riego y Flórez (7 April 1784 – 7 No ...

, Tineo in Asturias. After graduating from the

University of Oviedo The University of Oviedo ( es, Universidad de Oviedo, Asturian: ''Universidá d'Uviéu'') is a public university in Asturias (Spain). It is the only university in the region. It has three campus and research centres, located in Oviedo, Gijón ...

in 1807, he 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 ...

, where he joined the army.

Peninsular War

In 1808, during the

Spanish War of Independence The Peninsular War (1807–1814) was the military conflict fought in the Iberian Peninsula by Spain, Portugal, and the United Kingdom against the invading and occupying forces of the First French Empire during the Napoleonic Wars. In Spain, ...

he was taken captive by the

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

and imprisoned in El Escorial, from where he eventually escaped. On 10 November he took part in the

Battle of Espinosa de los Monteros The Battle of Espinosa de los Monteros was a battle of the Napoleonic Wars, fought on 10 and 11 November 1808 at the township of Espinosa de los Monteros in the Cantabrian Mountains. It resulted in a French victory under General Victor again ...

, after which he once again was taken prisoner. Three days later he was sent to France, and, after he changed his name to "Riego" (without the "del"), was eventually released. He traveled around

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

and the German states, and in 1814 he returned to Spain, right before the

Spanish Constitution of 1812 The Political Constitution of the Spanish Monarchy ( es, link=no, Constitución Política de la Monarquía Española), also known as the Constitution of Cádiz ( es, link=no, Constitución de Cádiz) and as ''La Pepa'', was the first Constituti ...

was abolished by Fernando VII. In Spain, Riego once again joined the army with a rank of lieutenant colonel and took an oath to the Constitution. During the six years of absolutism that followed the restoration of King

Fernando 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_pla ...

, Spanish liberals wished to restore the Spanish Constitution, which the King had abolished in May 1814. Riego joined the

freemasons Freemasonry or Masonry refers to fraternal organisations that trace their origins to the local guilds of stonemasons that, from the end of the 13th century, regulated the qualifications of stonemasons and their interaction with authorities ...

and collaborated with liberals in several conspiracies against the King, which failed.

1820 revolt

In 1819, the King was forming an army of ten

battalion A battalion is a military unit, typically consisting of 300 to 1,200 soldiers commanded by a lieutenant colonel, and subdivided into a number of companies (usually each commanded by a major or a captain). In some countries, battalions are ...

s to fight in the

Spanish American wars of independence The Spanish American wars of independence (25 September 1808 – 29 September 1833; es, Guerras de independencia hispanoamericanas) were numerous wars in Spanish America with the aim of political independence from Spanish rule during the early ...

. Riego was given command of the Asturian Battalion. After arriving in

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, ...

, together with other liberal officers, he started a mutiny on 1 January 1820, demanding the return of the 1812 Constitution. Riego's troops marched through the cities of Andalusia with the hope of starting an anti-absolutist uprising, but the local population was mostly indifferent. An uprising, however, took place in Galicia, and it quickly spread throughout Spain. On 7 March 1820, the royal palace in Madrid was surrounded by soldiers under the command of General

Francisco Ballesteros Francisco Ballesteros (1770 in Zaragoza – 29 June 1832 in Paris) emerged as a career Spanish General during the Peninsular War. Ballasteros served against the First French Republic in the 1793 War of the Pyrenees. He was dismissed from his ...

, and on 10 March, the King agreed to restore the Constitution.

Later life

The new progressive government promoted Riego to

field marshal Field marshal (or field-marshal, abbreviated as FM) is the most senior military rank, ordinarily senior to the general officer ranks. Usually, it is the highest rank in an army and as such few persons are appointed to it. It is considered as ...

and made him Captain General of Galicia. On 8 January 1821 he took command of

Aragon Aragon ( , ; Spanish and an, Aragón ; ca, Aragó ) is an autonomous community in Spain, coextensive with the medieval Kingdom of Aragon. In northeastern Spain, the Aragonese autonomous community comprises three provinces (from north to sou ...

, and moved to

Zaragoza Zaragoza, also known in English as Saragossa,''Encyclopædia Britannica'"Zaragoza (conventional Saragossa)" is the capital city of the Zaragoza Province and of the autonomous community of Aragon, Spain. It lies by the Ebro river and its tributari ...

. On 18 June, he married his cousin Maria Teresa del Riego y Bustillos. On 4 September 1821, because of a failed republican revolt, he was wrongly accused of republicanism and imprisoned. However, his popularity grew, and demonstrations took place in Madrid demanding his release. In March 1822, he was elected to the

Cortes Generales 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 ...

and eventually released from prison. In December 1822, at the Congress of Verona, the

Quintuple Alliance The Quintuple Alliance came into being at the Congress of Aix-la-Chapelle in 1818, when France joined the Quadruple Alliance created by Austria, Prussia, Russia, and Great Britain. The European peace settlement concluded at the Congress of Vienn ...

countries decided that a Spain that was bordering on republicanism was a threat to the balance of Europe, and France was chosen to force a restoring of the absolute monarchy in Spain. On 7 April 1823, the French army crossed the borders. Riego took command of the Third Army and resisted the invaders as well as local absolutist groups. On 15 September he was betrayed and taken prisoner in a country estate near the village of Arquillos, Jaén. He was taken to Madrid. Despite asking for clemency from the King, having approached

religion Religion is usually defined as a social- cultural system of designated behaviors and practices, morals, beliefs, worldviews, texts, sanctified places, prophecies, ethics, or organizations, that generally relates humanity to supernatural, ...

and repented of his "constitutional crimes" during his imprisonment, completely retracting at the last minute his political convictions to the delight of the absolutists, Riego was found guilty of high treason against altar and throne, as he was one of the members of parliament who voted in favor of taking the power from the King. On 7 November 1823, he was hanged at La Cebada Square in Madrid."Rafael del Riego y Flórez"
''Real Academia de la historia'' (in Spanish)
Archived
from the original on 31 March 2022. Retrieved 13 June 2022. File:Placa casa de Riego en Tuña.JPG, Commemorative plaque in Riego's birthplace in Tuña File:El General Riego (BM 1917,1208.3683).jpg, Portrait of Rafael del Riego by

Hippolyte Lecomte Hippolyte Lecomte (28 December 1781, Puiseaux – 25 July 1857, Paris) was a French painter best known for large scale historical paintings and ballet designs. His wife, born Camille Vernet, was the sister of the painter Émile Jean-Horace Ve ...

, 1820 File:Oviedo - Monumento a Rafael del Riego 2.jpg, Rafael del Riego, statue in Oviedo

Memory

'' El Himno de Riego'', a song written in honour of Riego, became the anthem of the

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 Alfonso XIII, King Alfonso XIII, and was di ...

(1931–1939). Currently his portrait is displayed in the building of the

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Riego, Rafael Del 1784 births 1823 deaths People from Tineo Spanish generals Captain Generals of Galicia Spanish politicians Spanish Freemasons Executed Spanish people People executed for treason against Spain People executed by Spain by hanging 19th-century executions by Spain University of Oviedo alumni Spanish military personnel of the Napoleonic Wars