Spanish Restoration
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The Restoration ( es, link=no, Restauración), or Bourbon Restoration (Spanish: ''Restauración borbónica''), is the name given to the period that began on 29 December 1874—after a coup d'état by 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 ...
ended 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 ...
and restored the
monarchy A monarchy is a form of government in which a person, the monarch, is head of state for life or until abdication. The political legitimacy and authority of the monarch may vary from restricted and largely symbolic (constitutional monarchy) ...
under
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 ...
—and ended on 14 April 1931 with the proclamation 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 ...
. After almost a century of political instability and many civil wars, the aim of the Restoration was to create a new political system, which ensured stability by the practice of '' turnismo''. This was the deliberate rotation of the Liberal and Conservative parties in the government, often achieved through
electoral fraud Electoral fraud, sometimes referred to as election manipulation, voter fraud or vote rigging, involves illegal interference with the process of an election, either by increasing the vote share of a favored candidate, depressing the vote share of ...
. Opposition to the system came from Republicans,
Socialists Socialism is a left-wing economic philosophy and movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to private ownership. As a term, it describes the eco ...
,
Anarchists 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 necessari ...
,
Basque Basque may refer to: * Basques, an ethnic group of Spain and France * Basque language, their language Places * Basque Country (greater region), the homeland of the Basque people with parts in both Spain and France * Basque Country (autonomous co ...
and
Catalan nationalists Catalan nationalism is the ideology asserting that the Catalans are a distinct nation. Intellectually, modern Catalan nationalism can be said to have commenced as a political philosophy in the unsuccessful attempts to establish a federal state i ...
, and Carlists.


Alfonso XII and the Regency of Maria Christina (1874–1898)

The ''
pronunciamiento A ''pronunciamiento'' (, pt, pronunciamento ; "proclamation , announcement or declaration") is a form of military rebellion or ''coup d'état'' particularly associated with Spain, Portugal and Latin America, especially in the 19th century. Typol ...
'' by Martínez Campos established
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 ...
as
king King is the title given to a male monarch in a variety of contexts. The female equivalent is queen, which title is also given to the consort of a king. *In the context of prehistory, antiquity and contemporary indigenous peoples, the tit ...
, marking the end of 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 ...
. After this, the Constitution of 1876 was written and enforced during the whole restoration. This constitution established Spain as a
constitutional 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 ...
with a bicameral legislature (
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 ...
), consisting of an upper house (
Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...
), and a lower house (
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 Palacio de las Cortes, Madrid, Palace of the Parliament () in Ma ...
). This constitution gave the King the power to name Senators and to revoke laws if he wanted to, and he was also given the title of Commander-in-chief of the army. These years were marked by economic prosperity. Ever since the end of the
Napoleonic Wars The Napoleonic Wars (1803–1815) were a series of major global conflicts pitting the French Empire and its allies, led by Napoleon I, against a fluctuating array of European states formed into various coalitions. It produced a period of Fren ...
in 1815, Spain's economy had fallen even further behind those of other European countries. During these years the modernization of the country took place on a large scale. On most fronts domestic production was increased, supported by extreme protectionist measures. The two parties alternated in the government in a controlled process known as ''el
turno 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 ens ...
pacífico''; the Liberal Party was led by Sagasta and the Conservative Party by Canovas del Castillo. The ''
caciques A ''cacique'' (Latin American ; ; feminine form: ''cacica'') was a tribal chieftain of the Taíno people, the indigenous inhabitants at European contact of the Bahamas, the Greater Antilles, and the northern Lesser Antilles. The term is a Spa ...
'', powerful local figures, were used to manipulate election results, and as a result resentment of the system slowly built up over time and important nationalist movements in
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 ...
, Galicia and the Basque Country, as well as unions, started to form.


Reign of Alfonso XIII and crisis of the system (1898–1923)

In 1898, Spain lost its last major overseas colonies (
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 ...
,
Guam Guam (; ch, Guåhan ) is an organized, unincorporated territory of the United States in the Micronesia subregion of the western Pacific Ocean. It is the westernmost point and territory of the United States (reckoned from the geographic cent ...
,
Puerto Rico Puerto Rico (; abbreviated PR; tnq, Boriken, ''Borinquen''), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico ( es, link=yes, Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, lit=Free Associated State of Puerto Rico), is a Caribbean island and Unincorporated ...
, and
the Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...
) 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 ...
. The rapid collapse was perceived as a disaster in Spain, undermining the credibility of both the government and its associated ideologies and almost leading to a military coup d'état led by
Camilo Polavieja Camilo is both a given name and a surname. Notable people with the name include: Given name * Camilo Albornoz (born 2000), Argentine footballer * Camilo Cascolan (born 1964), Filipino law enforcement officer * Camilo Castelo Branco, Portuguese writ ...
. This was the start of the system's decline, giving energy to all manner of conflicting opposition movements at a local and national level. Spain would begin to rehabilitate internationally after the Algeciras Conference of 1906. In 1907 it signed a kind of defensive alliance with France and the United Kingdom, known as the
Pact of Cartagena The Pact of Cartagena was an exchange of notes that took place at Cartagena on 16 May 1907 between France, Great Britain, and Spain. The parties declared their intention to preserve the ''status quo'' in the western Mediterranean and in the Atl ...
in case of war against the Triple Alliance. Spain improved economically due to its neutrality in the
First World War 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 ...
. ''
Spanish flu The 1918–1920 influenza pandemic, commonly known by the misnomer Spanish flu or as the Great Influenza epidemic, was an exceptionally deadly global influenza pandemic caused by the H1N1 influenza A virus. The earliest documented case was ...
'' killed 200,000 Spaniards (1% of the population). The failed attempts to conquer
Morocco Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to ...
( Melilla War) caused great discontent at home and ended in a revolt 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 ...
, known as the Semana Tragica, in which the lower classes of Barcelona, backed by the anarchists, communists, and republicans, revolted against what they considered the unjust methods for recruiting soldiers. The government declared a state of war and sent the army to crush the revolt, causing over a hundred deaths and the execution of
Francisco Ferrer Francesc Ferrer i Guàrdia (; January 14, 1859 – October 13, 1909), widely known as Francisco Ferrer (), was a Spanish radical freethinker, anarchist, and educationist behind a network of secular, private, libertarian schools in and aroun ...
. The socialist
Unión General de Trabajadores The Unión General de Trabajadores (UGT, General Union of Workers) is a major Spanish trade union, historically affiliated with the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE). History The UGT was founded 12 August 1888 by Pablo Iglesias Posse ...
(UGT) and the anarchist
Confederación Nacional del Trabajo The Confederación Nacional del Trabajo ( en, National Confederation of Labor; CNT) is a Spanish confederation of anarcho-syndicalist labor unions, which was long affiliated with the International Workers' Association (AIT). When working wi ...
(CNT) decided to initiate a general strike across the country, but it failed because the unions could only mobilize urban workers. The problems in Morocco worsened as an army of natives attacked the Spanish army. They achieved surprise and, due to the skill of the Moroccan chieftain,
Abd-Al-Krim Muhammad ibn Abd al-Karim al-Khattabi (; Tarifit: Muḥend n Ɛabd Krim Lxeṭṭabi, ⵎⵓⵃⵏⴷ ⵏ ⵄⴰⴱⴷⵍⴽⵔⵉⵎ ⴰⵅⵟⵟⴰⴱ), better known as Abd el-Krim (1882/1883, Ajdir, Morocco – 6 February 1963, Cairo, Egypt) ...
, virtually annihilated the Spanish army, advancing almost as far as
Melilla Melilla ( , ; ; rif, Mřič ; ar, مليلية ) is an autonomous city of Spain located in north Africa. It lies on the eastern side of the Cape Three Forks, bordering Morocco and facing the Mediterranean Sea. It has an area of . It was par ...
in the
Battle of Annual The Battle of Annual was fought on 22 July 1921 at Annual, in northeastern Morocco, between the Spanish Army and Rifian Berbers during the Rif War. The Spanish suffered a major military defeat, which is almost always referred to by the Spanish a ...
. This Spanish defeat was due to improper planning and was blamed on the top military officers, causing great discontent among the military, who felt misunderstood, because they had been directed to advance into the interior without adequate resources to occupy the difficult territory.


Dictatorship of Primo de Rivera (1923–1930)

The military discontent, the fear of anarchist terrorism or a proletarian revolution, and the rise of nationalist movements ultimately caused great agitation amongst the civilians and the military. On 13 September 1923,
Miguel Primo de Rivera Miguel Primo de Rivera y Orbaneja, 2nd Marquess of Estella (8 January 1870 – 16 March 1930), was a dictator, aristocrat, and military officer who served as Prime Minister of Spain from 1923 to 1930 during Spain's Restoration era. He deepl ...
,
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 Command ...
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 north ...
, orchestrated a coup d'état, after issuing a manifesto blaming the problems of Spain on the parliamentary system.
Alfonso XIII Alfonso XIII (17 May 1886 – 28 February 1941), also known as El Africano or the African, was King of Spain from 17 May 1886 to 14 April 1931, when the Second Spanish Republic was proclaimed. He was a monarch from birth as his father, Alfo ...
backed the General and named him Prime Minister. Primo de Rivera proceeded to suspend the Constitution and assume absolute powers as a dictator. He created the
Unión Patriótica Española The Patriotic Union ( es, Unión Patriótica, UP) was the political party created from above by Spanish dictator Miguel Primo de Rivera, conceived as a support to his regime and integrating political Catholicism, Technocracy (bureaucratic), technoc ...
, which was meant to be the sole legal party, abolishing all other parties. During this time, he greatly increased government spending on business and public services, which caused his government to go bankrupt. He lost the support of the military and faced serious health problems. Opposition to his regime was so great that Alfonso XIII stopped supporting him and forced him to resign in January 1930.Shlomo Ben-Ami, "The Dictatorship of Primo de Rivera: A Political Reassessment," Journal of Contemporary History, Jan 1977, Vol. 12 Issue 1, pp 65–84


Final year (1930–1931)

Alfonso XIII, in an attempt to return gradually to the previous system and restore his prestige, called on General
Dámaso Berenguer Dámaso Berenguer y Fusté, 1st Count of Xauen (4 August 1873 – 19 May 1953) was a Spanish general and politician. He served as Prime Minister during the last thirteen months of the reign of Alfonso XIII. Biography Berenguer was born in Sa ...
to form a government. This failed utterly, as the King was considered a supporter of the dictatorship, and more and more political forces called for the establishment of a republic. Berenguer resigned and the King gave the government to Admiral
Juan Bautista Aznar ''Juan'' is a given name, the Spanish and Manx versions of ''John''. It is very common in Spain and in other Spanish-speaking communities around the world and in the Philippines, and also (pronounced differently) in the Isle of Man. In Spanish, t ...
. Aznar called for local elections on 12 April 1931 in order to satisfy the democrats and republicans, to replace the dictatorship's local governments and to gradually re-introduce the restoration. Although the monarchists had not lost all their support, the republican and socialist parties won some significant victories in major cities. Street riots ensued, calling for the removal of the monarchy. The army declared that they would not defend the King and on 14 April he fled Spain. 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 ...
was immediately established under a provisional government led by
Niceto Alcalá-Zamora Niceto Alcalá-Zamora y Torres (6 July 1877 – 18 February 1949) was a Spanish lawyer and politician who served, briefly, as the first prime minister of the Second Spanish Republic, and then—from 1931 to 1936—as its president. Early life ...
.


References


Sources

*Barton, Simon. ''A History of Spain'' (2009
excerpt and text search
*Beck, Earl Ray. ''Time of Triumph & Sorrow: Spanish Politics during the Reign of Alfonso XII, 1874–1885'' (1979) *Ben-Ami, Shlomo. "The Dictatorship of Primo de Rivera: A Political Reassessment," ''Journal of Contemporary History,'' Jan 1977, Vol. 12 Issue 1, pp 65–8
in JSTOR
*Carr, Raymond, ed. ''Spain: A History'' (2001
excerpt and text search
*Esdaile, Charles J. ''Spain in the Liberal Age: From Constitution to Civil War, 1808–1939'' (2000
excerpt and text search
*Hall, Morgan C. "Alfonso XIII and the Failure of the Liberal Monarchy in Spain, 1902–1923" ''Dissertation Abstracts International,'' 2003, Vol. 64 Issue 6, p2220-2220, * Luengo, Jorge, and Pol Dalmau. "Writing Spanish history in the global age: connections and entanglements in the nineteenth century." ''Journal of global history'' 13.3 (2018): 425–445
online
*Payne, Stanley G. "Spanish Conservatism 1834–1923," ''Journal of Contemporary History,'' Vol. 13, No. 4, (Oct. 1978), pp. 765–789
in JSTOR
*Winston, Colin M. "The Proletarian Carlist Road to Fascism: Sindicalismo Libre," ''Journal of Contemporary History'' Vol. 17, No. 4 (Oct., 1982), pp. 557–585
in JSTOR
{{DEFAULTSORT:Restoration Spain Modern history of Spain 1874 establishments in Spain 1931 disestablishments in Spain States and territories established in 1874 States and territories disestablished in 1931
Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...
Former countries of the interwar period