The Sexenio Democrático or Sexenio Revolucionario (English: The six democratic or revolutionary years) is a period of 6 years between 1868 and 1874 in the

history of Spain The history of Spain dates to contact the pre-Roman peoples of the Mediterranean coast of the Iberian Peninsula made with the Greeks and Phoenicians and the first writing systems known as Paleohispanic scripts were developed. During Classical ...

. The ''Sexenio Democrático'' starts on 30 September 1868 with the overthrow of Queen

Isabella II of Spain 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 ...

after the Glorious Revolution, and ends on 29 December 1874 with the Bourbon Restoration, when Isabella's son

Alfonso XII Alfonso XII (Alfonso Francisco de Asís Fernando Pío Juan María de la Concepción Gregorio Pelayo; 28 November 185725 November 1885), also known as El Pacificador or the Peacemaker, was King of Spain from 29 December 1874 to his death in 1885 ...

became King after a coup d'état by

Arsenio Martínez-Campos Arsenio is an Italian, Portuguese and Spanish version of the male given name ''Arsenius''. It may refer to: People * Arsenio Balisacan, Filipino economist * Arsénio Bano (born 1974), East Timorese politician * Arsenio Benítez (born 1971), Pa ...

. The sexenio spawned the most progressive 19th-century Spanish constitution, the 1869 Constitution, the one dedicating the most space to the rights of the Spanish citizens. Three phases can be distinguished in ''Sexenio Democrático'': * The Provisional Government (1868–1871) (September 1868 – January 1871) * The rule of King Amadeo I of Spain (January 1871 – February 1873) * 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 ...

(February 1873 – December 1874) The ''Sexenio Democrático'' was a politically very unstable period.

Sources

Caricatura etapas del sexenio La Flaca 1874

1860s in Spain 1870s in Spain {{Spain-hist-stub