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The Political Constitution of the Spanish Monarchy ( es, link=no, Constitución Política de la Monarquía Española), also known as the Constitution of
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, ...
( es, link=no, Constitución de Cádiz) and as ''La Pepa'', was the first Constitution of Spain and one of the earliest codified constitutions in world history. The Constitution was ratified on 19 March 1812 by the Cortes of Cádiz, the first Spanish legislature that included delegates from the entire nation, including Spanish America 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 ...
. "It defined Spanish and Spanish American liberalism for the early 19th century." With the notable exception of proclaiming
Roman Catholicism The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
as the official and sole legal religion in Spain, the constitution was one of the most liberal of its time: it affirmed national sovereignty, separation of powers, freedom of the press, free enterprise, abolished corporate privileges ( fueros), and established 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
parliamentary system A parliamentary system, or parliamentarian democracy, is a system of democratic governance of a state (or subordinate entity) where the executive derives its democratic legitimacy from its ability to command the support ("confidence") of th ...
. It was one of the first constitutions that allowed universal male suffrage, with some exceptions, through a complex indirect electoral system. It extended political rights for representation to Spanish America and the Philippines, a significant step for the demands of American-born Spaniards. When King Ferdinand VII returned to power in 1814, he dissolved the Cortes and abrogated the constitution, re-establishing
absolute monarchy Absolute monarchy (or Absolutism as a doctrine) is a form of monarchy in which the monarch rules in their own right or power. In an absolute monarchy, the king or queen is by no means limited and has absolute power, though a limited constituti ...
. The constitution was reinstated during the '' Trienio Liberal'' (1820–1823) and again in 1836–1837 while the
Progressives Progressivism holds that it is possible to improve human societies through political action. As a political movement, progressivism seeks to advance the human condition through social reform based on purported advancements in science, techn ...
prepared the Constitution of 1837. It was an important model for later constitutions in Spain and Spanish America.


Napoleonic political changes

Until the Napoleonic invasion of Spain in 1808, Ferdinand VII ruled as an absolute monarch. Napoleon forced Ferdinand's abdication as well as the renunciation of his father Charles IV's rights, and then placed his brother
Joseph Bonaparte it, Giuseppe-Napoleone Buonaparte es, José Napoleón Bonaparte , house = Bonaparte , father = Carlo Buonaparte , mother = Letizia Ramolino , birth_date = 7 January 1768 , birth_place = Corte, Corsica, Republic ...
on the throne of Spain. Seeking to create legitimacy for Joseph I of Spain, Napoleon called the Cortes, whose delegates he had selected, to proclaim Joseph as the legitimate monarch. The Cortes then approved the French-style Bayonne Constitution and called for a Cortes with 172 members, of which 62 were to be from Spanish America. There was to be a Council of State with a section for The Indies, the name Spain persisted in using to designate Spanish American and the Philippines, which would be under the control of American-born and Philippine-born Spaniards. Despite these formal attempts to legitimize the rule of Joseph Bonaparte by gaining consent of the Cortes, it was rejected by Spaniards on the peninsula and Spanish America and the Philippines. It had great importance, since it "set off a process that led to the collapse of the Spanish empire. The Napoleonic regime in Madrid forced two issues: the relative freedom of the colonies to pursue their own affairs, and the rights to representation in imperial assemblies."


Spanish Cortes of Cádiz

As Spaniards in the peninsula and overseas grappled with the new political reality, for them it created a crisis of legitimacy of rule. Many places in Spain created
junta Junta may refer to: Government and military * Junta (governing body) (from Spanish), the name of various historical and current governments and governing institutions, including civil ones ** Military junta, one form of junta, government led by a ...
s to rule in the place of the legitimate monarch. A Supreme Central Junta was created to coordinate the multiplicity of juntas. Napoleon opened a new way for the Spanish Empire to be constituted. His vision acknowledged the aspirations of Spanish colonies for greater equality and autonomy. Spaniards rejecting Napoleon's rule meant they needed to offer political inducements for Spanish America and the Philippines to stay loyal to the empire. A new Cortes was called with delegates from Spain and the overseas components of the
Spanish Empire The Spanish Empire ( es, link=no, Imperio español), also known as the Hispanic Monarchy ( es, link=no, Monarquía Hispánica) or the Catholic Monarchy ( es, link=no, Monarquía Católica) was a colonial empire governed by Spain and its prede ...
in the Americas and the Philippines. The Spanish organized an interim Spanish government, the Supreme Central Junta and called for a Cortes to convene with representatives from all the Spanish provinces throughout the worldwide empire, in order to establish a government with a firm claim to legitimacy. The Junta first met on 25 September 1808 in
Aranjuez Aranjuez () is a city and municipality of Spain, part of the Community of Madrid. Located in the southern end of the region, the main urban nucleus lies on the left bank of Tagus, a bit upstream the discharge of the Jarama. , the municipality h ...
and later in
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 Penins ...
, before retreating to Cádiz. Cádiz was the most secure place for the Cortes to take place, since it was a fortified port. Retreating before the advancing French and an outbreak of yellow fever, the Supreme Central Junta moved to Isla de León, where it could be supplied and defended with the help of the Spanish and British navies, and abolished itself, leaving a regency to rule until the Cortes could convene. The Cortes of Cádiz crafted and adopted the Constitution while besieged by French troops, first on
Isla de León The Isla de León is a historical name for the piece of land between the city of Cádiz and the Iberian peninsula, in Spain. In 1813, it was renamed San Fernando in honor of King Fernando VII of Spain for his courage in the defense of the city ...
(now San Fernando), then an island separated from the mainland by a shallow waterway on the Atlantic side of the Bay of Cádiz, and within the small, strategically located city of Cádiz itself When the Cortes convened in Cádiz in 1810, there appeared to be two possibilities for Spain's political future if the French could be driven out. The first, represented especially by Gaspar Melchor de Jovellanos, was the restoration of the absolutist '' Antiguo Régimen'' ("Old Regime"); the second was to adopt some sort of written constitution. The Cortes did not have revolutionary intentions, since the Supreme Central Junta saw itself simply as a continuation of the legitimate government of Spain in the absence of a monarch considered legitimate. The opening session of the new Cortes was held on 24 September 1810 in the building now known as the Real Teatro de las Cortes. The opening ceremonies included a civic procession, a
mass Mass is an intrinsic property of a body. It was traditionally believed to be related to the quantity of matter in a physical body, until the discovery of the atom and particle physics. It was found that different atoms and different ele ...
, and a call by the president of the Regency, Pedro Quevedo y Quintana, the bishop of Ourense, for those present to fulfill their task loyally and efficiently. Still, the very act of resistance to the French involved a certain degree of deviation from the doctrine of royal sovereignty: if sovereignty resided entirely in the monarch, then Charles and Ferdinand's abdications in favor of Napoleon would have made Joseph Bonaparte the legitimate ruler of Spain. The representatives who gathered at Cádiz were far more liberal than the elite of Spain taken as a whole, and they produced a document far more liberal than might have been produced in Spain were it not for the war. Few of the most conservative voices were at Cádiz, and there was no effective communication with King Ferdinand, who was a virtual prisoner in France. In the Cortes of 1810–1812, liberal deputies, who had the implicit support of the British who were protecting the city, were in the majority and representatives of the Church and nobility constituted a minority. Liberals wanted equality before the law, a centralized government, an efficient modern civil service, a reform of the tax system, the replacement of feudal privileges by freedom of contract, and the recognition of the property owner's right to use his property as he saw fit. Three basic principles were soon ratified by the Cortes: that sovereignty resides in the nation, the legitimacy of Ferdinand VII as king of Spain, and the inviolability of the deputies. With this, the first steps towards a political revolution were taken, since prior to the Napoleonic intervention, Spain had been ruled as an absolute monarchy by the Bourbons and their Hapsburg predecessors. Although the Cortes was not unanimous in its liberalism, the new Constitution significantly reduced the power of the crown, and the
Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwide . It is am ...
(although Catholicism remained the state religion).


Terms

As the principal aim of the new constitution was the prevention of arbitrary and corrupt royal rule, it provided for a limited monarchy, which governed through ministers subject to parliamentary control. It laid out the structure of the three branches of government: executive, legislative and judicial. The constitution has 384 articles in 10 major chapters or (Títulos). Chapter I was Of the Spanish Nation and Spaniards (articles 1-9). Chapter II (articles 12-26) was Of the Spanish Territory, Religion, Government and Rights of Citizenship. Chapter III (articles 27-167) dealt with the Cortes, the legislative branch of government. Chapter IV Of the King (articles 168-241) defined the powers of and the restrictions on the monarchy. Chapter V Of the Tribunals, and Administration of Civil and Criminal Justice (articles 242-308) concerned how laws would be administered by specific courts. Chapter VI Of the Internal Government of Provinces and of the Pueblos (articles 309-323) lays out governance at the provincial and local level. Chapter VII Of the Financial Contributions (articles 338-355) dealt with taxation. Chapter VIII Of the National Military Force (articles 356-365) specified how the military would operate. Chapter IX Of Public Education (articles 366-371) called for uniform public education from primary schools through university, as well as freedom of expression (article 371). Chapter X Of the Observance of the Constitution and the Way to Proceed to Amend it (articles 366-384). The constitution had no bill of rights, which had been the case of the
Constitution of the United States The Constitution of the United States is the supreme law of the United States of America. It superseded the Articles of Confederation, the nation's first constitution, in 1789. Originally comprising seven articles, it delineates the nati ...
when it was first ratified. Rights and obligations of citizens were embedded in individual articles of the Spanish Constitution. Male suffrage, which was not determined by property qualifications, favoured the position of the commercial class in the new parliament since there was no special provision for the Church or the nobility. Repeal of traditional property restrictions gave liberals the freer economy that they wanted. There was no provision for literacy of voters until 1830, which allowed men in the popular groups access to suffrage. The constitution set up a centralized administrative system for the whole empire, in both Iberia and overseas components, based on newly-reformed and uniform provincial governments and municipalities, rather than maintaining some form of the varied historical local governmental structures. The first provincial government created under the Constitution was in the province of Guadalajara con Molina. Its deputation first met in the village of
Anguita Anguita is a municipality in the Guadalajara (province), province of Guadalajara, Castile-La Mancha, Spain, with a population of 203 in 2009. Geography Anguita is located in the Sistema Ibérico below Sierra Ministra. River Tajuña and its tri ...
in April 1813, since the capital Guadalajara was the site of ongoing fighting.


Establishment of Spanish citizenship

Among the most debated questions during the drafting of the constitution was the status of the
native Native may refer to: People * Jus soli, citizenship by right of birth * Indigenous peoples, peoples with a set of specific rights based on their historical ties to a particular territory ** Native Americans (disambiguation) In arts and entert ...
and mixed-race populations in Spain's possessions around the world. Most of the overseas provinces were represented, especially the most populous regions. Both the Viceroyalty of New Spain and the Viceroyalty of Peru had
deputies A legislator (also known as a deputy or lawmaker) is a person who writes and passes laws, especially someone who is a member of a legislature. Legislators are often elected by the people of the state. Legislatures may be supra-national (for e ...
present, as did
Central America Central America ( es, América Central or ) is a subregion of the Americas. Its boundaries are defined as bordering the United States to the north, Colombia to the south, the Caribbean Sea to the east, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. ...
, the islands of the Spanish Caribbean,
Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and ...
,
Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the eas ...
, Upper Peru 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 ...
. The total number of representatives was 303, of which 37 were born in overseas territories although several of them were temporary substitute deputies 'suplentes''elected by American refugees in the city of Cádiz: seven from New Spain, two from Central America, five from Peru, two from Chile, three from the Río de la Plata, three from
New Granada New Granada may refer to various former national denominations for the present-day country of Colombia. * New Kingdom of Granada, from 1538 to 1717 *Viceroyalty of New Granada, from 1717 to 1810, re-established from 1816 to 1819 *United Provinces of ...
, and three from Venezuela, one from Santo Domingo, two from
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 Caribb ...
, one from Puerto Rico and two from the Philippines. Although most of the overseas representatives were Criollos, the majority wanted to extend suffrage to all indigenous, mixed-race and free black people of the Spanish Empire, which would have granted the overseas territories a majority in the future Cortes. The majority of representatives from peninsular Spain opposed those proposals as they wished to limit the weight of non-''peninsulares''. According to the best estimates of the time, continental Spain had an estimated population of between 10 and 11 million, and the overseas provinces had a combined population of around 15 to 16 million. The Cortes ultimately approved a distinction between nationality and citizenship (that is, those with the right to vote). The Constitution gave Spanish citizenship to natives of the territories that had belonged to the Spanish monarchy in both hemispheres. The Constitution of 1812 included
Indigenous peoples of the Americas The Indigenous peoples of the Americas are the inhabitants of the Americas before the arrival of the European settlers in the 15th century, and the ethnic groups who now identify themselves with those peoples. Many Indigenous peoples of the A ...
to Spanish citizenship, but the acquisition of citizenship for any casta of
Afro-American peoples of the Americas The African diaspora in the Americas refers to the people born in the Americas with partial, predominantly, or completely African ancestry. Many are descendants of persons enslaved in Africa and transferred to the Americas by Europeans, then fo ...
was through naturalization excluding slaves. Spanish nationals were defined as all people born, naturalized or permanently residing for more than ten years in Spanish territories. Article 1 of the Constitution read: "The Spanish nation is the collectivity of the Spaniards of both hemispheres." Voting rights were granted to Spanish nationals whose ancestry originated from Spain or the territories of the Spanish Empire. That had the effect of changing the legal status of the people not only in Peninsular Spain but also in Spanish possessions overseas. In the latter case, not only people of Spanish ancestry but also indigenous peoples as well were transformed from the subjects of an absolute monarch to the citizens of a nation rooted in the doctrine of national, rather than royal, sovereignty. At the same time, the Constitution recognized the civil rights of free blacks and ''mulatos'' but explicitly denied them automatic citizenship. Furthermore, they were not to be counted for the purposes of establishing the number of representatives a given province was to send to the Cortes. That had the effect of removing an estimated six million people from the rolls in the overseas territories. In part, that arrangement was a strategy by the peninsular deputies to achieve equality in the number of American and peninsular deputies in the future Cortes, but it also served the interests of conservative Criollo representatives, who wished to keep political power within a limited group of people. The peninsular deputies, for the most part, were also not inclined towards ideas of federalism promoted by many of the overseas deputies, which would have granted greater self-rule to the American and Asian territories. Most of the ''peninsulares'', therefore, shared the absolutists' inclination towards
centralized government A centralized government (also united government) is one in which both executive and legislative power is concentrated centrally at the higher level as opposed to it being more distributed at various lower level governments. In a national conte ...
. Another aspect of the treatment of the overseas territories in the constitution, one of the many that would prove not to be to the taste of Ferdinand VII, that by converting the territories to provinces, the king was deprived of a great economic resource. Under the ''Antiguo Régimen'', the taxes from Spain's overseas possessions went directly to the royal treasury. Under the Constitution of 1812, it would go to the state administrative apparatus.


Ayuntamientos

The impact of the 1812 Constitution on the emerging states of Spanish America was quite direct.
Miguel Ramos Arizpe Don Miguel Ramos Arizpe (February 15, 1775 in Valle de San Nicolás, (near Saltillo) Coahuila – April 28, 1843 in Mexico City) was a Mexican priest and politician, and known as "the father of Mexican federalism." Life and career Ramos Ari ...
of Mexico, Joaquín Fernández de Leiva of Chile, Vicente Morales Duárez of
Peru , image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg , image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg , other_symbol = Great Seal of the State , other_symbol_type = National seal , national_motto = "Firm and Happy f ...
and José Mejía Lequerica of Ecuador, among other significant figures in founding Spanish American republics, were active participants at Cádiz. One provision of the Constitution (article 310) provided for the creation of a local government (an '' ayuntamiento'') for every settlement of over 1,000 people. The provision was designed to transform the institution from one controlled by elites to representative institutions through elections. Elections were indirect, favouring the wealthy and socially prominent. The proposal came from Ramos Arizpe. That benefited the bourgeoisie at the expense of the hereditary aristocracy both on the Peninsula and in the Americas, where it was particularly to the advantage of the Criollos since they came to dominate the ''ayuntamientos''. In Cuzco, the local elites welcomed the opportunity to participate in governance on the ayuntamiento. They distributed copies of the Constitution, allied with the provincial deputation and the cathedral chapter, all dominated by creoles, to oppose peninsular-born bureaucrats. The Constitution also brought in a certain measure of federalism through the back door, both on the peninsula and overseas: elected bodies at the local and provincial level might not always be in lockstep with the central government.


Promulgation

The Constitution was signed in March 1812, but it was not promulgated immediately throughout the empire. In New Spain, Viceroy Francisco Venegas allowed the Constitution to be published on 19 September 1812. In Peru, the other major viceroyalty, Viceroy José Fernando Abascal had the Constitution published on 1 October 1812. Venegas had to deal immediately upon taking up his post as viceroy the massive uprising of Father Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla that had broken out days earlier. The inexperienced Venegas scrambled to handle two major simultaneous crises of power: a rebellion and the promulgation of a new system of government under the Constitution. Abascal was able to control the electoral process and control of the press (article 371) despite the provisions of the Constitution mandating its freedom. The constitution was not promulgated in Quito until 18 July 1813.


Repeal and restoration

When Ferdinand VII was restored in March 1814 by the Allied Powers, it is not clear whether he immediately made up his mind as to whether to accept or reject this new charter of Spanish government. He first promised to uphold the constitution, but was repeatedly met in numerous towns by crowds who welcomed him as an absolute monarch, often smashing the markers that had renamed their central plazas as Plaza of the Constitution. Sixty-nine deputies of the Cortes signed the so-called ''Manifiesto de los Persas'' ("Manifesto of the Persians") encouraging him to restore absolutism. Within a matter of weeks, encouraged by conservatives and backed by the
Roman Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
hierarchy, he abolished the constitution on 4 May and arrested many liberal leaders on 10 May, justifying his actions as the repudiation of an unlawful constitution made by a Cortes assembled in his absence and without his consent. Thus he came back to assert the Bourbon doctrine that the sovereign authority resided in his person only. Ferdinand's absolutist rule rewarded the traditional holders of power— prelates, nobles and those who held office before 1808—but not liberals, who wished to see 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 ...
in Spain, or many who led the war effort against the French but had not been part of the pre-war government. This discontent resulted in several unsuccessful attempts to restore the Constitution in the five years after Ferdinand's restoration. Finally on 1 January 1820 Rafael del Riego, Antonio Quiroga and other officers initiated a mutiny of army officers in Andalusia demanding the implementation of the Constitution. The movement found support among the northern cities and provinces of Spain, and by 7 March the king had restored the Constitution. Over the next two years, the other European monarchies became alarmed at the liberals' success and at the Congress of Verona in 1822 approved the intervention of royalist French forces in Spain to support Ferdinand VII. After the Battle of Trocadero liberated Ferdinand from control by the Cortes in August 1823, he turned on the liberals and constitutionalists with fury. After Ferdinand's death in 1833, the Constitution was in force again briefly in 1836 and 1837, while the Constitution of 1837 was being drafted. Since 1812, Spain has had a total of seven constitutions; the current one has been in force since 1978.


Legacy

The Cortes of Cádiz produced the first written Spanish constitution, promulgated in Cádiz on 19 March 1812, and is regarded as the founding document of liberalism in Spain. It is one of the first examples of
classical liberalism Classical liberalism is a political tradition and a branch of liberalism that advocates free market and laissez-faire economics; civil liberties under the rule of law with especial emphasis on individual autonomy, limited government, e ...
or conservative liberalism worldwide. It came to be called the "sacred code" of the branch of liberalism that rejected a part of the
French Revolution The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in November 1799. Many of its ideas are conside ...
. During the early nineteenth century it served as a model for liberal constitutions of several Mediterranean and Latin American nations. It served as the model for the Norwegian Constitution of 1814, the Portuguese Constitution of 1822 and the Mexican one of 1824, and was implemented with minor modifications in various Italian states by the Carbonari during their revolt of 1820 and 1821.


Gallery

File:Barrio Hoz.JPG, Anguita, where the act was signed to establish the first ''diputación provincial'' under the 1812 Constitution. File:St Aug Plaza DLC const mem03.jpg, Constitution of 1812 monument in
St. Augustine, Florida St. Augustine ( ; es, San Agustín ) is a city in the Southeastern United States and the county seat of St. Johns County on the Atlantic coast of northeastern Florida. Founded in 1565 by Spanish explorers, it is the oldest continuously inhabi ...
. This obelisk was erected when the city was the capital of the Spanish Florida. File:Monumento a la Constitución de 1812, Cádiz, España, 2015-12-08, DD 80.JPG, Monument to the Constitution of 1812 in Cádiz, Spain


See also

* Bayonne Constitution * Trienio Liberal * Napoleonic Code *
Retroversion of the sovereignty to the people The Retroversion of the sovereignty to the people, which challenged the legitimacy of the colonial authorities, was the principle underlying the self-government temporarily in the absence of the legitimate king. But, in both Spain and Spanish Ame ...
*
American Provincial Deputation of Spain The Provincial Deputation was created by the Spanish Constitution of 1812 to provide a representation of the territorial division of Spain and the American dominions of the Spanish monarchy during the term Cortes of Cádiz. The Cortes created n ...
* History of democracy in Mexico * Dos de Mayo Uprising * Cortes of Cádiz *
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, ...
* San Fernando, Cádiz * Spanish American wars of independence


References


Primary sources


The Political Constitution of the Spanish Monarchy.
Biblioteca Virtual "Miguel de Cervantes" on-line version of a partial translation originally published in '' Cobbett's Political Register,'' Vol. 16 (July–December 1814).


Further reading

*Anna, Timothy E. "The Rise of Constitutional Government in the Iberian Atlantic World: The Impact of the Cádiz Constitution of 1812." (2018): 523-524. * Annino, Antonio, "Cádiz y la revolución territorial de los pueblos mexicanos, 1812–1821." ''Historia de las elecciones en Iberoamérica, siglo XIX. De la formación del espacio político nacional'': 177-226. * Artola, Miguel. ''La España de Fernando VII.'' Madrid: Espasa-Calpe, 1999. * Benson, Nettie Lee, ed. ''Mexico and the Spanish Cortes.'' Austin: University of Texas Press, 1966. * Congleton, Roger D. "Early Spanish Liberalism and Constitutional Political Economy: The Cádiz Constitution of 1812. 2010." (2010): 18-19. * Davis, John. "The Spanish Constitution of 1812 and the Mediterranean Revolutions (1820-25)." ''Bulletin for Spanish and Portuguese Historical Studies'' 37.2 (2012): 7. * Eastman, Scott, and Natalia Sobrevilla Perea, eds. ''The rise of constitutional government in the Iberian Atlantic world: the impact of the Cádiz Constitution of 1812''. University of Alabama Press, 2015. * Esdaile, Charles J. ''Spain in the Liberal Age''. Oxford; Malden, Mass.: Blackwell, 2000. * Garrido Caballero, Magdalena. "The Legacy of 1812 in Spain and Russia." Istoriya 7.8 (52) (2016): 10-20. * Hamnett, Brian. "The Medieval Roots of Spanish Constitutionalism." ''The Rise of Constitutional Government in the Iberian Atlantic World (1812)'': 19-41. * Harris, Jonathan, "An English utilitarian looks at Spanish American independence: Jeremy Bentham's ''Rid Yourselves of Ultramaria''," ''The Americas'' 53 (1996), 217–233 * Herr, Richard, "The Constitution of 1812 and the Spanish Road to Constitutional Monarchy," pp. 65–102 (notes on pp. 374–380) in Isser Woloch, ed. ''Revolution and the Meanings of Freedom in the Nineteenth Century''. Stanford, California: Stanford University Press, 1996. . (A volume in the publisher's series ''The Making of Modern Freedom.'') * Kobyakova, Ekaterina. "The Idea of Civil Society in the Cádiz Constitution of 1812 and the Spanish Constitution of 1978." Istoriya 7.8 (52) (2016): 10-20. * Lovett, Gabriel. ''Napoleon and the Birth of Modern Spain.'' New York: New York University Press, 1965. * Mecham, J. Lloyd. "The origins of federalism in Mexico." The Hispanic American Historical Review 18.2 (1938): 164-182. * Mirow, Matthew C. "Visions of Cádiz: the Constitution of 1812 in historical and constitutional thought." Studies in Law, Politics, and Society 53 (2010): 59-88. * Muck, Allison. The Constitution of 1812: An Exercise in Spanish Constitutional Thought. Diss. Pennsylvania State University, 2015. * Rieu-Millan, Marie Laure. ''Los diputados americanos en las Cortes de Cádiz: Igualdad o independencia.'' Madrid: Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas, 1990. *Ripoll, Carlos. St. Augustine and Cuba: The Monument to the 1812 Spanish Constitution. Editorial Dos Ríos, 2002. *Roberts, Stephen GH, and Adam Sharman. ''1812 Echoes: The Cadiz Constitution in Hispanic History, Culture and Politics''. Cambridge Scholars Publishing, 2013. *Rodríguez O., Jaime E. ''The Independence of Spanish America''. Cambridge University Press, 1998. * Rodríguez O., Jaime E. "'Equality! The Sacred Right of Equality': Representation Under the Constitution of 1812." Revista de Indias 68.242 (2008): 97-122. * Rodríguez, Mario. ''The Cádiz Experiment in Central America, 1808 to 1826.'' Berkeley: University of California Press, 1978. * Saenz, Charles Nicholas. "Slaves to Tyrants: Social Ordering, Nationhood, and the Spanish Constitution of 1812." Bulletin for Spanish and Portuguese Historical Studies 37.2 (2012): 4. * Schofield, Philip. "Jeremy Bentham and the Spanish Constitution of 1812." Happiness and Utility: Essays Presented to Frederick Rosen (2019): 40. * Sobrevilla Perea, Natalia. "The Rise of Constitutional Government in the Iberian Atlantic World. The impact of the 1812 Cadiz Constitution of 1812." (2015). *Zimmerman, A.F. "Spain and Its Colonies, 1808-1820." Hispanic American Historical Review 11:4(1931) 439-463 {{Authority control Constitutions of Spain 1812 in law Constitution of 1812 Spain 1812 Constitution of 1812 Constitution of 1812 1812 documents 19th century in Spain Ferdinand VII of Spain History of Spain