:''Go directly to the

Table Table may refer to: * Table (database), how the table data arrangement is used within the databases * Table (furniture), a piece of furniture with a flat surface and one or more legs * Table (information), a data arrangement with rows and column ...

.''

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

has proclaimed a number of Constitutions. The current

Constitution of Spain The Spanish Constitution () is the Constitution, supreme law of the Spain, Kingdom of Spain. It was enacted after its approval in 1978 in a 1978 Spanish constitutional referendum, constitutional referendum; it represents the culmination of the ...

of 1978 is the culmination of the

Spanish transition to democracy The Spanish transition to democracy, known in Spain as (; ) or (), is a period of History of Spain, modern Spanish history encompassing the regime change that moved from the Francoist dictatorship to the consolidation of a parliamentary system ...

. The idea of a national constitution for Spain arose from the

Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen The Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen (), set by France's National Constituent Assembly in 1789, is a human and civil rights document from the French Revolution; the French title can be translated in the modern era as "Decl ...

initiated as a result of the French Revolution. The earliest constitution was written and promulgated in 1808 when Napoleon invaded Spain, Bourbon monarchs

Ferdinand VII Ferdinand VII (; 14 October 1784 – 29 September 1833) was King of Spain during the early 19th century. He reigned briefly in 1808 and then again from 1813 to his death in 1833. Before 1813 he was known as ''el Deseado'' (the Desired), and af ...

and Charles IV abdicated, and Napoleon placed his brother

Joseph Bonaparte Joseph Bonaparte (born Giuseppe di Buonaparte, ; ; ; 7 January 176828 July 1844) was a French statesman, lawyer, diplomat and older brother of Napoleon Bonaparte. During the Napoleonic Wars, the latter made him King of Naples (1806–1808), an ...

on the throne. A constitution was drafted and the ''Junta Española'' Joseph I signed it. A major feature of the Constitution of 1808 was the provision for representation by Spanish America on an equal basis with the peninsula. Although signed by Spanish aristocrats and the new monarch, few in Spain recognized this document. With the eruption of the

Peninsular War The Peninsular War (1808–1814) was fought in the Iberian Peninsula by Kingdom of Portugal, Portugal, Spain and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom against the invading and occupying forces of the First French ...

to oust the French invaders. A new Cortes was summoned and met at

Cádiz Cádiz ( , , ) is a city in Spain and the capital of the Province of Cádiz in the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia. It is located in the southwest of the Iberian Peninsula off the Atlantic Ocean separated fr ...

, which included Spanish American and Philippine delegates, and promulgated the

Spanish Constitution of 1812 The Political Constitution of the Spanish Monarchy (), also known as the Constitution of Cádiz () and nicknamed ''La Pepa'', was the first Constitution of Spain and one of the earliest codified constitutions in world history. The Constitution ...

. This constitution is generally recognized as Spain's first written constitution since it was drafted freely by delegates of the

Spanish Empire The Spanish Empire, sometimes referred to as the Hispanic Monarchy (political entity), Hispanic Monarchy or the Catholic Monarchy, was a colonial empire that existed between 1492 and 1976. In conjunction with the Portuguese Empire, it ushered ...

. During

Francoist Spain Francoist Spain (), also known as the Francoist dictatorship (), or Nationalist Spain () was the period of Spanish history between 1936 and 1975, when Francisco Franco ruled Spain after the Spanish Civil War with the title . After his death i ...

, there were many attempts to create stable institutions that did not (at least directly) emanate from Francisco Franco as they did in the post-war period. The Fundamental Laws of the Realm (Spanish: ''Leyes Fundamentales del Reino'') were a constitution in parts enacted through nearly 20 years starting in the 1950s. Most of those Laws theoretically provided for a quite free state, but ultimately the power of the

Caudillo A ''caudillo'' ( , ; , from Latin language, Latin , diminutive of ''caput'' "head") is a type of Personalist dictatorship, personalist leader wielding military and political power. There is no precise English translation for the term, though it ...

was supreme. They established the very institutions that would later, under

Juan Carlos I Juan Carlos I (; Juan Carlos Alfonso Víctor María de Borbón y Borbón-Dos Sicilias, born 5 January 1938) is a member of the Spanish royal family who reigned as King of Spain from 22 November 1975 until Abdication of Juan Carlos I, his abdic ...

and Prime Minister

Adolfo Suárez Adolfo Suárez González, 1st Duke of Suárez (; 25 September 1932 – 23 March 2014) was a Spanish lawyer and politician. Suárez was Spain's first democratically elected Prime Minister of Spain, prime minister since the Second Spanish Republi ...

, commit "constitutional suicide" and pass the Political Reform Act, starting the

. Finally, the constitution in force is similar to the (unwritten) British democratic monarchy model, but the

2014 Catalan self-determination referendum Fourteen or 14 may refer to: * 14 (number), the natural number following 13 and preceding 15 * one of the years 14 BC, AD 14, 1914, 2014 Music * 14th (band), a British electronic music duo * ''14'' (David Garrett album), 2013 *''14'', an un ...

has provoked calls for an entirely democratic federal republican model. Below there is a comprehensive

table Table may refer to: * Table (database), how the table data arrangement is used within the databases * Table (furniture), a piece of furniture with a flat surface and one or more legs * Table (information), a data arrangement with rows and column ...

, but this is an overview: * 1808–1814 Bayonne Constitution - Napoleonic restructuring from royal edict to the bicameral parliament * 1812 Constitution of 1812 - The first attempt at decentralization * 1814 Constitution of 1812 - derogated by the

King King is a royal title given to a male monarch. A king is an Absolute monarchy, absolute monarch if he holds unrestricted Government, governmental power or exercises full sovereignty over a nation. Conversely, he is a Constitutional monarchy, ...

, absolutist monarchy restored * 1820–23 Reinstatement of the Constitution of 1812 * 1834 Absolute monarchy * 1837 Constitutional monarchy * 1845 Regency empowerment * 1856 Failed attempt at democracy * 1869 Another failed attempt at democracy * 1873

First Spanish Republic The Spanish Republic (), 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 the abdication of King ...

* 1876 Failed attempt to become a federal republic * 1931

Second Spanish Republic The Spanish Republic (), commonly known as the Second Spanish Republic (), was the form of democratic government in Spain from 1931 to 1939. The Republic was proclaimed on 14 April 1931 after the deposition of Alfonso XIII, King Alfonso XIII. ...

* 1936 Martial law under

Francisco Franco Francisco Franco Bahamonde (born Francisco Paulino Hermenegildo Teódulo Franco Bahamonde; 4 December 1892 – 20 November 1975) was a Spanish general and dictator who led the Nationalist faction (Spanish Civil War), Nationalist forces i ...

* 1939 – 1978

* 1978 Transition to democratic monarchy

Table

References

External links

*
Text of all Spanish Constitutions, except the 1808 one
{{DEFAULTSORT:Constitutions Of Spain Constitutions of Spain