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The Treaty of Fontainebleau
This treaty allowed French troops to pass through Spain to invade Portugal, an ally of the British. -
Abdications of Bayonne
Napoleon persuaded Charles IV and Ferdinand VII to give the Spanish crown to his brother, Joseph Bonaparte, and it receives the name of "abdications of Bayonne". -
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War of Independence
A popular revolt began in Madrid on 2 May 1808 and started the War of Independence.
- Popular resistence: Irregular troops began guerrilla warface and Spanish army stopped the French advance.
- French offensive: Napoleon controlled the army and occupied most of Spain and took many of his troops to invade Russia in 1812.
-Anglo-Spanish victories: Bristish army support Spanish troops, defeating the French in The Battle of Salamanca in 1812. In 1813, the French signed the Treaty of Valencay. -
1812 Spanish Constitution
Representatives of the Juntas throughout the country, most of them liberals, met in Cádiz. The Constitution, that was redacted in 1812, established national sovereignty, the separation of powers, universal male suffrage and recognised broad individual freedoms. -
Treaty of Valençay
In December 1813, the French signed this treaty. They withdrew from Spain and returned the crown to Ferdinand VII. -
Manifiesto de los Persas
Is the name that received the Ferdinand's reclamation of the throne with the support of absolutist and he repealed the Constitution of 1812 and the reforms proposed by the Cádiz Cortes. In this period Spain returned to absolutism. -
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Reign of Ferdinand VII
In 1814, Ferdinand VII returned to Spain and restore the absolutism. His reign had 3 phases:
- 6 years of absolutism: Ferdinand repealed the Constitution of 1812 and Spain returned to abolutism. Later, groups of lberals organised pronunciamientos demanding the reinstatement of Constitution.
- The Liberal Triennium: A pronunciamiento forced the king to reinstate the Constitution.
- The Ominous Decade: Is a period of economic crisis and this crisis intensified in 1830 with a serie of laws. -
Pronunciamiento of Colonel Rafael del Riego
It was in 1820 in Cabezas de San Juan and was successful. The king was forced to reinstate the Constitution of 1812 and the National Militia, made up of armed liberal volunteers, was created to defend the Constitution and oppose absolutism. -
Holly Alliance intervention: Hundred Thousand Sons of Saint Louis
A coalition of European monarchs called the Holly Alliance sent troops (the Hundred Thousand Sons of Saint Louis) that restored absolutism under the command of the Duke of Angouleme. -
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Reign of Isabella II
The building of the liberal state began in Spain when Isabella II was a child. It was instutionalised during the Moderate Decade and experienced a crisis that began in 1856.
It have five phases:
- The regency of Maria Christina (1833-1840)
- The regency of Espartero (1840-1843)
- The Moderate Decade (1843-1854)
- The Progressive Biennium (1854-1856)
- The system in decline (1856-1868) -
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The First Carlist War
It began in the Basque Country and despite having experienced commanders like Zumalacárregui, the Carlists were defeated by the Liberal army of General Espartero. Peace was signed at the Convention of Vergara (1839). -
1837 Constitution
During the reign of Maria Christina a new Constitution was drafted in 1837. It recognised national sovereignty with census suffrage, the separation of powers and the two chambers (the Congress of Deputies and the Senate), and it granted many rights and individual liberties. -
1845 Constitution
During the Moderate Decade, the new Cortes adopted a moderate Constitution (1845), in which suffrage was highly restricted, civil liberties were limited and sovereignty was shared between the Cortes and the Crown. State and municipal administration was recognised, and only the Basque Country and Navarra held on to their statutory laws. -
Start of the monarchy of Amadeo of Savoy
He was chosen to take the throne and a few days before his arrival, his main supporter, General Prim, was assasinated. Amadeo was supported by progressives, unionists and democrats, and the government introduced new measures to help economic recovery and Spain's democratisation process. He had 2 opponents: moderates and some representatives of the Church. Many problems, which culminated in a war in Cuba, forced Amadeo to abdicate and leave the country. -
Proclamation of the First Republic
Amadeo I abdicated in 1873 and the Cortes voted to form a republic. The elections were won by the federal republicans and the Cortes drafted a federal constitution that divided the legislative powers between the central government and the federal republicans, but this never took effect. The Republic had four presidents, but a series of problems made its proper establishment impossible. -
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Reign of Alfonso XII
The restoration of the Bourbon monarchy began in December 1874, when General Martinez Campos proclaimed Isabella II's son, Alfonso XII, king of Spain.