Baldomero Espartero, Prince of Vergara
Encyclopedia
Don
Joaquín Baldomero Fernández-Espartero y Alvarez de Toro, 1st Prince of Vergara, 1st Duke of la Victoria, 1st Duke of Morella, 1st Count of Luchana, 1st Viscount of Banderas (27 February 1793 – 8 January 1879) was a Spanish
general
and political figure. He was associated with the radical
(or progressive
) wing of Spanish liberalism
and would become their symbol and champion after taking credit for the victory over the Carlists in 1839. His noble
titles, Duke of La Victoria were granted by Isabella II to him as a result. The title Prince of Vergara was granted to him by King Amadeo of Spain in 1870.
, a village of the province of Ciudad Real
. He was the ninth child (two of them were Francisco and Antonia) of Manuel Antonio Fernández-Espartero y Cañadas, a cart
er, who wanted to make him a priest, and wife Josefa Vicenta Alvarez de Toro y Molina, but the lad at fifteen enlisted in a battalion of students to fight against the armies of Napoleon
. In 1811 Espartero was appointed a lieutenant of engineers in Cádiz
, but having failed to pass his examination he entered a line regiment. In 1815 he went to South America
as a captain under General Morillo
, who had been made commander-in-chief to quell the risings of the colonies on the Spanish Main
. For eight years Espartero distinguished himself in the struggle against the colonists. He was several times wounded, and was made major and colonel on the battlefields of Cochabamba
and Sapachni. He had to surrender to Sucre
at the final Battle of Ayacucho
, which put an end to Spanish
rule. He returned to Spain, and, like most of his companions in arms, remained under a cloud for some time. He was sent to the garrison town of Logroño
, where in La Rioja he married on 13 September 1827 the orphaned daughter of a rich landowner named Ezequiel Martínez de Sicilia y Ruíz de la Cámara (1786–1812) and wife María del Carmen Anacleta Santa Cruz y Oribe (1786–1816), Doña María Jacinta Martínez de Sicilia y Santa Cruz, born there on 16 August 1811 and who eventually survived him, dying in 1878, without issue. Henceforth Logroño became the home of the most prominent of the Spanish political generals of the 19th century.
, the government sent him to the front as commandant
of the province of Biscay
, where he severely defeated the Carlists in many encounters. He was quickly promoted to a divisional command, and then made a lieutenant-general. At times he showed qualities as a guerrillero quite equal to those of the Carlists, like Zumalacarregui
and Ramón Cabrera
, by his daring marches and surprises. When he had to move large forces he was greatly superior to them as an organizer and strategist, and he never disgraced his successes by cruelty or needless severity. Twice he obliged the Carlists to raise the siege of Bilbao
before he was appointed commander-in-chief of the northern army on 17 September 1836. At this time, the tide of war seemed to be setting in favor of the pretender in the Basque provinces
and Navarre
, even though Don Carlos
had lost his ablest lieutenant, the Basque Zumalacarregui.
under Sir de Lacy Evans
. This success turned the tide of war against Don Carlos, who vainly attempted a raid towards Madrid
, but was defeated in the Battle of Aranzueque
. Meanwhile, on 18 June 1837 he was nominated for the first time the 7th Prime Minister of Spain
, until 18 August 1837.
Espartero was soon at his heels, and obliged him to hurry northwards, after several defeats. Espartero won the Battle of Ramales
on 12 May 1839, earning him the title of Duke de la Victoria.
In 1839 Espartero carefully opened up negotiations with Maroto
and the principal Carlist chiefs of the Basque provinces. These ended in their accepting his terms under the convention of Vergara
, which secured the recognition of their ranks and titles for nearly 1,000 Carlist officers. Twenty thousand Carlist volunteers laid down their arms at Vergara; only the irreconcilables led by Cabrera held out for a while in the central provinces of Spain. Espartero soon, however, in 1840, stamped out the last embers of the rising, which had lasted seven years. He was styled El pacificador de España, was made a grandee
of the first class, and received two dukedom
s.
were sidelined and Espartero became the master of the destiny of Spain.
During the last three years of the war, Espartero, who had been elected a deputy
, exercised from his distant headquarters such influence over Madrid politics that he twice hastened the fall of the cabinet, and obtained office for his own friends. At the close of the war the queen regent and her ministers attempted to elbow out Espartero and his followers, but a pronunciamiento ensued in Madrid
and other large towns which culminated in the marshal's accepting the post of prime minister
. He soon became virtually a dictator
, as Queen Christina took offence at his popularity and resigned, leaving the kingdom very soon afterwards. Directly the Cortes
met and they elected Espartero regent by 179 votes to 103 over Argüelles, who was appointed guardian of the young queen.
Forcing the regent
, Maria Cristina, into exile for her conspiracy with the moderates, Espartero himself became regent with the intention of remaining so until the future Queen Isabella II
came of age. Espartero's popular support enabled him to crush moderate military uprisings across Spain in 1841. Yet his ruthless execution of dozens of the conspirators, including many popular fellow war heroes like Diego de Leon, as well as his hasty and ungrateful dissolution of the radical juntas that had crushed the risings, marked the start of the decline in support for his regency.
, but on his return to Madrid was so coldly welcomed that he perceived that his prestige was on the wane. An economic slump and rumours of a free-trade deal with Britain
provoked a popular uprising by workers and the bourgeoisie
of Barcelona in 1842. Espartero's ruthless bombardment of the city crushed this revolutionary threat. But a second uprising in 1843, combined with moderate conspiracies and military uprisings. The rebels declared Queen Isabella of age, and, led by General Ramón María Narváez y Campos
, marched upon Madrid. Espartero, deeming resistance useless, embarked at Cadiz on 30 July 1843 for England, and lived quietly apart from politics until 1848, when a royal decree restored to him all his honors and his seat in the senate. Dubbed public enemy number one by the brutal forces of reaction, headed by the moderate Narváez
, Espartero was unable to return to his estates in northern Spain until an amnesty
was decreed later in the 1840s.
Although Espartero's regime (1840–1843) in reality had done little for Spain's poor, the anti-radical reaction of the moderates made the former regent a folk-hero amongst many of the workers. Therefore, it was logical that he should become head of the short-lived "progressive Biennium
" of 1854–1856, thus becoming the 43rd Prime Minister of Spain on 19 July 1854. But, as Karl Marx
observed, the progressive caudillo
was a man whose time had passed. The old marshal vainly endeavoured to keep his own Progressists within bounds in the Cortes of 1854–1856, and in the great towns, but their excessive demands for reforms and liberties played into the hands of a clerical and reactionary court and of the equally retrograde governing classes. The growing ambition of General O'Donnell constantly clashed with the views of Espartero, until the latter, in sheer disgust, resigned his premiership and left for Logroño, after warning the queen that a conflict was imminent between O'Donnell and the Cortes, backed by the Progressist militia. O'Donnell's pronunciamiento in 1856 put an end to the Cortes, and the militia was disarmed, after a sharp struggle in the streets of the capital. Spanish political power swung once more back towards the moderates in 1856.
He was the 42nd Grand Cross
of the Order of the Tower and Sword
.
, the Federal Republic of 1873, the nameless government of Marshal Serrano
in 1874, the Bourbon
restoration in 1875 he simply said: Cumplase la voluntad nacional (Let the national will be accomplished). King Amadeus made him prince of Vergara. The Restoration raised a statue to him near the gate of the Retiro Park in Madrid. Spaniards of all shades, except Carlists and Ultramontanes, paid homage to his memory when he died at his La Rioja residence on 8 January 1879. His tastes were singularly modest, his manners rather reserved, but always kind and considerate of humble folk. He was a typical Spanish soldier-politician, though he had more of the better traits of the soldier born and bred than of the arts of the statesman. His military instincts did not always make it easy for him to accommodate himself to courtiers and professional politicians.
He died without issue and was succeeded in his titles by his niece Eladia Fernández-Espartero y Blanco, 2nd Duchess of la Victoria and 2nd Countess of Luchana, daughter of his brother Francisco Fernández-Espartero y Alvarez de Toro and wife ... Blanco y ..., married to Cipriano Segundo Montesino y Duque de Estrada (Valencia de Alcántara
, 26 September 1817 - ?), and had issue.
Don (honorific)
Don, from Latin dominus, is an honorific in Spanish , Portuguese , and Italian . The female equivalent is Doña , Dona , and Donna , abbreviated "Dª" or simply "D."-Usage:...
Joaquín Baldomero Fernández-Espartero y Alvarez de Toro, 1st Prince of Vergara, 1st Duke of la Victoria, 1st Duke of Morella, 1st Count of Luchana, 1st Viscount of Banderas (27 February 1793 – 8 January 1879) was a Spanish
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
general
General
A general officer is an officer of high military rank, usually in the army, and in some nations, the air force. The term is widely used by many nations of the world, and when a country uses a different term, there is an equivalent title given....
and political figure. He was associated with the radical
Radicalism (historical)
The term Radical was used during the late 18th century for proponents of the Radical Movement. It later became a general pejorative term for those favoring or seeking political reforms which include dramatic changes to the social order...
(or progressive
Progressive Party (Spain)
The Progressive Party was one of the two Spanish political parties that contended for power during the reign of Isabel II . They were to the left of the opposing Moderate Party , but also characterized themselves as liberal...
) wing of Spanish liberalism
Liberalism
Liberalism is the belief in the importance of liberty and equal rights. Liberals espouse a wide array of views depending on their understanding of these principles, but generally, liberals support ideas such as constitutionalism, liberal democracy, free and fair elections, human rights,...
and would become their symbol and champion after taking credit for the victory over the Carlists in 1839. His noble
Nobility
Nobility is a social class which possesses more acknowledged privileges or eminence than members of most other classes in a society, membership therein typically being hereditary. The privileges associated with nobility may constitute substantial advantages over or relative to non-nobles, or may be...
titles, Duke of La Victoria were granted by Isabella II to him as a result. The title Prince of Vergara was granted to him by King Amadeo of Spain in 1870.
Early life
Espartero was born at Granátula de CalatravaGranátula de Calatrava
Granátula de Calatrava is a municipality in the province of Ciudad Real, Castile-La Mancha, Spain. Itwas known as Oretum in ancient Iberian times....
, a village of the province of Ciudad Real
Ciudad Real
Ciudad Real is a city in Castile-La Mancha, Spain, with a population of c. 74,000. It is the capital of the province of Ciudad Real. It has a stop on the AVE high-speed rail line and has begun to grow as a long-distance commuter suburb of Madrid, located 115 miles to the north. A high capacity...
. He was the ninth child (two of them were Francisco and Antonia) of Manuel Antonio Fernández-Espartero y Cañadas, a cart
Cart
A cart is a vehicle designed for transport, using two wheels and normally pulled by one or a pair of draught animals. A handcart is pulled or pushed by one or more people...
er, who wanted to make him a priest, and wife Josefa Vicenta Alvarez de Toro y Molina, but the lad at fifteen enlisted in a battalion of students to fight against the armies of Napoleon
Napoleon I of France
Napoleon Bonaparte was a French military and political leader during the latter stages of the French Revolution.As Napoleon I, he was Emperor of the French from 1804 to 1815...
. In 1811 Espartero was appointed a lieutenant of engineers in Cádiz
Cádiz
Cadiz is a city and port in southwestern Spain. It is the capital of the homonymous province, one of eight which make up the autonomous community of Andalusia....
, but having failed to pass his examination he entered a line regiment. In 1815 he went to South America
South America
South America is a continent situated in the Western Hemisphere, mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere. The continent is also considered a subcontinent of the Americas. It is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the north and east...
as a captain under General Morillo
Pablo Morillo
Pablo Morillo y Morillo, Count of Cartagena and Marquess of La Puerta, aka El Pacificador was a Spanish general....
, who had been made commander-in-chief to quell the risings of the colonies on the Spanish Main
Spanish Main
In the days of the Spanish New World Empire, the mainland of the American continent enclosing the Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico was referred to as the Spanish Main. It included present-day Florida, the east shore of the Gulf of Mexico in Texas, Mexico, Central America and the north coast of...
. For eight years Espartero distinguished himself in the struggle against the colonists. He was several times wounded, and was made major and colonel on the battlefields of Cochabamba
Cochabamba
Cochabamba is a city in central Bolivia, located in a valley bearing the same name in the Andes mountain range. It is the capital of the Cochabamba Department and is the fourth largest city in Bolivia with an urban population of 608,276 and a metropolitan population of more than 1,000,000 people...
and Sapachni. He had to surrender to Sucre
Antonio José de Sucre
Antonio José de Sucre y Alcalá , known as the "Gran Mariscal de Ayacucho" , was a Venezuelan independence leader. Sucre was one of Simón Bolívar's closest friends, generals and statesmen.-Ancestry:...
at the final Battle of Ayacucho
Battle of Ayacucho
The Battle of Ayacucho was a decisive military encounter during the Peruvian War of Independence. It was the battle that sealed the independence of Peru, as well as the victory that ensured independence for the rest of South America...
, which put an end to Spanish
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
rule. He returned to Spain, and, like most of his companions in arms, remained under a cloud for some time. He was sent to the garrison town of Logroño
Logroño
Logroño is a city in northern Spain, on the Ebro River. It is the capital of the autonomous community of La Rioja, formerly known as La Rioja Province.The population of Logroño in 2008 was 153,736 and a metropolitan population of nearly 197,000 inhabitants...
, where in La Rioja he married on 13 September 1827 the orphaned daughter of a rich landowner named Ezequiel Martínez de Sicilia y Ruíz de la Cámara (1786–1812) and wife María del Carmen Anacleta Santa Cruz y Oribe (1786–1816), Doña María Jacinta Martínez de Sicilia y Santa Cruz, born there on 16 August 1811 and who eventually survived him, dying in 1878, without issue. Henceforth Logroño became the home of the most prominent of the Spanish political generals of the 19th century.
Carlist War
Espartero became, on the death of King Ferdinand VII in 1833, one of the most ardent defenders of the rights of his daughter, Isabella II. On the outbreak of the First Carlist WarFirst Carlist War
The First Carlist War was a civil war in Spain from 1833-1839.-Historical background:At the beginning of the 18th century, Philip V, the first Bourbon king of Spain, promulgated the Salic Law, which declared illegal the inheritance of the Spanish crown by women...
, the government sent him to the front as commandant
Commandant
Commandant is a senior title often given to the officer in charge of a large training establishment or academy. This usage is common in anglophone nations...
of the province of Biscay
Biscay
Biscay is a province of Spain and a historical territory of the Basque Country, heir of the ancient Lord of Biscay. Its capital city is Bilbao...
, where he severely defeated the Carlists in many encounters. He was quickly promoted to a divisional command, and then made a lieutenant-general. At times he showed qualities as a guerrillero quite equal to those of the Carlists, like Zumalacarregui
Tomás de Zumalacárregui
- From Peninsula War to Ferdinand VII:Zumalacárregui was born at Ormaiztegi in Gipuzkoa, Basque Country, on 29 December 1788. His father, Francisco Antonio de Zumalacárregui, was a lawyer who possessed some property, and the son was articled to a solicitor....
and Ramón Cabrera
Ramón Cabrera
Ramon Cabrera y Griñó was a Carlist general of Spain.He was born at Tortosa, province of Tarragona, Spain. As his family had in their gift two chaplaincies, young Cabrera was sent to the seminary of Tortosa, where he made himself conspicuous as an unruly pupil, ever mixed up in disturbances and...
, by his daring marches and surprises. When he had to move large forces he was greatly superior to them as an organizer and strategist, and he never disgraced his successes by cruelty or needless severity. Twice he obliged the Carlists to raise the siege of Bilbao
Bilbao
Bilbao ) is a Spanish municipality, capital of the province of Biscay, in the autonomous community of the Basque Country. With a population of 353,187 , it is the largest city of its autonomous community and the tenth largest in Spain...
before he was appointed commander-in-chief of the northern army on 17 September 1836. At this time, the tide of war seemed to be setting in favor of the pretender in the Basque provinces
Basque Country (autonomous community)
The Basque Country is an autonomous community of northern Spain. It includes the Basque provinces of Álava, Biscay and Gipuzkoa, also called Historical Territories....
and Navarre
Navarre
Navarre , officially the Chartered Community of Navarre is an autonomous community in northern Spain, bordering the Basque Country, La Rioja, and Aragon in Spain and Aquitaine in France...
, even though Don Carlos
Infante Carlos, Count of Molina
The Infante Carlos of Spain was the second surviving son of King Charles IV of Spain and of his wife, Maria Luisa of Parma. As Carlos V he was the first of the Carlist claimants to the throne of Spain...
had lost his ablest lieutenant, the Basque Zumalacarregui.
Defeat of the Carlists
His military duties at the head of the principal national army did not prevent Espartero from showing for the first time his political ambition. He displayed such radical and reforming inclinations that he laid the foundations of his popularity among the lower and middle classes, which lasted more than a quarter of a century, during which time the Progressists, Democrats and advanced Liberals always looked to him as a leader and adviser. In November 1836 he again forced the Carlists to raise the siege of Bilbao. His troops included the British legionBritish Legion (1835)
The Auxiliary Legion or the British Legion of the Spanish Legion existed from 1835 to 1837. It was a British military force sent to Spain to support the Liberals and Queen Isabella II of Spain against the Carlists in the First Carlist War.-History:Under the Quadruple Alliance Great Britain had...
under Sir de Lacy Evans
George de Lacy Evans
Sir De Lacy Evans GCB was a British Army general who served in four wars in which the United Kingdom's troops took part in the 19th century. He was later a long-serving Member of Parliament....
. This success turned the tide of war against Don Carlos, who vainly attempted a raid towards Madrid
Madrid
Madrid is the capital and largest city of Spain. The population of the city is roughly 3.3 million and the entire population of the Madrid metropolitan area is calculated to be 6.271 million. It is the third largest city in the European Union, after London and Berlin, and its metropolitan...
, but was defeated in the Battle of Aranzueque
Battle of Aranzueque
The Battle of Aranzueque was a September 1837 confrontation at the village of Aranzueque, Spain during the First Carlist War.The battle pitted the troops of the pretender to the Spanish crown, Carlos V, against the troops of the Queen Regent Maria Christina, led by the general Baldomero...
. Meanwhile, on 18 June 1837 he was nominated for the first time the 7th Prime Minister of Spain
Prime Minister of Spain
The President of the Government of Spain , sometimes known in English as the Prime Minister of Spain, is the head of Government of Spain. The current office is established under the Constitution of 1978...
, until 18 August 1837.
Espartero was soon at his heels, and obliged him to hurry northwards, after several defeats. Espartero won the Battle of Ramales
Battle of Ramales
The Battle of Ramales, a battle of the First Carlist War, occurred at Ramales in Cantabria on May 12, 1839. The Liberals were commanded by Baldomero Espartero, the Carlists by Rafael Maroto....
on 12 May 1839, earning him the title of Duke de la Victoria.
In 1839 Espartero carefully opened up negotiations with Maroto
Maroto
Maroto is a surname which may refer to:*Esteban Maroto, Spanish comic book artist*Mariano González Maroto, Spanish footballer*Rafael Maroto, 19th century Spanish general*Fray Diego Maroto, 17th century architect...
and the principal Carlist chiefs of the Basque provinces. These ended in their accepting his terms under the convention of Vergara
Convention of Vergara
The Convention of Vergara was a treaty successfully ending the major fighting in Spain's First Carlist War. The treaty—also known by many other names including the Embrace of Vergara was signed by Baldomero Espartero for the Isabelines and Rafael Maroto for the Carlists.The two generals met at...
, which secured the recognition of their ranks and titles for nearly 1,000 Carlist officers. Twenty thousand Carlist volunteers laid down their arms at Vergara; only the irreconcilables led by Cabrera held out for a while in the central provinces of Spain. Espartero soon, however, in 1840, stamped out the last embers of the rising, which had lasted seven years. He was styled El pacificador de España, was made a grandee
Grandee
Grandee is the word used to render in English the Iberic high aristocratic title Grande , used by the Spanish nobility; Portuguese nobility, and Brazilian nobility....
of the first class, and received two dukedom
Dukedom
Dukedom may refer to:* Duchy, the territory ruled by a duke* the office of a duke-Places:United States* Dukedom, Kentucky and Tennessee, an unincorporated community in Graves County, Kentucky and Weakley County, Tennessee-Computer games:...
s.
Political life
It was against this backdrop that Espartero's political opponents, the moderates, mobilised support to amend the progressive Constitution of 1837. In particular, the moderates' proposal to abolish democratically-elected local councils threatened to destroy the powerbase of the progressives. This threat was checked by the radical revolution of 1840, after which the conservativesConservatism
Conservatism is a political and social philosophy that promotes the maintenance of traditional institutions and supports, at the most, minimal and gradual change in society. Some conservatives seek to preserve things as they are, emphasizing stability and continuity, while others oppose modernism...
were sidelined and Espartero became the master of the destiny of Spain.
During the last three years of the war, Espartero, who had been elected a deputy
Deputy (legislator)
A deputy is a legislator in many countries, particularly those with legislatures styled as a 'Chamber of Deputies' or 'National Assembly'.-List of countries:This is an list of countries using the term 'deputy' or one of its cognates....
, exercised from his distant headquarters such influence over Madrid politics that he twice hastened the fall of the cabinet, and obtained office for his own friends. At the close of the war the queen regent and her ministers attempted to elbow out Espartero and his followers, but a pronunciamiento ensued in Madrid
Madrid
Madrid is the capital and largest city of Spain. The population of the city is roughly 3.3 million and the entire population of the Madrid metropolitan area is calculated to be 6.271 million. It is the third largest city in the European Union, after London and Berlin, and its metropolitan...
and other large towns which culminated in the marshal's accepting the post of prime minister
Prime minister
A prime minister is the most senior minister of cabinet in the executive branch of government in a parliamentary system. In many systems, the prime minister selects and may dismiss other members of the cabinet, and allocates posts to members within the government. In most systems, the prime...
. He soon became virtually a dictator
Dictator
A dictator is a ruler who assumes sole and absolute power but without hereditary ascension such as an absolute monarch. When other states call the head of state of a particular state a dictator, that state is called a dictatorship...
, as Queen Christina took offence at his popularity and resigned, leaving the kingdom very soon afterwards. Directly the Cortes
Cortes Generales
The Cortes Generales is the legislature of Spain. It is a bicameral parliament, composed of the Congress of Deputies and the Senate . The Cortes has power to enact any law and to amend the constitution...
met and they elected Espartero regent by 179 votes to 103 over Argüelles, who was appointed guardian of the young queen.
Forcing the regent
Regent
A regent, from the Latin regens "one who reigns", is a person selected to act as head of state because the ruler is a minor, not present, or debilitated. Currently there are only two ruling Regencies in the world, sovereign Liechtenstein and the Malaysian constitutive state of Terengganu...
, Maria Cristina, into exile for her conspiracy with the moderates, Espartero himself became regent with the intention of remaining so until the future Queen Isabella II
Isabella II of Spain
Isabella II was the only female monarch of Spain in modern times. She came to the throne as an infant, but her succession was disputed by the Carlists, who refused to recognise a female sovereign, leading to the Carlist Wars. After a troubled reign, she was deposed in the Glorious Revolution of...
came of age. Espartero's popular support enabled him to crush moderate military uprisings across Spain in 1841. Yet his ruthless execution of dozens of the conspirators, including many popular fellow war heroes like Diego de Leon, as well as his hasty and ungrateful dissolution of the radical juntas that had crushed the risings, marked the start of the decline in support for his regency.
Rule of Espartero
For two years Espartero ruled Spain, as its 18th Prime Minister from 16 September 1840 to 21 May 1841, in accordance with his radical and conciliatory dispositions, giving special attention to the reorganization of the administration, taxation and finances, declaring all the estates of the church, congregations and religious orders to be national property, and suppressing the diezma, or tenths. He suppressed the Republican risings with as much severity as he did the military pronunciamientos of Generals Concha and Diego de León. The latter was shot in Madrid. Espartero crushed with much energy a revolutionary rising in BarcelonaBarcelona
Barcelona is the second largest city in Spain after Madrid, and the capital of Catalonia, with a population of 1,621,537 within its administrative limits on a land area of...
, but on his return to Madrid was so coldly welcomed that he perceived that his prestige was on the wane. An economic slump and rumours of a free-trade deal with Britain
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland was the formal name of the United Kingdom during the period when what is now the Republic of Ireland formed a part of it....
provoked a popular uprising by workers and the bourgeoisie
Bourgeoisie
In sociology and political science, bourgeoisie describes a range of groups across history. In the Western world, between the late 18th century and the present day, the bourgeoisie is a social class "characterized by their ownership of capital and their related culture." A member of the...
of Barcelona in 1842. Espartero's ruthless bombardment of the city crushed this revolutionary threat. But a second uprising in 1843, combined with moderate conspiracies and military uprisings. The rebels declared Queen Isabella of age, and, led by General Ramón María Narváez y Campos
Ramón María Narváez y Campos, 1st Duke of Valencia
Don Ramón María de Narváez y Campos, 1st Duke of Valencia was a Spanish soldier and statesman.-Biography:...
, marched upon Madrid. Espartero, deeming resistance useless, embarked at Cadiz on 30 July 1843 for England, and lived quietly apart from politics until 1848, when a royal decree restored to him all his honors and his seat in the senate. Dubbed public enemy number one by the brutal forces of reaction, headed by the moderate Narváez
Ramón María Narváez y Campos, 1st Duke of Valencia
Don Ramón María de Narváez y Campos, 1st Duke of Valencia was a Spanish soldier and statesman.-Biography:...
, Espartero was unable to return to his estates in northern Spain until an amnesty
Amnesty
Amnesty is a legislative or executive act by which a state restores those who may have been guilty of an offense against it to the positions of innocent people, without changing the laws defining the offense. It includes more than pardon, in as much as it obliterates all legal remembrance of the...
was decreed later in the 1840s.
Although Espartero's regime (1840–1843) in reality had done little for Spain's poor, the anti-radical reaction of the moderates made the former regent a folk-hero amongst many of the workers. Therefore, it was logical that he should become head of the short-lived "progressive Biennium
Progressivism
Progressivism is an umbrella term for a political ideology advocating or favoring social, political, and economic reform or changes. Progressivism is often viewed by some conservatives, constitutionalists, and libertarians to be in opposition to conservative or reactionary ideologies.The...
" of 1854–1856, thus becoming the 43rd Prime Minister of Spain on 19 July 1854. But, as Karl Marx
Karl Marx
Karl Heinrich Marx was a German philosopher, economist, sociologist, historian, journalist, and revolutionary socialist. His ideas played a significant role in the development of social science and the socialist political movement...
observed, the progressive caudillo
Caudillo
Caudillo is a Spanish word for "leader" and usually describes a political-military leader at the head of an authoritarian power. The term translates into English as leader or chief, or more pejoratively as warlord, dictator or strongman. Caudillo was the term used to refer to the charismatic...
was a man whose time had passed. The old marshal vainly endeavoured to keep his own Progressists within bounds in the Cortes of 1854–1856, and in the great towns, but their excessive demands for reforms and liberties played into the hands of a clerical and reactionary court and of the equally retrograde governing classes. The growing ambition of General O'Donnell constantly clashed with the views of Espartero, until the latter, in sheer disgust, resigned his premiership and left for Logroño, after warning the queen that a conflict was imminent between O'Donnell and the Cortes, backed by the Progressist militia. O'Donnell's pronunciamiento in 1856 put an end to the Cortes, and the militia was disarmed, after a sharp struggle in the streets of the capital. Spanish political power swung once more back towards the moderates in 1856.
He was the 42nd Grand Cross
Grand Cross
The phrase Grand Cross is used to denote the highest grade in many orders of knighthood. Sometimes the holders of the highest grade are referred to "knights grand cross" or just "grand crosses"; in other cases the actual insignia itself is called "the grand cross".Alternatively, in some other...
of the Order of the Tower and Sword
Order of the Tower and Sword
The Military Order of the Tower and of the Sword, of Valour, Loyalty and Merit is a Portuguese order of knighthood and the pinnacle of the Portuguese honours system. It was created by King Afonso V in 1459....
.
Retirement
After 1856 Espartero resolutely declined to identify himself with active politics, though at every stage in the onward march of Spain towards more liberal and democratic institutions he was asked to take a leading part. On 14 July 1858 he resigned as Prime Minister. He refused to allow his name to be brought forward as a candidate when the Cortes of 1868, after the Revolution, sought for a ruler. Espartero, strangely enough, adopted a laconic phrase when successive governments on their advent to power invariably addressed themselves to the venerable champion of liberal ideas. To all to the Revolution of 1868, the Constituent Cortes of 1869, King AmadeusAmadeo I of Spain
Amadeo I was the only King of Spain from the House of Savoy...
, the Federal Republic of 1873, the nameless government of Marshal Serrano
Francisco Serrano y Domínguez, Duke de la Torre
Don Francisco Serrano y Domínguez, 1st Duke of la Torre Grandee of Spain, Count of San Antonio was a Spanish marshal and statesman...
in 1874, the Bourbon
House of Bourbon
The House of Bourbon is a European royal house, a branch of the Capetian dynasty . Bourbon kings first ruled Navarre and France in the 16th century. By the 18th century, members of the Bourbon dynasty also held thrones in Spain, Naples, Sicily, and Parma...
restoration in 1875 he simply said: Cumplase la voluntad nacional (Let the national will be accomplished). King Amadeus made him prince of Vergara. The Restoration raised a statue to him near the gate of the Retiro Park in Madrid. Spaniards of all shades, except Carlists and Ultramontanes, paid homage to his memory when he died at his La Rioja residence on 8 January 1879. His tastes were singularly modest, his manners rather reserved, but always kind and considerate of humble folk. He was a typical Spanish soldier-politician, though he had more of the better traits of the soldier born and bred than of the arts of the statesman. His military instincts did not always make it easy for him to accommodate himself to courtiers and professional politicians.
He died without issue and was succeeded in his titles by his niece Eladia Fernández-Espartero y Blanco, 2nd Duchess of la Victoria and 2nd Countess of Luchana, daughter of his brother Francisco Fernández-Espartero y Alvarez de Toro and wife ... Blanco y ..., married to Cipriano Segundo Montesino y Duque de Estrada (Valencia de Alcántara
Valencia de Alcántara
Valencia de Alcántara is a Spanish town near the Portuguese border . It is located in Cáceres province.Nuestra Señora de Rocamador is the most important church...
, 26 September 1817 - ?), and had issue.
In popular culture
- Pedro Armendáriz, Jr plays General Espartero in the 1997 film Amistad.
See also
- Mid-nineteenth century SpainMid-nineteenth century SpainSpain in the 19th century was a country in turmoil. Occupied by Napoleon from 1808 to 1814, a massively destructive "war of independence" ensued, driven by an emergent Spanish nationalism. An era of reaction against the liberal ideas associated with revolutionary France followed the war,...
- First Carlist WarFirst Carlist WarThe First Carlist War was a civil war in Spain from 1833-1839.-Historical background:At the beginning of the 18th century, Philip V, the first Bourbon king of Spain, promulgated the Salic Law, which declared illegal the inheritance of the Spanish crown by women...
- Isabella II of SpainIsabella II of SpainIsabella II was the only female monarch of Spain in modern times. She came to the throne as an infant, but her succession was disputed by the Carlists, who refused to recognise a female sovereign, leading to the Carlist Wars. After a troubled reign, she was deposed in the Glorious Revolution of...