Spain under the Restoration
Encyclopedia
The Restoration was the name given to the period that began on December 29, 1874 after the First Spanish Republic
ended with the restoration of Alfonso XII to the throne after a coup d'état
by Martinez Campos, and ended on April 14, 1931 with the proclamation of the Second Spanish Republic
.
After almost a whole century of political instability and many civil wars, the aim of the Restoration was to create a new political system, which ensured stability by the practice of turnismo. This was the deliberate rotation of the Liberal and Conservative parties in the government, so no sector of the bourgeoisie felt isolated, and excluded all other parties from the system. This was achieved by electoral fraud
. Opposition to the system came from republicans, socialists, anarchists, Basque and Catalan nationalists, and Carlists.
. After this, the Constitution of 1876 was written and enforced during the whole restoration. This constitution established Spain as a bi-cameral constitutional monarchy, with a lower House (Congreso de Diputados), and an upper House (Senado). This constitution gave the King the power to name Senators, and to revoke laws if he wanted to, and he was also given the title of Commander-in-chief of the army.
These years were marked by economic prosperity. Spain's economy was quite behind those of the other European countries, and during these years, the modernization of the country took place on a large scale. On most fronts, production was increased, and national products increased due to extreme protectionist measures.
The two parties alternated in the government in a controlled process known as el turno
pacífico: the Liberal Party led by Sagasta
and the Conservative Party led by Canovas del Castillo. The caciques, local powerful men, were used to manipulate election results and because of this, resentment to the system slowly built up over time, and important nationalist movements in Catalonia
, Galicia and the Basque Country
, as well as unions, started to form.
. The rapid collapse was perceived as a disaster in Spain, undermining the credibility of both the government and associated ideologies and almost led to a military coup d'état led by Camilo Polavieja. This was the start of the system's weakening, giving oxygen to all manner of conflicting opposition movements at a local and national level.
The failed attempts to conquer Morocco
(Rif War
) caused great discontent at home and ended up in a revolt in Barcelona
, known as the Semana Tragica, in which the lower classes of Barcelona backed by the anarchists, communists, and republicans, revolted against what they considered the unjust methods of recruiting soldiers. The government declared a state of war and sent the army to crush the revolt, causing over a hundred deaths and the execution of Francisco Ferrer. The socialist Unión General de Trabajadores
(UGT) and the anarchist union Confederación Nacional del Trabajo
(CNT) decided to initiate a general strike across the country that failed because the unions could only mobilize urban workers.
The problems in Morocco worsened as an army of natives attacked the Spanish army. They were taken by surprise and, due to the skill of the Moroccan chieftain, Abd-Al-Krim, virtually annihilated the Spanish army almost all the way to Melilla
in the Battle of Annual. This defeat was due to improper planning and was blamed on the top military officers, causing great discontent among the military, who felt misunderstood, because they had been directed to advance into the interior without adequate resources to occupy the difficult territory.
, Captain General
of Catalonia
at that time, orchestrated a coup d'état, after emitting a manifesto blaming the problems of Spain on the parliamentary system. Alfonso XIII backed the General, and named him Prime Minister. He proceeded to suspend the Constitution, and assume absolute powers as a dictator, abolishing all other parties. He created the Unión Patriótica Española which was meant to be the sole legal party. During this time, he greatly increased government spending in business and public services, which caused his government to go bankrupt. He lost the support of the military, and faced serious health problems. Opposition to his regime was so great that Alfonso XIII stopped supporting him and forced him to resign in January 1930.
to form a government. This failed utterly, as the King was considered a supporter of the dictatorship, and more and more political forces called for the establishment of a republic. Berenguer resigned and the King gave the government to Admiral Aznar. Aznar called for local elections on April 12, 1931 in order to satisfy the democrats and republicans, to replace the dictatorship's local governments and to gradually re-introduce the restoration.
Although the monarchists had not lost all their support, the republican and socialist parties won a major victory. Street riots ensued, calling for the removal of the monarchy. The army declared that they would not defend the King and he fled Spain. The Second Spanish Republic
was immediately established under a provisional government led by Niceto Alcalá-Zamora
.
First Spanish Republic
The First Spanish Republic was the political regime that existed in Spain between the parliamentary proclamation on 11 February 1873 and 29 December 1874 when General Arsenio Martínez-Campos's pronunciamento marked the beginning of the Bourbon Restoration in Spain...
ended with the restoration of Alfonso XII to the throne after a coup d'état
Coup d'état
A coup d'état state, literally: strike/blow of state)—also known as a coup, putsch, and overthrow—is the sudden, extrajudicial deposition of a government, usually by a small group of the existing state establishment—typically the military—to replace the deposed government with another body; either...
by Martinez Campos, and ended on April 14, 1931 with the proclamation of the Second Spanish Republic
Second Spanish Republic
The Second Spanish Republic was the government of Spain between April 14 1931, and its destruction by a military rebellion, led by General Francisco Franco....
.
After almost a whole century of political instability and many civil wars, the aim of the Restoration was to create a new political system, which ensured stability by the practice of turnismo. This was the deliberate rotation of the Liberal and Conservative parties in the government, so no sector of the bourgeoisie felt isolated, and excluded all other parties from the system. This was achieved by electoral fraud
Electoral fraud
Electoral fraud is illegal interference with the process of an election. Acts of fraud affect vote counts to bring about an election result, whether by increasing the vote share of the favored candidate, depressing the vote share of the rival candidates or both...
. Opposition to the system came from republicans, socialists, anarchists, Basque and Catalan nationalists, and Carlists.
Reign of Alfonso XII and Regency of María Cristina (1875–1898)
The pronunciamiento by Martinez Campos established Alfonso XII as King, marking the end of the First Spanish RepublicFirst Spanish Republic
The First Spanish Republic was the political regime that existed in Spain between the parliamentary proclamation on 11 February 1873 and 29 December 1874 when General Arsenio Martínez-Campos's pronunciamento marked the beginning of the Bourbon Restoration in Spain...
. After this, the Constitution of 1876 was written and enforced during the whole restoration. This constitution established Spain as a bi-cameral constitutional monarchy, with a lower House (Congreso de Diputados), and an upper House (Senado). This constitution gave the King the power to name Senators, and to revoke laws if he wanted to, and he was also given the title of Commander-in-chief of the army.
These years were marked by economic prosperity. Spain's economy was quite behind those of the other European countries, and during these years, the modernization of the country took place on a large scale. On most fronts, production was increased, and national products increased due to extreme protectionist measures.
The two parties alternated in the government in a controlled process known as el turno
Turno
After almost a whole century of political instability and many civil wars, the aim of the Restoration was to ensure political stability in Spain. Under this plan, El Turno Pacífico was a system put in place by Antonio Cánovas del Castillo whereby the two "official" parties of the Cánovas...
pacífico: the Liberal Party led by Sagasta
Práxedes Mateo Sagasta
Práxedes Mariano Mateo Sagasta y Escolar was a Spanish politician who served as Prime Minister on eight occasions between 1870 and 1902—always in charge of the Liberal Party—as part of the turno pacifico, alternating with the Liberal-Conservative leader Antonio Cánovas...
and the Conservative Party led by Canovas del Castillo. The caciques, local powerful men, were used to manipulate election results and because of this, resentment to the system slowly built up over time, and important nationalist movements in Catalonia
Catalonia
Catalonia is an autonomous community in northeastern Spain, with the official status of a "nationality" of Spain. Catalonia comprises four provinces: Barcelona, Girona, Lleida, and Tarragona. Its capital and largest city is Barcelona. Catalonia covers an area of 32,114 km² and has an...
, Galicia and the Basque Country
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....
, as well as unions, started to form.
Reign of Alfonso XIII and crisis of the system (1898–1923)
In 1898 Spain lost its last major overseas provinces (Cuba, Guam, Puerto Rico and the Philippines) in the Spanish-American WarSpanish-American War
The Spanish–American War was a conflict in 1898 between Spain and the United States, effectively the result of American intervention in the ongoing Cuban War of Independence...
. The rapid collapse was perceived as a disaster in Spain, undermining the credibility of both the government and associated ideologies and almost led to a military coup d'état led by Camilo Polavieja. This was the start of the system's weakening, giving oxygen to all manner of conflicting opposition movements at a local and national level.
The failed attempts to conquer Morocco
Morocco
Morocco , officially the Kingdom of Morocco , is a country located in North Africa. It has a population of more than 32 million and an area of 710,850 km², and also primarily administers the disputed region of the Western Sahara...
(Rif War
Rif War
The Rif War, also called the Second Moroccan War, was fought between Spain and the Moroccan Rif Berbers.-Rifian forces:...
) caused great discontent at home and ended up in a revolt in Barcelona
Barcelona
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...
, known as the Semana Tragica, in which the lower classes of Barcelona backed by the anarchists, communists, and republicans, revolted against what they considered the unjust methods of recruiting soldiers. The government declared a state of war and sent the army to crush the revolt, causing over a hundred deaths and the execution of Francisco Ferrer. The socialist Unión General de Trabajadores
Unión General de Trabajadores
The Unión General de Trabajadores is a major Spanish trade union, historically affiliated with the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party .-History:...
(UGT) and the anarchist union Confederación Nacional del Trabajo
Confederación Nacional del Trabajo
The Confederación Nacional del Trabajo is a Spanish confederation of anarcho-syndicalist labor unions affiliated with the International Workers Association . When working with the latter group it is also known as CNT-AIT...
(CNT) decided to initiate a general strike across the country that failed because the unions could only mobilize urban workers.
The problems in Morocco worsened as an army of natives attacked the Spanish army. They were taken by surprise and, due to the skill of the Moroccan chieftain, Abd-Al-Krim, virtually annihilated the Spanish army almost all the way to Melilla
Melilla
Melilla is a autonomous city of Spain and an exclave on the north coast of Morocco. Melilla, along with the Spanish exclave Ceuta, is one of the two Spanish territories located in mainland Africa...
in the Battle of Annual. This defeat was due to improper planning and was blamed on the top military officers, causing great discontent among the military, who felt misunderstood, because they had been directed to advance into the interior without adequate resources to occupy the difficult territory.
Primo de Rivera's dictatorship (1923–1930)
The military discontent, the fear of anarchist terrorism or a proletarian revolution, and the rise of nationalisms ended up causing great agitation amongst the civilians and the military. On September 13, 1923, Miguel Primo de RiveraMiguel Primo de Rivera
Miguel Primo de Rivera y Orbaneja, 2nd Marquis of Estella, 22nd Count of Sobremonte, Knight of Calatrava was a Spanish dictator, aristocrat, and a military official who was appointed Prime Minister by the King and who for seven years was a dictator, ending the turno system of alternating...
, Captain General
Captain General
Captain general is a high military rank and a gubernatorial title.-History:This term Captain General started to appear in the 14th century, with the meaning of commander in chief of an army in the field, probably the first usage of the term General in military settings...
of Catalonia
Catalonia
Catalonia is an autonomous community in northeastern Spain, with the official status of a "nationality" of Spain. Catalonia comprises four provinces: Barcelona, Girona, Lleida, and Tarragona. Its capital and largest city is Barcelona. Catalonia covers an area of 32,114 km² and has an...
at that time, orchestrated a coup d'état, after emitting a manifesto blaming the problems of Spain on the parliamentary system. Alfonso XIII backed the General, and named him Prime Minister. He proceeded to suspend the Constitution, and assume absolute powers as a dictator, abolishing all other parties. He created the Unión Patriótica Española which was meant to be the sole legal party. During this time, he greatly increased government spending in business and public services, which caused his government to go bankrupt. He lost the support of the military, and faced serious health problems. Opposition to his regime was so great that Alfonso XIII stopped supporting him and forced him to resign in January 1930.
The final years (1930–1931)
Alfonso XIII, in an attempt to return gradually to the previous system and restore his prestige, called on General Dámaso BerenguerDámaso Berenguer
Dámaso Berenguer y Fusté, Count of Xauen was a Spanish soldier and politician.Berenguer was born in San Juan de los Remedios, Cuba, while that island nation was still a Spanish province....
to form a government. This failed utterly, as the King was considered a supporter of the dictatorship, and more and more political forces called for the establishment of a republic. Berenguer resigned and the King gave the government to Admiral Aznar. Aznar called for local elections on April 12, 1931 in order to satisfy the democrats and republicans, to replace the dictatorship's local governments and to gradually re-introduce the restoration.
Although the monarchists had not lost all their support, the republican and socialist parties won a major victory. Street riots ensued, calling for the removal of the monarchy. The army declared that they would not defend the King and he fled Spain. The Second Spanish Republic
Second Spanish Republic
The Second Spanish Republic was the government of Spain between April 14 1931, and its destruction by a military rebellion, led by General Francisco Franco....
was immediately established under a provisional government led by Niceto Alcalá-Zamora
Niceto Alcalá-Zamora
Niceto Alcalá-Zamora y Torres was a Spanish lawyer and politician who served, briefly, as the first premier minister of the Second Spanish Republic, and then — from 1931 to 1936—as its president....
.