We explain what the Constitution of Cádiz was and how it originated. In addition, what are its characteristics and the territory that it covered.
What was the Constitution of Cádiz?
The Constitution of Cádiz, also called the Spanish Constitution of 1812 or Political Constitution of the Spanish Monarchy, and popularly known as “La Pepa”, was A MAGNA Carta of the Kingdom of Spain promulgated by the General Courts gathered in Cádiz on March 19, 1812.
It was a historical milestone for being The first constitution of Spanish history and one of the most liberals of his time.
The Constitution of Cádiz It consisted of a preamble and ten titles with 384 articlesand was in force for two years before Fernando VII’s return to the throne of Spain caused his repeal in Valencia in 1814.
It was briefly recovered between 1820 and 1823during the period known as “The Liberal Triennium”, and again in 1836, during a progressive liberal government that later reformed and drafted the Spanish Constitution of 1837.
See also: Mexican Constitution of 1917
History of the Constitution to Cádiz
Promulgation
The Constitution of Cádiz It was approved in 1812 by the deputies of the General Courts gathered in Cádiz In response to the invasion of Spain by Napoleon Bonaparte’s army, who imposed his brother José on the Spanish throne in 1808.
With King Ferdinand VII deposed and made a prisoner, José Bonaparte proclaimed in 1808 the Charter of Bayonne, a kind of constitution that established rights and freedoms to imitation of the liberal principles disseminated by the French Revolution.
Simultaneously, some joints were formed in various cities that They assumed political power and resisted Napoleonic domination forging alliances with England. These meetings converged in the Central Supreme Board then replaced by the Regency Council of Spain and Indies that convened the General Courts.
While the War of Independence (1808-1814), The deputies of the Cortes gathered in Cádiz promulgated the Magna Carta That, influenced by democratic liberalism, established the separation of powers and recognized that sovereignty did not reside in the king but in the nation. In this way, the king was no longer a monarch only by the grace of God but also by the Constitution, in open opposition to the principles of the absolutism of the old regime.
Repeal
The Constitution of Cádiz had a brief validity, just two years. Napoleonic defeat in the War of Independence allowed the return to the Spanish throne of Fernando VII in 1814, who repealed the Constitution and dissolved the Courts together with the detention of the liberal deputies, with the aim of re -establishing absolutism and reverse the important amount of modernizing changes that the Constitution of Cádiz had implemented.
This It carried numerous consequences, such as the uprising of the American colonieswhich were frustrated their possibility of enjoying some autonomy and recognition as provinces of the Spanish State. The Constitution of Cádiz subsequently served as a model for some Republican constitutions of Latin America once the colonies were released from Spain.
The Constitution of Cádiz again entered into force in 1820 When Fernando VII was forced to restore it after the irrigation pronouncement that began the liberal triennium (1820-1823). After the absolutist reaction that again repealed the Constitution in 1823, a new liberal period that adopted it in 1836 under the regency of María Cristina de Borbón and which led to the reform that gave rise to the Constitution of 1837.
Characteristics of the Constitution of Cádiz
Territory understood
The Constitution of Cádiz declared be valid for all Hispanic territories in the worldwhich in 1812 were vast and covered peninsular Spain, together with the Canary Islands and Balearic Islands, Ceuta and Melilla, as well as the territories in the American continent (in the process of an independence struggle), the coasts of the Treaty of El Pardo in Africa and the Philippine, Carolinas and Marian islands in Asia.
In any case, the formation of government boards in America generally led to the formation of their own governments, initially faithful to King Ferdinand VII, who did not submit to the Regency Council of Spain and Indies and left the way open to the American independence wars.
Sovereignty of the Nation
One of the most important aspects of the Constitution of Cádiz was his statement that the sovereignty resided in the nation and not in the king and that this was a monarch by the grace of God but also by the Constitution.
Thus, He went from an absolute monarchy to a constitutional monarchy with separation of powerslimitation of the King’s powers – which was still the head of the Executive Power but his decisions had to be endorsed by secretaries – and the implementation of the universal indirect male vote for the election of deputies of the Courts (although the people who could be elected should have a certain income).
The Courts consisted of a unique chamber to avoid the state division that could otherwise give priority to the nobility and clergy. This new constitutional order granted Spanish citizenship and the Equal legal rights to both peninsular and overseas citizens that legally became part of a single nation with presence in the two hemispheres.
Freedoms and rights
The Constitution of 1812 guaranteed freedom of printing and industrythe right of property and the abolition of the manors, which represented a strong liberal impulse in a nation that until then had been characterized by being extremely conservative.
In religious matters, the Constitution identified Spain as a Catholic confessional state (so it did not admit freedom of worship), but the deputies of Cádiz abolished the Inquisition, then restored by Fernando VII upon returning to the throne.
Yes ok He did not give rights to womenthe Constitution of Cádiz was an important gesture of democratization and recognition of individual rights that sought to leave behind the institutions of the old regime.
The American question
The matter of the colonies was considered by the Constitution of Cádiz already in its first article: declared that The Spanish nation was “the meeting of all Spaniards of both hemispheres”.
The colonies became provinces of the Spanish State, a decision in which some American deputies such as the Mexican Miguel Ramos Arizpe, the Chilean Joaquín Fernández de Leiva, the Peruvian Vicente Morales Duárez or the Ecuadorian José Mejía Lequerica. Anyway, due to the conflicts that took place in America in those years, Article 11 established that Spanish territories would be organized according to a more convenient divisionwhich would be in charge of a future constitutional law.
In the provinces of the Peninsula and overseas The creation of municipalities formed by indirect male suffrage was favored that in American territory he granted political power to some Creole elites, which threatened against the domain of the colonial aristocracy. The return of absolutism tried to reverse these innovations but only fueled the independence impulses that had been displayed in America.
The guarantee of continuity
The Constitution He established his own inviolability against the King’s powersas well as a provision by which changes in its content could not be made for the period of eight years. It was also stipulated that, after this period, only modifications could be introduced through complex mechanisms that should be strictly observed.
This provision I had the task of guaranteeing the duration of the new constitutional order of the Spanish Statedespite the fact that his repeal in 1814 by Fernando VII was relatively simple because he declared it void and without effect.
Historical importance of the Constitution of Cádiz
The Constitution of Cádiz represented a historical milestone in the modernization of Spain because it is the first Spanish Constitution and for becoming an important reference of the Spanish -American independence processes. Not only was it restored during the liberal triennium (1820-1823) and as a history of the 1837 Constitution but also influenced liberal thinking and other Spanish constitutional experiences throughout the nineteenth century.
Besides, It was proudly remembered for the populations of Cádizsince it was promulgated in the context of resistance against the French army. A monument was built in the city in 1912 to commemorate the first centenary of the Constitution.
In America, squares and monuments were also built in tribute to the Constitution and this Magna Carta was influential in the American republics that were constituted throughout the nineteenth centuryas well as in the kingdom of the two sicilies that took it as their own after making some changes and translate it into Italian.
“Long live the Pepa!”
The nickname “La Pepa” given to the Constitution of Cádiz It is because it was promulgated on March 19, the day of the festival of San José. The shout “Long live the Pepa!” It became a proclamation of adhesion to the liberal constitution and was related by the absolutist sectors with lack of control and the attack on conservative values, which is why it transcended to our days with the sense of disorder or irresponsibility.
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References
- “Spain” in Britannica Encyclopedia. Carr, R. et al. (2022).
- “Constitution of 1812” in Congress of Deputies of Spain (SF).
- “Constitutional history of Spain“ Marcial Pons. Varela Suanzes-Carpegna, J. (2020).
