We explain what the reign of Ferdinand VII in Spain was like. Also, its different stages and its end.
What was the reign of Ferdinand VII in Spain like?
The reign of Ferdinand VII of the House of Bourbon began in March 1808 when King Charles IV, pressured by a mutiny, abdicated in favor of his son, Prince Ferdinand. However, This stage lasted a short time because the Napoleonic invasion of Spain caused the abdication of Ferdinand VII. in May 1808 and the coronation of Napoleon Bonaparte's brother, Joseph I.
During the years of the French occupation, Ferdinand VII remained confined to the castle of Valençay, in France.. Meanwhile, in Spain the liberal deputies of the Cortes of Cádiz recognized him as legitimate king and promoted the promulgation of a liberal Constitution.
After the French withdrawal from Spain, Ferdinand VII returned to Spain in 1814 and began a reign that meant the restoration of absolutism and the annulment of all liberal legislation of the Cortes of Cádiz.
Since then, the reign of Ferdinand VII was divided into three stages:
- The Absolutist Sexennium (1814-1820). It was characterized by the annulment of the Constitution of Cádiz, the persecution of liberal deputies and the maintenance of the privileges of the nobility and the clergy.
- The Liberal Triennium (1820-1823). It began with a successful military pronouncement that reestablished the Constitution of Cádiz and established a liberal government.
- The Ominous Decade (1823-1833). It was inaugurated with the military intervention of an army of absolutist France at the request of Ferdinand VII and was characterized by the reestablishment of absolutism and a new campaign of repression against liberal politicians.
See also: Spanish monarchy
The arrival to the throne in 1808 and the abdications of Bayonne
The first arrival to the throne of Fernando VII occurred on March 19, 1808 due to the abdication of his father, Carlos IV, after the Aranjuez mutiny. This mutiny was organized by Ferdinand's supporters as a reaction against Minister Manuel Godoy and the royal family at a time when the French occupation of Spain was beginning to take place.
French troops arrived in Madrid on March 23. In May, Ferdinand VII was forced by Napoleon to abdicate in favor of Charles IV, who in turn abdicated in favor of Napoleon's brother, Joseph Bonaparte, what is known as the Bayonne abdications. Thus, Napoleon's brother came to reign as Joseph I. Meanwhile, Ferdinand VII remained a prisoner in the castle of Valençay, in France..
From these events the Spanish War of Independence began. (1808-1814) and the Cortes of Cádiz were formed and drafted a liberal Constitution in 1812. Also revolutions broke out in Latin America that led to the crisis of the Spanish Empire.
See also: Revolution of Spain in 1808
The restoration of Ferdinand VII in 1814
In 1812, the British army under the command of the Duke of Wellington, supported by Spanish and Portuguese forces, began to inflict major defeats on the French. In the context of the failure of the Napoleonic troops in Russia, Wellington and the Spanish guerrillas took advantage of French weakness and they continued attacking during 1813.
Finally, Napoleon decided to withdraw all his troops from Spain and return the crown to Ferdinand VII. through the signing of the Treaty of Valençay in December 1813. The Bourbon king, who in Spain was called “the Desired,” arrived in Spanish territory in March 1814 but delayed his return to Madrid, as he hoped to learn about the situation of the liberal politicians. .
During the French occupation, the liberal politicians who made up the Cortes of Cádiz ignored Napoleonic authority and They drafted a Constitution that recognized the legitimacy of Ferdinand VII but he rejected the absolutist aspects of the Bourbon monarchy.
Therefore, now that the invaders had retreated, The king had to travel to Madrid to swear in the Constitution. However, when he passed through Valencia in April 1814, a supporter of the Old Regime gave him a document drawn up by absolutist deputies, known as Manifesto of the Persianswhich requested him to dissolve the Cortes of Cádiz and restore absolutism.
On May 4, 1814, Fernando VII signed a decree in which he declared null and void the Constitution of 1812 and all the legislative work of the Cortes of Cádiz. He later traveled to Madrid and, with the support of the military forces, He dissolved the Cortes and persecuted and arrested the liberal deputies. In this way, Ferdinand VII restored absolutism.
The Absolutist Sexennium (1814-1820)
The decree of May 4, 1814 began a six-year period characterized by the reversal of liberal reforms introduced by the Cortes of Cádiz (such as the division of powers) and the return to the absolutism of the Old Regime. For this reason, it is usually called the Absolutist Sexennium.
In these years, the balance of forces was being resolved in Europe after the defeat of Napoleon. However, Ferdinand VII showed disinterest in external affairs.
Thus, despite having confronted the French emperor, Spain was marginalized from the benefits (mainly territorial) that the powers that had defeated Napoleon received from the agreements of the Second Peace of Paris and the Congress of Vienna in 1815. Destroyed by the War of Independence, Spain was relegated to a secondary role in the international context.
Although the economic situation was critical and the American colonies They did not produce any benefit to the metropolis and were heading towards independence, Fernando VII maintained estate privileges and refused to undertake a fiscal reform that would increase the income of the State, which was almost bankrupt.
Instead, The government of Fernando VII focused on the repression of the enemies of the absolute monarchy. In addition to persecuting and imprisoning liberals, he forced more than twelve thousand “French citizens” into exile. (Spanish people who had collaborated or held public positions during the reign of Joseph Bonaparte).
In this context, many soldiers, including former heroes of the War of Independence, They adopted liberal positions and, to face repression, they joined secret societieslike Freemasonry.
These soldiers carried out various military coup attempts or protests, such as Francisco Espoz y Mina in 1814, Juan Díaz Porlier in 1815 and Luis Lacy y Gautier in 1817. All coup attempts were harshly repressed.
The Liberal Triennium (1820-1823)
In 1820, one of the liberal pronouncements against the absolutist regime, in this case led by Lieutenant Colonel Rafael del Riego, proclaimed the reestablishment of the Constitution of 1812 and gained much support. Ferdinand VII was forced to swear the Constitution.
Thus began a period known as the Liberal Triennium. For three years, the king shared power with a liberal government who defended respect for the freedoms enshrined in the Constitution and promoted some reforms, such as the suppression of the Inquisition.
However, Ferdinand VII conspired in the shadows against the liberals and got a French army, known as the “One Hundred Thousand Sons of Saint Louis” and sent by King Louis XVIII of Bourbon, to intervene in Spain in 1823. The liberal resistance was expired on October 1, 1823 and Ferdinand VII restored absolutism in Spain.
See more in: Crisis of the Spanish Empire
The Ominous Decade (1823-1833)
The last ten years of Ferdinand VII's reign were called the Ominous Decade by liberals. By decree, The king annulled all the legislation of the Liberal Triennium and began a new absolutist period.
This stage was characterized by repression against the liberals and for the attempts at a military pronouncement against the king that motivated Ferdinand VII to keep in Spain the “One Hundred Thousand Sons of Saint Louis” who had arrived from France in 1823.
On the other hand, the definitive loss of most of the American colonies reduced military spending (which until then was oriented towards wars against the independentists). The economy reached a degree of budget balance thanks to a reform of the Treasury.
Due to the death without issue of Fernando VII's third wife in 1829, he married his niece María Cristina de Borbón. Shortly before his first-born daughter was born, he enacted the Pragmatic Sanction that abolished the Salic Law that prohibited women from accessing the throne.. Thus, when Isabel de Borbón was born in October 1830, the infant Carlos, brother of the king and until then his successor, found his access to the throne impossible.
Ferdinand VII died on September 29, 1833. He was succeeded by his daughter Elizabeth II but, during his minority, his mother, María Cristina de Borbón (1833-1840), and General Baldomero Espartero (1840-1843) ruled as regents. The supporters of the Infante Carlos then began a series of insurrections that led to the first Carlist war between Isabellines and Carlists. In this conflict, the liberals supported the Elizabethan side.
References
- Britannica, Encyclopaedia (2023). Ferdinand VII. Encyclopedia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/
- Castells, I. & Moliner, A. (2000). Crisis of the Old Regime and Liberal Revolution in Spain (1789-1845). Ariel.
- La Parra, E. (2018). Ferdinand VII. A king desired and detested. Tusquets.
- La Parra, E. (sf). Ferdinand VII. Royal Academy of History. https://dbe.rah.es/
