Glorious Revolution (Spain)

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Spanish Revolution of 1868
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Spanish Revolution of 1868
Glorious Revolution
Spain
Result

Expulsion of

Isabella II

Belligerents

Revolutionaries

Kingdom of Spain

Commanders and leaders Francisco Serrano
Juan Prim
Juan Bautista Topete
Isabella II
José Gutiérrez

The Glorious Revolution (

Queen Isabella II. The success of the revolution marked the beginning of the Sexenio Democrático
with the installment of a provisional government.

Background

The Puerta del Sol on 29 September 1868.

Leading up to the Glorious Revolution, there had been numerous failed attempts to overthrow the unpopular Queen Isabella, most notably in

1861.[1] An 1866 rebellion led by General Juan Prim and a revolt of the sergeants at San Gil barracks, in Madrid, sent a signal to Spanish liberals and republicans that there was serious unrest that could be harnessed if it were properly led. Liberals and republican exiles abroad made agreements at Ostend in 1866 and Brussels in 1867. These agreements laid the framework for a major uprising, this time not merely to replace the Prime Minister with a Liberal,[further explanation needed
] but to overthrow Queen Isabella, whom Spanish liberals and republicans began to see as the source of Spain's difficulties.

Her continual vacillation between liberal and conservative quarters had, by 1868, outraged the moderates, the progressives, and the members of the Unión Liberal. An opposition to her government had developed that crossed party lines. Leopoldo O'Donnell's death in 1867 caused the Unión Liberal to unravel; many of its supporters, who had crossed party lines to create the party initially, joined the growing movement to overthrow Isabella in favor of a more effective regime.

Revolution

Battle of Alcolea on 28 September 1868

In September 1868, naval forces under admiral

Ferdinand VII
.

When the generals Prim and

Manuel Pavia
were defeated by General Serrano.

In 1868, Queen Isabella crossed into France and retired from Spanish politics. She lived there in exile, at the

Palacio Castilla in Paris
, until her death in 1904.

Aftermath

Queen Isabella II
.

The revolutionary spirit that had just overthrown the Spanish government lacked direction; the coalition of liberals, moderates, and republicans were faced with the incredible task of creating a government that would suit them better than had Isabella. Control of the government passed to Francisco Serrano, an architect of the revolution against Baldomero Espartero's dictatorship. The Cortes initially rejected the notion of a republic; Serrano was named regent while a search was launched for a suitable monarch to lead the country. In 1869, the Cortes wrote and promulgated a liberal constitution, the first such constitution in Spain since 1812.

Isabella II of Spain in exile in Paris
.

The search for a suitable king proved to be problematic for the Cortes. The republicans were mostly willing to accept a monarch if he was capable and abided by a constitution. Prim, a perennial rebel against the Isabelline governments, was named regent in 1869. The aged Espartero was brought up as an option, still having considerable sway among the progressives; even after he rejected the notion of being named king, he received eight votes for his coronation in the final tally. Many proposed Isabella's young son Alfonso (the future

Prince Leopold of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen would trigger a Franco-Prussian War
.

Satiric depiction of the Carlists (1869)

In August 1870, they selected an Italian prince,

Victor Emmanuel II of Italy, Amadeo had less of the troublesome political baggage that a German or French claimant would bring, and his liberal credentials were strong. He was elected King as Amadeo I of Spain
on November 3, 1870.

He landed in

Alfonso XII
.

See also

References

  1. ISBN 9780230248564
    .
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