The Contemporary Age

Isabel II

• She ruled from 1833 to 1868.• She wasn´t popular with any of the political parties.• Her government was dominated by two military politicians:

Ramón María Narváez and Leopold O´Donnell.• When they died, the government became to weak to

continue.• General Juan Prim sent the Queen into exile* and started

looking for a new monarch to take over. • *Exile: being banished from your native country.

1870-1873: King Amadeo I de Saboya• It took two years to find someone to accept the throne.• The Italian Duke of Aosta, Amaedo, eventually accepted under

pressure from his father.• His reign started badly when his main supporter General Prim

was assassinated.• It was an extremely unstable period.• He had to deal with violent conflicts between different political

parties, the Cuban revolution, rebellions by the Carlists in the Basque and Catalan regions, Republican uprisings and problems with the army.• Unable to cope, he returned to Italy in early 1873.

1873-1874: First Republic• On 11 February 1873, Spain became a republic, but the political and

social instability continued.• The republic lasted only 11 months with 4 presidents during this time.• 3 simultaneous civil wars also broke out in Spain that year.• On 3 January 1874, General Manuel Pavia mounted a coup d´etat*

which ked to the end of the republic.• The political parties were unable to work together and the support for

Alfonso, Isabel II´s son grew.• General Martínez Campos restored the monarchy and Alfonso XII

became the new King of Spain.• * Coup d´etat: a sudden and decisive actions in politics, especially

one resulting in a change in government illegally or by force.

The Restoration: 1875-1923• During Alfonso XII`s reign, there were minor conflicts,

but there was less violence than in previous years.• 1875-1885: King Alfonso XII

• Alfonso XII ruled as a constitutional monarch (not an absolute one) under the Constitution of 1876. Although he was young and inexperienced, he was a very popular king.

• Under his reign, there was a new political system: the turno pacífico. Only two political parties were permitted: the Liberals and the Consevatives. These parties took turns to hold power. The parties that were excluded from this system opposed it.

• In this new system of alternating power, there were 2 key political figures:• Antonio Cánovas del Castillo who was Prime Minister 6 times and leader of

the conservatives.• Práxedes Mateo Sagasta who was Prime Minister 8 times and leader of the

Liberals.

Characteristics of this period:• Pros

• After a century of instability, Spain was stable again.• It was a period of economic prosperity and modernization.• There was peace and prosperity in Cuba and Puerto Rico.

• Cons• The only way to guarantee the system would work was through electoral

fraud: the King chose the government and the result of the election was decided in advance.

• Basque and Catalan nationalism grew in protest against the unfair system. Did you know?Despite Alfonso´s popularity, there were two attempts to assassinate him. He died of tuberculosis at the age of 27.

From Alfonso XII to the Second Republic

• Alfonso XII´s early death left his son, Alfonso, as heir to the throne. His mother María Cristina, ruled as regent until the young Alfonso turner 16 in 1902 and became King Alfonso XIII.

• During the regency period, Spain lost its remaining colonies, Cuba, Puerto Rico and the Philippines, and suffered heavy defeats in Morocco and violent rioting in Barcelona.

• Primo de Rivera lost all confidence in the Spanish government and organized a coup. Alfonso XIII supported him and Rivera suspended the Constitution and became a dictator from 1923-1930. Unfortunately he was not a good leader and Spain went bankrupt under his rule. Eventually, even the army stopped supporting him and Alfonso XIII forced him to resign.• Despite the attempts to re-establish a non-dictatorship

form of the government, people no longer trusted Alfonso XIII. In 1931, the Republicans won the elections, the monarchy was abolished and the Second Republic was declared. It lasted until the end of the Civil war in 1939.

The Constitution of 1931

Among many things it:• established freedom of speech• gave the vote to women• made divorce legal• took away the special legal status enjoyed by Spanish

nobility• limited the powers of the church

Opposition to the Republic

• The church: its powers had been limited by the new constitution.• The military and the Nationalists: they saw the

government as weak.• Workers' groups: they considered the Second Republic to

be oppressive.• Monarchists and Fascists: their status as nobles had

been reduced.

The Civil War: 1936-1939

• On 18 July 1936, General Francisco Franco led a military takeover of the Republican and the Civil War began. Spain was divided into two sides: the Republicans (supporters of the republic) and the Nationalists (supporters of General Franco).• The war officially ended on 1 April 1939 with a Nationalist

victory.