The second half of the 19th century

 Who ruled after Isabel II’s abdication?

After the military coup of 1868, Spain was governed for six years by a group of soldiers. They wanted universal male suffrage and a monarch controlled by a constitution. This period is known as the Six-Year Democratic Period. In 1870, the governing assembly under its president General Prim, chose an Italian, Amadeo de Saboya, to be king. Amadeo I abdicated in 1873 and declared the First Republic. 

Juan Prim

Amadeo I de Saboya

Asesinato de Prim (unos hombres se abalanzan sobre el vehículo, abren la puerta y descerrajan cinco disparos sobre Prim, quien muere el hospital)

Amadeo ante el cuerpo de Prim

Dimisión de Amadeo

¿Quién mató a Prim?

A new draft for a constitution was written but it was never passed. It promoted the idea of a federal state with each region governing itself. Although there was enthusiasm for the Republic among the middle classes in some regions, there was also resistance from many groups. 

Alegorías de la I República

Presidentes de la I República. En un año ¡4 gobiernos!

The Cantonal Revolution broke out in southern and central Spain. It was in favour of almost complete independence for some cities and towns. A third Carlist War started in the north of Spain in favour of a monarchy. Further instability was caused by a War of Independence in Cuba. The First Republic ended in 1874 with another military coup*, this time to restore the monarchy.

Dibujo satírico de la revista La Flaca: caricatura de la lucha por el poder. En la escena, un grupo de observadores de las principales monarquías europeas, muestra su satisfacción ante las disputas entre los mismos republicanos.

de la insurrección cantonal (se estableció una serie de ciudades independientes que acabaron declarándose la guerra unas a otras).

What happened at the start of Alfonso XII’s reign?

El general Martínez Campos pinta a Alfonso XII

The restoration of the monarchy led to the reign of Alfonso XII, Isabel II’s son, from 1875 to 1885. The Constitution of 1876 established a centralised state governed by the monarch. Laws were passed by parliament, but the king could veto them. A later law only allowed rich men to vote.

What political system was there under Alfonso XII?

Pacto Cánovas y Sagasta: turnismo

During Alfonso XII’s reign, a system of political alternation was established to stabilise the political situation. Two political parties, the Conservatives led by Cánovas del Castillo and the Liberals led by Sagasta, took turns to control parliament. Powerful local caciques manipulated the elections to make sure the party they supported was in power. These men were mainly rural landowners and politicians. They obliged farm workers to vote for the caciques’ interests. Several groups opposed this system. They included Carlists, Republicans and a growing labour movement of socialists and anarchists.

Lazarismo (voto de los muertos para ganas elecciones)

Caciquismo y lazarismo

Caricatura de Sagasta en la revista "La Flaca". Alude a la práctica de la manipulación de los votos en las elecciones conocida con el término de "pucherazo".

Caricaturas satíricas de Cánovas y Sagasta (El Motín). 

Cánovas Fusionado

Publish at Calameo

Asesinato de Cánovas

La Restauración

                                     

What happened in the last years of the century?

Alfonso XII died in 1885, before the birth of his son, Alfonso XIII. His wife, Maria Cristina of Hapsburg became regent. Political alternation continued, although the electoral laws were reformed and universal male suffrage was reintroduced in 1890. 

In the 1890s, the United States started to help Cuba’s independence movement. Spain went to war with the US and lost. By the end of 1898, the Spanish colonies of Cuba, Puerto Rico and the Philippines were independent. The loss of the Spanish Empire’s last territories is called the Crisis of 98.