Alfonso XII (Alfonso Francisco de Asís Fernando Pío Juan María de la Concepción Gregorio Pelayo; 28 November 185725 November 1885), also known as El Pacificador or the Peacemaker, was
King of Spain from 29 December 1874 to his death in 1885. After a
revolution that deposed his mother
Isabella II from the throne in 1868, Alfonso studied in
Austria
Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...
and
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...
. His mother abdicated in his favour in 1870, and he returned to Spain as king in 1874 following a military coup against the
First Republic. Alfonso died aged 27 in 1885, and was succeeded by his son,
Alfonso XIII
Alfonso XIII (17 May 1886 – 28 February 1941), also known as El Africano or the African, was King of Spain from 17 May 1886 to 14 April 1931, when the Second Spanish Republic was proclaimed. He was a monarch from birth as his father, Alf ...
, who was born the following year. He is the most recent monarch of Spain to have died while on the throne.
Political background, early life and paternity
Alfonso was born in
Madrid
Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the Largest cities of the Europ ...
as the eldest son of Queen
Isabella II on 28 November 1857. His official father, Isabella's husband
Francisco de Asís, has been generally viewed as effeminate, impotent or homosexual, leading writers to question his biological paternity. There is speculation that Alfonso's biological father may have been Enrique Puigmoltó y Mayans, a captain of the guard. The relationship of the queen with Puigmoltó was so much of a public hearsay at the time that Francisco de Asís initially refused to attend the baptism ceremony of Alfonso (the heir apparent) even if he was eventually forced to do so. These rumours were used as political propaganda against Alfonso by the
Carlists, and he came to be widely nicknamed "Puigmoltejo" in reference to his supposed father. Others have assigned the fatherhood to Federico Puig Romero, a
colonel
Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations.
In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge o ...
who was murdered under unclear circumstances in 1866.
His mother's accession created the second cause of instability, the Carlist Wars. The supporters of the
Count of Molina
Count (feminine: countess) is a historical title of nobility in certain European countries, varying in relative status, generally of middling rank in the hierarchy of nobility. Pine, L. G. ''Titles: How the King Became His Majesty''. New York: ...
as King of Spain rose to have him enthroned. In addition, within the context of the post-Napoleonic restorations and revolutions which engulfed the West both in Europe and the Americas, both the Carlistas and the Isabelino conservatives were opposed to the new Napoleonic constitutional system. Much like in Britain, which subtracted itself from the liberal constitutional process, Spanish conservatives wanted to continue with the Traditional Spanish Organic Laws such as the
Fuero Juzgo, the Novísima Recopilación and the
Partidas of Alfonso X. This led to the third cause of instability of note, the independence of most of the American possessions, recognized between 1823 and 1850.
A split nation
When Queen Isabella II and her husband were forced to leave Spain by the
Revolution of 1868, Alfonso accompanied them to Paris. From there, he was sent to the
Theresianum in
Vienna
en, Viennese
, iso_code = AT-9
, registration_plate = W
, postal_code_type = Postal code
, postal_code =
, timezone = CET
, utc_offset = +1
, timezone_DST ...
to continue his studies. On 25 June 1870, he was recalled to Paris, where his mother abdicated in his favour, in the presence of a number of Spanish nobles who had tied their fortunes to those of the exiled queen. He assumed the name Alfonso XII, for although no king of united Spain had borne the name "Alfonso", the Spanish monarchy was regarded as continuous with the more ancient monarchy represented by the 11 kings of
Asturias
Asturias (, ; ast, Asturies ), officially the Principality of Asturias ( es, Principado de Asturias; ast, Principáu d'Asturies; Galician-Asturian: ''Principao d'Asturias''), is an autonomous community in northwest Spain.
It is coextensiv ...
,
León and
Castile also named
Alfonso
Alphons (Latinized ''Alphonsus'', ''Adelphonsus'', or ''Adefonsus'') is a male given name recorded from the 8th century (Alfonso I of Asturias, r. 739–757) in the Christian successor states of the Visigothic kingdom in the Iberian peninsula. ...
.
The Republic
After the revolution, the ''Cortes'' decided to set up a new dynasty on the throne.
Prince Amadeo of Savoy, the younger son of King
Victor Emmanuel II of Italy and a distant cousin of Alfonso by common descent from
Charles III
Charles III (Charles Philip Arthur George; born 14 November 1948) is King of the United Kingdom and the 14 other Commonwealth realms. He was the longest-serving heir apparent and Prince of Wales and, at age 73, became the oldest person t ...
, was recognized as King of Spain in November 1870. During a tumultuous reign, Amadeo was targeted by assassination attempts and struggled with opposition from both
Carlists and
republicans while his own faction split. After the Carlists revolted and the
Third Carlist War
The Third Carlist War ( es, Tercera Guerra Carlista) (1872–1876) was the last Carlist War in Spain. It is sometimes referred to as the "Second Carlist War", as the earlier "Second" War (1847–1849) was smaller in scale and relatively trivial ...
broke out, he
abdicated and returned to Italy in early 1873.
Following Amadeo's abandonment, the
First Spanish Republic
The Spanish Republic ( es, República Española), historiographically referred to as the First Spanish Republic, was the political regime that existed in Spain from 11 February 1873 to 29 December 1874.
The Republic's founding ensued after th ...
was established, including the territories of
Cuba
Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbea ...
,
Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico (; abbreviated PR; tnq, Boriken, ''Borinquen''), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico ( es, link=yes, Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, lit=Free Associated State of Puerto Rico), is a Caribbean island and unincorporated ...
and the Pacific Archipelagos. The first act of President
Estanislao Figueras
Estanislao Figueras y de Moragas ( ca, Estanislau Figueras i de Moragas ; 13 November 1819 – 11 November 1882) was a Spanish politician who served as the first President of the First Spanish Republic from 12 February to 11 June 1873.
Figuera ...
was to extend the abolition of slavery to Puerto Rico; Cuban slaves would have to wait until 1889. The republicans were not in agreement either, and they had to contend with a
war in Cuba and Muslim uprisings in
Spanish Morocco. In the midst of these crises, the Carlist War continued and the Carlist party made itself strong in areas with claims over their national and institutional specificity such as
Catalonia
Catalonia (; ca, Catalunya ; Aranese Occitan: ''Catalonha'' ; es, Cataluña ) is an autonomous community of Spain, designated as a '' nationality'' by its Statute of Autonomy.
Most of the territory (except the Val d'Aran) lies on the nort ...
and the
Basque Country. This unrest led to the creation of a group in favour of the
Bourbon Restoration, led by the moderate conservative
Antonio Cánovas del Castillo.
Alfonso was well-educated and cultured, especially compared to his mother. His tutors took great care to have him educated in good schools and to familiarize him with different cultures, languages and government models throughout Europe. During the
Franco-Prussian War, Alfonso relocated from Paris to
Geneva
, neighboring_municipalities= Carouge, Chêne-Bougeries, Cologny, Lancy, Grand-Saconnex, Pregny-Chambésy, Vernier, Veyrier
, website = https://www.geneve.ch/
Geneva ( ; french: Genève ) frp, Genèva ; german: link=no, Genf ; it, Ginevr ...
with his family, and then continued his studies at the
Theresianum in
Vienna
en, Viennese
, iso_code = AT-9
, registration_plate = W
, postal_code_type = Postal code
, postal_code =
, timezone = CET
, utc_offset = +1
, timezone_DST ...
in 1872. Cánovas began to take responsibility for Alfonso's education with the goal of shaping him into the ideal king for the planned Bourbon Restoration, and next sent him to the
Royal Military College, Sandhurst
The Royal Military College (RMC), founded in 1801 and established in 1802 at Great Marlow and High Wycombe in Buckinghamshire, England, but moved in October 1812 to Sandhurst, Berkshire, was a British Army military academy for training infant ...
, in England.
The training he received there was severe but more cosmopolitan than it would have been in Spain, given its atmosphere at the time.
On 1 December 1874, Alfonso issued the Sandhurst Manifesto, where he set the ideological basis of the Bourbon Restoration. It was drafted in reply to a birthday greeting from his followers, a manifesto proclaiming himself the sole representative of the Spanish monarchy. At the end of 1874, Brigadier
Martínez Campos, who had long been working more or less openly for the king, led some battalions of the central army to
Sagunto, rallied the troops sent against him to his own flag, and entered
Valencia
Valencia ( va, València) is the capital of the autonomous community of Valencia and the third-most populated municipality in Spain, with 791,413 inhabitants. It is also the capital of the province of the same name. The wider urban area al ...
in the king's name. Thereupon the President resigned, and his power was transferred to the king's plenipotentiary and adviser, Cánovas.
The 29 December 1874 military coup of Gen. Martinez Campos in Sagunto ended the failed republic and meant the rise of the young Prince Alfonso.
Reign
Within a few days after Canovas del Castillo took power as Premier, the new king, proclaimed on 29 December 1874, arrived at
Madrid
Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the Largest cities of the Europ ...
, passing through
Barcelona
Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...
and
Valencia
Valencia ( va, València) is the capital of the autonomous community of Valencia and the third-most populated municipality in Spain, with 791,413 inhabitants. It is also the capital of the province of the same name. The wider urban area al ...
and was acclaimed everywhere (1875). In 1876, a vigorous campaign against the
Carlists, in which the young king took part, resulted in the defeat of
Don Carlos and the Duke's abandonment of the struggle.
Initially led by Canovas del Castillo as moderate prime minister, what was thought at one time as a coup aimed at placing the military in the political-administrative positions of power, in reality ushered in a civilian regime that lasted until
Primo de Rivera Primo de Rivera is a Spanish family prominent in politics of the 19th and 20th centuries:
*Fernando Primo de Rivera (1831–1921), Spanish politician and soldier
*Miguel Primo de Rivera (1870–1930), nephew of Fernando, military officer and dictat ...
's 1923
coup d'état
A coup d'état (; French for 'stroke of state'), also known as a coup or overthrow, is a seizure and removal of a government and its powers. Typically, it is an illegal seizure of power by a political faction, politician, cult, rebel group, m ...
. Cánovas was the real architect of the new regime of the Restoration.
In order to eliminate one of the problems of the reign of
Isabel II, the single party and its destabilizing consequences, the Liberal Party was allowed to incorporate and participate in national politics, and the 'turnismo' or alternation was to become the new system. Turnismo would be endorsed in the
Constitution of 1876 and the
Pact of El Pardo (1885). It meant that liberal and conservative prime ministers would succeed each other ending thus the troubles.
This led to the end of the Carlist revolts and the victory over the New York-backed Cuban revolutionaries, and led to a huge backing both by insular and peninsular Spaniards of Alfonso. His government continued the operations of the
Ministry for Overseas Affairs which began under his mother's reign. The ministry was responsible for the theft of indigenous human remains and artifacts throughout colonized lands from 1863 to 1899. To this day, the majority of the stolen bodies of indigenous peoples, some still displayed in Spanish museums, have yet to be returned to their ancestral lands.
Alfonso's short reign established the foundations for the final socioeconomic recuperation of Spain after the 1808–1874 crisis. Both European (the coastal regions, such as the Basque Country, Catalonia, and Asturias) and Overseas – Antilles and Pacific were able to grow steadily. Cuba and Puerto Rico prospered to the point that Spain's first train was between
Havana
Havana (; Spanish: ''La Habana'' ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of the La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center. and
Camagüey, and the first telegraph in Latin America was in Puerto Rico, established by
Samuel Morse
Samuel Finley Breese Morse (April 27, 1791 – April 2, 1872) was an American inventor and painter. After having established his reputation as a portrait painter, in his middle age Morse contributed to the invention of a single-wire telegraph ...
, whose daughter lived there with her husband. Upon the
American invasion of Puerto Rico, ten US dollars were needed to buy one Puerto Rican peso.
First marriage
On 23 January 1878 at the Basilica of
Atocha in Madrid, Alfonso married his first cousin, Princess
Maria de las Mercedes, but she died within six months of the marriage.
Second marriage and rule
On 29 November 1879 at the Basilica of Atocha in
Madrid
Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the Largest cities of the Europ ...
, Alfonso married his double third cousin, Archduchess
Maria Christina of Austria. During the honeymoon, a pastry cook named Otero fired at the young sovereign and his wife as they were driving in Madrid.
The children of this marriage were:
*
María de las Mercedes, Princess of Asturias, (11 September 188017 October 1904), married on 14 February 1901 to
Prince Carlos of Bourbon-Two Sicilies
, house = Bourbon-Two Sicilies
, spouse =
, issue =
, father = Prince Alfonso, Count of Caserta
, mother = Princess Maria Antonietta of Bourbon-Two Sicilies
, religion = Roman Catholicism
, signature = ...
, and titular heir from the death of her father until the posthumous birth of her brother
*
María Teresa, (12 November 188223 September 1912), married to
Prince Ferdinand of Bavaria on 12 January 1906
*
Alfonso XIII
Alfonso XIII (17 May 1886 – 28 February 1941), also known as El Africano or the African, was King of Spain from 17 May 1886 to 14 April 1931, when the Second Spanish Republic was proclaimed. He was a monarch from birth as his father, Alf ...
(17 May 188628 February 1941). Born posthumously. He married
Princess Victoria Eugenie of Battenberg
Alfonso had two sons by
Elena Armanda Nicolasa Sanz y Martínez de Arizala (15 December 1849, in
Castellón de la Plana
Castellón de la Plana (officially in ca-valencia, Castelló de la Plana), or simply Castellón ( ca-valencia, Castelló, link=no) is the capital city of the province of Castellón, in the Valencian Community, Spain. It is located in the east ...
– 24 December 1898, in Paris):
* Alfonso Sanz y Martínez de Arizala (28 January 1880, in Madrid19 March 1970, in Paris), married in 1922 to María de Guadalupe de Limantour y Mariscal
*
Fernando Sanz y Martínez de Arizala (28 February 1881, in Madrid8 January 1925, in
Pau, France), unmarried and without issue
In 1881 Alfonso refused to sanction a law by which the ministers were to remain in office for a fixed term of 18 months. Upon the consequent resignation of Canovas del Castillo, he summoned
Práxedes Mateo Sagasta, the Liberal leader, to form a new cabinet.
Death and impact
In November 1885, Alfonso died, just short of his 28th birthday, at the
Royal Palace of El Pardo
The Royal Palace of El Pardo ( es, Palacio Real de El Pardo, ) is one of the official residences of the Spanish royal family and one of the oldest, being used by the Spanish monarchs since Enrique III in the 15th century. It is administered by t ...
near Madrid. He had been suffering from
tuberculosis, but the immediate cause of his death was a recurrence of
dysentery
Dysentery (UK pronunciation: , US: ), historically known as the bloody flux, is a type of gastroenteritis that results in bloody diarrhea. Other symptoms may include fever, abdominal pain, and a feeling of incomplete defecation. Complications ...
.
In 1902, his widow Maria Cristina initiated a national contest to build a
monument in memory of Alfonso. The winning design, by
José Grases Riera
José Grases Riera (25 April 1850 – 12 February 1919) was a Spanish architect from Barcelona.
Born in Barcelona, Grases graduated from the School of Architecture in Barcelona in 1878 and moved to Madrid shortly after. Through to the turn of ...
, was erected in an artificial lake in Madrid's
Parque del Buen Retiro in 1922.
Coming to the throne at such an early age Alfonso had served no apprenticeship in the art of ruling. Benevolent and sympathetic in disposition, he won the affection of his people by fearlessly visiting districts ravaged by
cholera or devastated by
1884 Andalusian earthquake
The 1884 Granadan earthquake ( es, Terremoto de Granada de 1884) occurred on 25 December 1884 at 9:08 p.m in the south of Spain, and had an estimated magnitude of 6.7 .
It shook a poor region where many of the houses were built without foundations ...
. His capacity for dealing with men was considerable, and he never allowed himself to become the instrument of any particular party. During his short reign, peace was established both at home and abroad, finances were well regulated, and the various administrative services were placed on a basis that afterwards enabled Spain to pass through the disastrous
war with the United States without the threat of a revolution.
Honours
*
Spain
, image_flag = Bandera de España.svg
, image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg
, national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond")
, national_anthem = (English: "Royal March")
, i ...
:
Knight of the Golden Fleece
This article contains a list of knights of the Order of the Golden Fleece.
Knights of the Burgundian Golden Fleece
15th Century
!Year of Induction!!Name!!Born!!Died!!Notes
, -
, rowspan=25, 1430, , Philip the Good, Duke of Burgundy, , 1396, , ...
, ''1857''
* :
Grand Cross of the Tower and Sword, ''1861''
[ Retrieved 22 September 2018.]
*
French Empire: Grand Cross of the
Legion of Honour, ''March 1863''
* :
Knight of St. Hubert, ''1865''
* :
Grand Cross of St. Charles, ''7 September 1865''
* : Grand Cordon of the
Order of Leopold (civil), ''20 February 1866''
* :
Grand Cross of St. Stephen, ''1875''
* :
Grand Cross of the White Falcon, ''1875''
*
Kingdom of Prussia
The Kingdom of Prussia (german: Königreich Preußen, ) was a German kingdom that constituted the state of Prussia between 1701 and 1918. Marriott, J. A. R., and Charles Grant Robertson. ''The Evolution of Prussia, the Making of an Empire''. ...
:
Knight of the Black Eagle, ''13 June 1875''
*
Sweden-Norway
Sweden and Norway or Sweden–Norway ( sv, Svensk-norska unionen; no, Den svensk-norske union(en)), officially the United Kingdoms of Sweden and Norway, and known as the United Kingdoms, was a personal union of the separate kingdoms of Sweden ...
:
Knight of the Seraphim, ''23 October 1877''
* :
Knight of the Elephant, ''8 January 1878''
* :
Knight of the Annunciation, ''4 February 1878''
* : Grand Cordon of the
Order of the Chrysanthemum
is Japan's highest order. The Grand Cordon of the Order was established in 1876 by Emperor Meiji of Japan; the Collar of the Order was added on 4 January 1888. Unlike its European counterparts, the order may be conferred posthumously.
Apart fr ...
, ''11 September 1879''
* :
Stranger Knight of the Garter, ''24 October 1881''
[Shaw, Wm. A. (1906) ''The Knights of England'', I, London]
p. 62
/ref>
* : Knight of the Rue Crown, ''1883''
Ancestry
See also
* Monument to Alfonso XII
Explanatory notes
References
External links
Historiaantiqua.
''Alfonso XII; (Spanish)'' (2008)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Alfonso 12
1857 births
1885 deaths
19th-century Spanish monarchs
House of Bourbon (Spain)
Nobility from Madrid
Princes of Asturias
Restoration (Spain)
People of the Third Carlist War
Spanish infantes
1870s in Spain
1880s in Spain
Grand Masters of the Order of the Golden Fleece
Knights of the Golden Fleece of Spain
Grand Masters of the Order of Isabella the Catholic
Grand Crosses of the Order of Saint-Charles
Collars of the Order of Isabella the Catholic
Knights Grand Cross of the Order of Isabella the Catholic
Laureate Cross of Saint Ferdinand
Crosses of Military Merit
Grand Crosses of Military Merit
Crosses of Naval Merit
Grand Crosses of Naval Merit
Grand Masters of the Royal and Military Order of San Hermenegild
Recipients of the Royal and Military Order of Saint Hermenegild
Grand Crosses of the Royal and Military Order of San Hermenegild
Grand Masters of the Order of Calatrava
Knights of Calatrava
Grand Masters of the Order of Santiago
Knights of Santiago
Grand Masters of the Order of Alcántara
Knights of the Order of Alcántara
Grand Masters of the Order of Montesa
Knights of the Order of Montesa
Spanish captain generals
Captain generals of the Navy
Grand Crosses of the Order of Saint Stephen of Hungary
Extra Knights Companion of the Garter
19th-century deaths from tuberculosis
Collège Stanislas de Paris alumni
Graduates of the Royal Military College, Sandhurst
Deaths from dysentery
Infectious disease deaths in Spain
Burials in the Pantheon of Kings at El Escorial
Tuberculosis deaths in Spain
Navarrese titular monarchs