The Glorious Revolution ( es, la Gloriosa or ) took place in Spain in 1868, resulting in the deposition of
Queen Isabella II. The success of the revolution marked the beginning of the with the installment of a provisional government.
Background
Leading up to the Glorious Revolution, there had been numerous failed attempts to overthrow the unpopular Queen Isabella, most notably in
1854 and
1861.
An 1866 rebellion led by General
Juan Prim
Juan Prim y Prats, 1st Count of Reus, 1st Marquis of los Castillejos, 1st Viscount of Bruch (; ca, Joan Prim i Prats ; 6 December 1814 – 30 December 1870) was a Spanish general and statesman who was briefly Prime Minister of Spain until h ...
and a revolt of the sergeants at San Gil barracks, in
Madrid
Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the second-largest city in the European Union (EU), and ...
, 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
Ostend ( nl, Oostende, ; french: link=no, Ostende ; german: link=no, Ostende ; vls, Ostende) is a coastal city and municipality, located in the province of West Flanders in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It comprises the boroughs of Mariakerk ...
in 1866 and
Brussels
Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...
in 1867. These agreements laid the framework for a major uprising, this time not merely to replace the Prime Minister with a Liberal, 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
In September 1868 naval forces under admiral
Juan Bautista Topete
Juan Bautista Topete y Carballo (24 May 1821 – 29 October 1885), was a Spanish admiral and politician.
He was born in San Andrés Tuxtla, Mexico.
His father and grandfather were also Spanish admirals. He entered the navy at the age of ...
mutinied in
Cadiz. This was the same city where a half-century before,
Rafael del Riego
Rafael del Riego y Flórez (7 April 1784 – 7 November 1823) was a Spanish general and liberal politician, who played a key role in the outbreak of the Liberal Triennium (''Trienio liberal'' in Spanish).
Early life
Riego was born on 7 April ...
had launched his coup against
Isabella's father.
When the generals Prim and
Francisco Serrano denounced the government, much of the army defected to the revolutionary generals on their arrival in Spain. The queen made a brief show of force at the
Battle of Alcolea, where her loyal ''moderado'' generals under
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
Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. Si ...
, until her death in 1904.
Aftermath
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
Baldomero Fernández-Espartero y Álvarez de Toro (27 February 17938 January 1879) was a Spanish marshal and statesman. He served as the Regent of the Realm, three times as Prime Minister and briefly as President of the Congress of Deputies ...
's dictatorship. The ''
Cortes
Cortes, Cortés, Cortês, Corts, or Cortès may refer to:
People
* Cortes (surname), including a list of people with the name
** Hernán Cortés (1485–1547), a Spanish conquistador
Places
* Cortes, Navarre, a village in the South border of ...
'' 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.
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
Alfonso XII of Spain
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 ...
), but others thought that he would be dominated by his mother and inherit her flaws.
Ferdinand of Saxe-Coburg, the former regent of neighboring
Portugal
Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of th ...
, was sometimes mentioned as a possibility. Politicians feared that a nomination offered to
Prince Leopold of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen would trigger a
Franco-Prussian War.
In August 1870, they selected an Italian prince,
Amadeo of Savoy. The younger son of
Victor Emmanuel II of Italy
en, Victor Emmanuel Maria Albert Eugene Ferdinand Thomas
, house = Savoy
, father = Charles Albert of Sardinia
, mother = Maria Theresa of Austria
, religion = Roman Catholicism
, image_size = 252px
, succession1 ...
, 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
Amadeo ( it, Amedeo , sometimes latinized as Amadeus; full name: ''Amedeo Ferdinando Maria di Savoia''; 30 May 184518 January 1890) was an Italian prince who reigned as King of Spain from 1870 to 1873. The first and only King of Spain to come fro ...
on November 3, 1870.
He landed in
Cartagena on November 27, the same day that Juan Prim was
assassinated
Assassination is the murder of a prominent or important person, such as a head of state, head of government, politician, world leader, member of a royal family or CEO. The murder of a celebrity, activist, or artist, though they may not have ...
while leaving the ''Cortes''. Amadeo swore upon the general's corpse that he would uphold Spain's constitution. He lasted two years, after which the parties formed 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 ...
. That in turn lasted two years. No political force was willing to restore Isabella; instead, in 1875 the Cortes proclaimed Isabella's son as King
Alfonso XII.
See also
*
Mid-nineteenth century Spain
References
{{reflist
Rebellions in Spain
Revolutions in Spain
19th-century revolutions
1868 in Spain
1869 in Spain
1870 in Spain
Conflicts in 1868
Isabella II of Spain