The Constitutional Party () was one of the

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...

political parties that contended for power during the reign of

Amadeo I Amadeo I (; 30 May 184518 January 1890), also known as Amadeus, was an Italian prince who reigned as King of Spain from 1870 to 1873. The only king of Spain to come from the House of Savoy, he was the second son of Victor Emmanuel II of Italy an ...

(reigned 1870–1873) and the

First Spanish Republic The Spanish Republic (), 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 the abdication of King ...

(1873-1874), opposing the Radical Democratic Party. The party was established in 1871, after the division of the Progressive Party following the death of General

Juan Prim, 1st Marquis of los Castillejos Juan Prim y Prats, 1st Count of Reus, 1st Marquis of los Castillejos, 1st Viscount of Bruch (; ; 6 December 1814 – 30 December 1870) was a Spanish general and statesman who was briefly Prime Minister of Spain until his assassination. Bi ...

. The right wing of the party, along with some members of the Liberal Union organised themselves as a party under the leadership of General

Francisco Serrano, 1st Duke of la Torre Francisco is the Spanish and Portuguese form of the masculine given name '' Franciscus''. Meaning of the name Francisco In Spanish, people with the name Francisco are sometimes nicknamed " Paco". San Francisco de Asís was known as ''Pater Com ...

and

Práxedes Mateo Sagasta Práxedes Mariano Mateo Sagasta y Escolar (21 July 1825 – 5 January 1903) was a Spanish civil engineer and politician who served as Prime Minister on eight occasions between 1870 and 1902—always in charge of the Liberal Party—as part of t ...

. The constitutionalists split up in two groups after the 1874

restoration of the monarchy Restoration is the act of restoring something to its original state. This may refer to: *Conservation and restoration of cultural property **Audio restoration **Conservation and restoration of immovable cultural property **Film restoration ** Image ...

. The right faction of the party, led by

Manuel Alonso Martínez Manuel Alonso Martínez (1827, Burgos – 1891, Madrid) was a Spanish jurist and politician, and the principal redactor of the Spanish Civil Code. After working as a Burgos attorney, he entered public service in 1854 as a member of the Cort ...

, accepted the new King Alfonso XII and the new Constitution, and joined the Conservative Party of

Antonio Cánovas del Castillo Antonio Cánovas del Castillo (8 February 18288 August 1897) was a Spanish people, Spanish politician and historian known principally for serving six terms as Spanish Prime Minister, prime minister and his overarching role as "architect" of the ...

. The rest of the party, headed by Sagasta, remained faithful to the Constitution of 1869 until 1880, when they finally accepted the new one and the ''

turno In Spanish politics during the late 19th and early 20th centuries, ''El Turno Pacífico'' () was an informal system operated by the two major parties for determining in advance the result of a general election. The system ensured that the Con ...

'' system, establishing the

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. For example, while the political systems ...

, which contended for power opposing the Conservative Party.

References

*''Historia de España'', Vicens Vives, 2009, {{ISBN, 978-84-316-9037-3 1871 establishments in Spain 1880 disestablishments in Spain Liberal parties in Spain Political parties established in 1871 Political parties disestablished in 1880 Defunct political parties in Spain Defunct liberal political parties Amadeo I of Spain First Spanish Republic