The Liberal Conservative Party (, PLC), also known more simply as the Conservative Party (, PC), was a Spanish political party founded in 1876 by

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 ...

History

Foundation

The "Conservative" label referred to the dominant political ideas in Spain at the time, particularly regarding matters of state. The political formation of Spain was shaped by

, at the request of

Alfonso XII of Spain Alfonso XII (Alfonso Francisco de Asís Fernando Pío Juan María de la Concepción Gregorio Pelayo de Borbón y Borbón; 28 November 185725 November 1885), also known as ''El Pacificador'' (Spanish: the Peacemaker), was King of Spain from 29 D ...

, who assumed the crown following the failure of 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 ...

. The Conservative Party brought together a varied group of people, from the supporters of

Isabel II of Spain Isabella II (, María Isabel Luisa de Borbón y Borbón-Dos Sicilias; 10 October 1830 – 9 April 1904) was Queen of Spain from 1833 until her deposition in 1868. She is the only queen regnant in the history of unified Spain. Isabella wa ...

before the Republic to the members of other groups Cánovas had formed. Its existence was linked to Cánovas himself and on his death in 1897 it was kept going by

Francisco Silvela Francisco Silvela y Le Vielleuze (15 December 1843, in Madrid – 29 May 1905, in Madrid) was a Spanish politician who became Prime Minister of Spain on 3 May 1899, succeeding Práxedes Mateo Sagasta. He served in this capacity until 22 October ...

. In 1885, the party signed the

Pact of El Pardo The Pact of El Pardo was an informal agreement which supposedly took place on 24 November, 1885, in the face of King Alfonso XII's imminent death. It confirmed a system of party alternation ("turno") that lasted until General Primo de Rivera's '' ...

with 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 ...

Sagasta Sagasta is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: * José Manuel Sagasta (1912–?), Argentine equestrian * Josefina Pelliza de Sagasta (1848–1888), Argentine poet, journalist, and writer * Julio César Sagasta (1914–?), Argentin ...

, in which the parties agreed to alternate (''

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 ...

'') in power after the death of

. The pact was guaranteed by the ''

caciques A cacique, sometimes spelled as cazique (; ; feminine form: ), was a tribal chieftain of the Taíno people, who were the Indigenous inhabitants of the Bahamas, the Greater Antilles, and the northern Lesser Antilles at the time of European cont ...

'' networks right across Spain in both parties and was intended to keep out of power radical socialist, anarchist or republican parties that wished to destroy the monarchy. The party was founded by Antonio Cánovas del Castillo at the end of the Revolutionary Sexennial, during the period 1874–1876. It was called "liberal" because of the system of State it defended – always complying with the 1876 Constitution that Cánovas himself had drafted – and "conservative" because of the type of ideas that were to prevail in Spain during managing State affairs. In its early years, the members of the Conservative Party came from old formations that had existed during the reign of Isabella II: an important part came from the extinct Liberal Union, while another part came from the also extinct

Moderate Party The Moderate Party ( , , M), commonly referred to as the Moderates ( ), is a Liberal conservatism, liberal-conservative* * * * * List of political parties in Sweden, political party in Sweden. The party generally supports tax cuts, the free ma ...

. Cánovas del Castillo dominated the Spanish political situation for several years, until the 1881 elections. In 1884, the Catholic Union party joined the party. After the assassination of Cánovas del Castillo by an anarchist in 1897,

took over the leadership of the party.

Antonio Maura (1905–13)

After the death of Francisco Silvela in 1905, the Conservative Party set out again to find a strong and consensual leader, something that was very difficult within the party and in the

Cacique A cacique, sometimes spelled as cazique (; ; feminine form: ), was a tribal chieftain of the Taíno people, who were the Indigenous inhabitants of the Bahamas, the Greater Antilles, and the northern Lesser Antilles at the time of European cont ...

system of Spain, where in each region a politician dominated. Finally, the new leader was the Mallorcan Antonio Maura Montaner, whom Silvela himself had designated as his successor, and who would be president of the Council of Ministers in different stages, the most fruitful and extensive being the so-called "long government" of 1907–1909. Paradoxically, Antonio Maura had originally been a member of the Liberal Party, although he split from it together with the supporters of Germán Gamazo Calvo – the so-called '' gamacistas'' – and ended up joining the Conservative Party. In 1903, Alfonso XIII had already entrusted him with the presidency of the government. He then organised the king's first official trip to Barcelona, which was a success for the figure of the monarch, although Maura was injured in an attack. In 1904, his confrontation with the king made him leave the government. He returned to power in 1907, after the elections held that year, and during the following years he carried out extensive legislative work: Electoral Law, Strike Law, Sunday Rest Law, creation of the National Institute of Social Security (INP), modernization of the Navy, and the Local Administration Reform Bill. It also promoted rapprochement with

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

and

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-west coast of continental Europe, consisting of the countries England, Scotland, and Wales. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the List of European ...

. However, during his government, serious problems of public order occurred, such as the

Tragic Week (Spain) Tragic Week (in Catalan ''la Setmana Tràgica'', in Spanish ''la Semana Trágica'') (25 July – 2 August 1909) was a series of violent confrontations between the Spanish army and anarchists, freemasons, socialists and republicans of Barcelona a ...

in 1909. The subsequent shooting of

Francisco Ferrer Francesc Ferrer i Guàrdia (; January 14, 1859 – October 13, 1909), widely known as Francisco Ferrer (), was a Spanish radical freethinker, anarchist, and educationist behind a network of secular, private, libertarian schools in and aroun ...

, unjustly accused of being the main instigator of the Barcelona incidents, provoked a very harsh campaign against Maura – posters even appeared in Barcelona with the slogan "Maura No" – and marked the end of the great popularity he had enjoyed until then. The crisis provoked by the shooting of Ferrer Guardia ended up leading to his fall in October 1909. In 1913, he left the party leadership, although he would still hold an important position in the party.

Eduardo Dato (1913–21)

In 1913, the Galician lawyer

Eduardo Dato Iradier Eduardo Dato e Iradier (12 August 1856 – 8 March 1921) was a Spanish political leader during the Spanish Restoration period. He served three times as Spanish prime minister: from 27 October 1913 to 9 December 1915, from 11 June 1917 to 3 Nov ...

accepted the leadership of the Conservative Party and broke with Antonio Maura when he accepted the task of forming the government. This meant the fracture of the Conservative Party between the supporters of one and the other: the Maurists and the Dadatists or suitable ones, and a crisis that was aggravated by the loss of the 1916 elections. Dato would again preside over the government in 1917, yielding to the Military Defence Boards and vigorously repressing the August general strike. Maura would still return to the leadership of the nation's government, agreeing to preside over the Council of Ministers again in 1918, with the formation of a cabinet of national concentration with Maurist and Dada militants, but also with members of the Liberal Party. That context, with the First World War, the general strike of 1917 and the Russian Revolution, made it advisable to turn again to the old conservative politician. This Council of Ministers drew up the new Labour Day Law (eight hours) and gave way to another headed by Joaquín Sánchez de Toca, which gave rise to the Royal Decree that put it into effect. Both cabinets were supported by Eduardo Dato and his like-minded deputies, but the deputy for Murcia and minister Juan de la Cierva y Peñafiel gained power within the conservative movement, and he opposed Sánchez de Toca's acceptance of the Joint Commission of Workers and Employers that tried to put an end to gun-running in Catalonia. In 1920, Dato returned to power continuing his work of social reformism - he created the Ministry of Labour, for which he chose Carlos Cañal - although he repressed with expeditious methods - also defended by Juan de la Cierva and Peñafiel - the anarchist pistolerism in Barcelona. He was the promoter of the Law on Accidents at Work and founded the Alfonso XIII Institute. Dato was assassinated at the Puerta de Alcalá in Madrid in 1921, when he was once again President of the Council of Ministers.

The final years (1923–31)

With the coup by General

Miguel Primo de Rivera Miguel Primo de Rivera y Orbaneja, 2nd Marquis of Estella, Grandee, GE (8 January 1870 – 16 March 1930), was a Spanish dictator and military officer who ruled as prime minister of Spain from 1923 to 1930 during the last years of the Resto ...

in September 1923 and the subsequent establishment of the Dictatorship, the Conservative Party and its leaders were distanced from political life until 1930, when the party again became part of the last government of the monarchy, presided over by Admiral Juan Bautista Aznar, who put Juan de la Cierva y Peñafiel at the head of the Ministry of Public Works in 1930–1931, already considered the leader of the Conservatives. Silvela, Maura and Dato had died; Sánchez de Toca declined to form part of the last governments of Alfonso XIII and even declined to be prime minister; and other politicians of liberal-conservative origin such as Miguel Maura and Santiago Alba had joined the ranks of the conservative republicans. The results of the municipal elections of April 1931 reflected that neither the Liberal nor the Conservative Party had support among the population, and that their power was more artificial than real. With the proclamation of the Second Republic on April 14, 1931, Juan de la Cierva y Peñafiel tried certainly to prevent Alfonso XIII from going into exile, but it was useless. The Conservative Party disappeared shortly after the proclamation of the Republic.

Electoral performance

Restoration Cortes

Party leaders

*1876–97

*1897–1905

*1905–13

Antonio Maura Antonio Maura Montaner (2 May 1853 – 13 December 1925) was Prime Minister of Spain on five separate occasions. Early life Maura was born in Palma de Mallorca, Palma, on the island of Mallorca, he was the seventh child in a family of t ...

*1913–21

Eduardo Dato e Iradier Eduardo Dato e Iradier (12 August 1856 – 8 March 1921) was a Spanish political leader during the Spanish Restoration period. He served three times as Spanish prime minister: from 27 October 1913 to 9 December 1915, from 11 June 1917 to 3 Nov ...

*1921–23 Vacant *1923–30 Vacant (dictatorship of

) *1930–31 Juan de la Cierva y Peñafiel

References

{{Authority control Conservative parties in Spain Liberal conservative parties Restoration (Spain) Catholic political parties