The Moderate Party () or Moderate Liberal Party () was one of the two

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

Isabel II 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 ...

(reigned 1833–1868). Like the opposing Progressive Party (), it characterised itself as liberal and dynasticist; both parties supported Isabel against the claims of the

Carlists Carlism (; ; ; ) is a Traditionalist and Legitimist political movement in Spain aimed at establishing an alternative branch of the Bourbon dynasty, one descended from Don Carlos, Count of Molina (1788–1855), on the Spanish throne. The ...

. The Moderates contained various factions. Some supported working with Progressives, but others sought closer ties with the Old Regime. However, the party's dominant ideology was adherence to the centrist ''juste milieu'' of the French

Doctrinaires During the Bourbon Restoration in France, Bourbon Restoration (1814–1830) and the July Monarchy (1830–1848), the Doctrinals () were a group of Monarchism in France, French royalists who hoped to reconcile the monarchy with the French Revoluti ...

Trajectory

The "moderates" or "liberal moderates" were a continuation of the ''doceañistas'', supporters of the

Spanish Constitution of 1812 The Political Constitution of the Spanish Monarchy (), also known as the Constitution of Cádiz () and nicknamed ''La Pepa'', was the first Constitution of Spain and one of the earliest codified constitutions in world history. The Constitution ...

during the ''

Trienio Liberal The , () or Three Liberal Years, was a period of three years in Spain between 1820 and 1823 when a liberal government ruled Spain after a military uprising in January 1820 by the lieutenant-colonel Rafael del Riego against the absolutist rule ...

'' ("liberal triennium") of 1820–1823, as opposed to the more radical ''exaltados'' or ''veinteañistas''. In the last years of the reign of

Ferdinand VII Ferdinand VII (; 14 October 1784 – 29 September 1833) was King of Spain during the early 19th century. He reigned briefly in 1808 and then again from 1813 to his death in 1833. Before 1813 he was known as ''el Deseado'' (the Desired), and af ...

they had effected a mutual drawing together with the least absolutist elements of his government. Upon the death of Ferdinand, they supported the royal claim of the king's only child, the three-year-old Isabel, under the

regency In a monarchy, a regent () is a person appointed to govern a state because the actual monarch is a minor, absent, incapacitated or unable to discharge their powers and duties, or the throne is vacant and a new monarch has not yet been dete ...

queen mother A queen mother is a former queen, often a queen dowager, who is the mother of the monarch, reigning monarch. The term has been used in English since the early 1560s. It arises in hereditary monarchy, hereditary monarchies in Europe and is also ...

Maria Christina of the Two Sicilies Maria Christina of the Two Sicilies (, ; 27 April 1806 – 22 August 1878) was the queen consort of Spain, Queen of Spain from 1829 to 1833 and Queen regent of the kingdom from 1833, when her daughter became queen at age two, to 1840. By virtue ...

. In contrast, the Carlists supported a strongly absolutist monarchy, essentially a continuation of the '' Antiguo Régimen'', under the

Infante Carlos, Count of Molina Infante (, ; f. ''infanta''), also anglicised as "infant" or translated as "prince", is the title and rank given in the Iberian kingdoms of Spain (including the predecessor kingdoms of Aragon, Castile, Navarre, and León) and Portugal to the ...

. The party was organized in 1834 during the governmental presidency of

Francisco Martínez de la Rosa Francisco de Paula Martínez de la Rosa y Cornejo (March 10, 1787 – February 7, 1862) was a Spanish statesman and dramatist and the first prime minister of Spain to receive the title of ''President of the Council of Ministers''. He became Pr ...

. After several years of progressivist domination, it held power continuously during the so-called ''

Década moderada In the history of Spain, the ''década moderada'' (, "moderate decade") was the period from May 1844 to July 1854, during which the Moderate Party continuously held power. Rise to power The Moderate Party, like the Progressive Party it displace ...

'' ("Moderate decade", 1843–1854) under the leadership of General

Ramón María Narváez Ramón María Narváez y Campos, 1st Duke of Valencia (5 August 180023 April 1868) was a Spanish general and statesman who served as Prime Minister of Spain, Prime Minister on several occasions during the Reign of Isabella II of Spain, reign of ...

; after the ''

bienio progresista In the history of Spain, the ''bienio progresista'' (, "Progressive Biennium" or "Progressivist Biennium") was the two-year period from July 1854 to July 1856, during which the Progressive Party attempted to reform the political system of the rei ...

'' ("progressivist biennium", 1853–1855) it returned to power allied with the Liberal Union (). After the

Glorious Revolution The Glorious Revolution, also known as the Revolution of 1688, was the deposition of James II and VII, James II and VII in November 1688. He was replaced by his daughter Mary II, Mary II and her Dutch husband, William III of Orange ...

of 1868 and the constitution of 1869 they failed to obtain representation in the new

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 ...

, and lost all power. When the monarchy was restored in 1874 following 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 ...

, they united with the Liberal Union to form the Conservative Party under the direction 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 ...

Ideology

The party's political

ideology An ideology is a set of beliefs or values attributed to a person or group of persons, especially those held for reasons that are not purely about belief in certain knowledge, in which "practical elements are as prominent as theoretical ones". Form ...

of "

Moderantism Moderantism was, together with Progressivism, one of the two main currents of 19th century Spanish liberalism. It had its origins in the so-called ''moderates'' during the Liberal Triennium, who during the reign of Isabella II formed a party, th ...

" () is comparable to British

conservatism Conservatism is a Philosophy of culture, cultural, Social philosophy, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, Convention (norm), customs, and Value (ethics and social science ...

and, especially, to French doctrinairism, from whom its ideologues (especially

Juan Donoso Cortés Juan Francisco María de la Salud Donoso Cortés y Fernández Canedo, marqués de Valdegamas (6 May 1809 – 3 May 1853) was a Spanish counter-revolutionary author, diplomat, politician, and Catholic political theologian. Biography Early lif ...

) took part of their argumentation. Their principal ideas were: *Strong royal power *Pure

capitalism Capitalism is an economic system based on the private ownership of the means of production and their use for the purpose of obtaining profit. This socioeconomic system has developed historically through several stages and is defined by ...

*Domestic peace *Total

centralism Centralisation or centralization (American English) is the process by which the activities of an organisation, particularly those regarding planning, decision-making, and framing strategies and policies, become concentrated within a particular ...

, with all power emanating from

Madrid Madrid ( ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in Spain, most populous municipality of Spain. It has almost 3.5 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 7 million. It i ...

Support

The Moderate Party was supported by part of the Army (the moderate ''espadones'' such as General Narváez), landowners (a landowning

oligarchy Oligarchy (; ) is a form of government in which power rests with a small number of people. Members of this group, called oligarchs, generally hold usually hard, but sometimes soft power through nobility, fame, wealth, or education; or t ...

of traditional

aristocrats Aristocracy (; ) is a form of government that places power in the hands of a small, privileged ruling class, the aristocrats. Across Europe, the aristocracy exercised immense economic, political, and social influence. In Western Christian co ...

and upper

bourgeoisie The bourgeoisie ( , ) are a class of business owners, merchants and wealthy people, in general, which emerged in the Late Middle Ages, originally as a "middle class" between the peasantry and aristocracy. They are traditionally contrasted wi ...

, especially the large landowners owners, the '' latifundistas'' of

Andalusia Andalusia ( , ; , ) is the southernmost autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community in Peninsular Spain, located in the south of the Iberian Peninsula, in southwestern Europe. It is the most populous and the second-largest autonomou ...

and the

Meseta Central The ''Meseta Central'' (, sometimes referred to in English as Inner Plateau) is one of the basic geographical units of the Iberian Peninsula. It consists of a plateau covering a large part of the latter's interior. Developed during the 19th cent ...

), and a portion of the

middle class The middle class refers to a class of people in the middle of a social hierarchy, often defined by occupation, income, education, or social status. The term has historically been associated with modernity, capitalism and political debate. C ...

(the so-called ''gente de orden'' "people of order"). Economically the party tended to support

free trade Free trade is a trade policy that does not restrict imports or exports. In government, free trade is predominantly advocated by political parties that hold Economic liberalism, economically liberal positions, while economic nationalist politica ...

, allowing the export of agricultural surplus, a policy compatible with the interests of its social base. Electorally, they defended limited

suffrage Suffrage, political franchise, or simply franchise is the right to vote in public, political elections and referendums (although the term is sometimes used for any right to vote). In some languages, and occasionally in English, the right to v ...

, in particular ''sufragio censitario'', "

census suffrage Suffrage, political franchise, or simply franchise is the right to vote in public, political elections and referendums (although the term is sometimes used for any right to vote). In some languages, and occasionally in English, the right to vo ...

" that limited the electoral census to the wealthy, only those who owned a certain amount of property or paid a certain amount of taxes. Once

Carlism Carlism (; ; ; ) is a Traditionalism (Spain), Traditionalist and Legitimist political movement in Spain aimed at establishing an alternative branch of the Bourbon dynasty, one descended from Infante Carlos María Isidro of Spain, Don Carlos, ...

had been defeated militarily, the 1839

Convention of Vergara The Convention of Vergara (, ), entered into on 31 August 1839, was a treaty successfully ending the major fighting in Spain's First Carlist War. The treaty, also known by many other names including the Embrace of Vergara (), was signed by Bald ...

that put an end to the war allowed some of the more moderate Carlists to join the party or to support it from without. Similarly, after the

Concordat of 1851 The Concordat of 1851 was a concordat between the ... between the Isabella II and the Holy See">Vatican. It was negotiated in response to the policies of the anticlerical Liberal government, which had forced her mother out as regent in 1841. Alt ...

the party gained the support of much of the clergy, although the so-called ''

neocatólicos The ''neocatólicos'' ("''neo–Catholics''", shorted to ''neos'') was a counter-revolutionary political tradition, faction or movement in late 19th-century Spain, emerged during the reign of Isabella II of Spain, reign of Isabella II, akin to " ...

'' ("neo-Catholics") remained outside and still nurtured hopes of a Carlist restoration.

Notes

References

*Francisco Cánovas Sánchez and José María Jover Zamora, ''El Partido Moderado'', Centro de Estudios Constitucionales, 1982. . *Francisco Cánovas Sánchez, "Los generales y el Partido Moderado (1843–1854)]: contribución al estudio de un problema básico de la época isabelina", ''Revista de la Universidad Complutense'', ISSN 0210-7872, Nº. 116, 1979 (Ejemplar dedicado a: Estudio de historia moderna y contemporánea. Homenaje a D. Jesús Pabón III), p. 105-122.

Trajectory

Ideology

Support

Notes

References

See also