Please enable JavaScript.
Coggle requires JavaScript to display documents.
07 SPAIN: THE END OF ABSOLUTISM - Coggle Diagram
07 SPAIN: THE END OF ABSOLUTISM
1 FROM CARLOS IV OF BOURBON TO JOSÉ I BONAPARTE
Carlos IV’s reign began in 1788
one year before the start of the French Revolution
Louis XVI of France, Carlos IV’s cousin, was imprisoned and put on trial
Spain therefore sent troops to help him fight the National Convention
When Napoleon came to power (1799)
Spain’s new prime minister, Godoy, returned to the policy of alliances with France
following the tradition of the Family Compacts of the 18th century
Two years later, Godoy and Napoleon signed the Treaty of Fontainebleau,
allowing French troops to cross Spain to attack Portugal, an ally of England.
The heir to the throne
Fernando, was a personal enemy of Godoy’s
and did not agree with this policy
He therefore led an uprising, the Revolt of Aranjuez (1808)
against his own father, demanding that he abdicated
Godoy almost lost his life in the uprising and was forced to resign
Carlos IV had to abdicate in favour of his son
Napoleon, meanwhile, made it clear that his plan
was not only to cross Spain to reach Portugal, but for his troops to occupy Spain
This occupation began in early 1808
He also summoned the Spanish royal family to Bayonne
where the emperor pressurised King Fernando VII to return the Crown to their father
He then gave it to Napoleon
who appointed his brother José as monarch of Spain
José I did not have the support of the Spanish people
On 2 May 1808, the people of Madrid rebelled against the French troops occupying the capital.
2 THE PENINSULAR WAR
The uprising soon spread from Madrid to the rest of the country
The Juntas de defensa were formed in different kingdoms
and provinces to organise the Peninsular War against France
A Junta Central took over the government.
The French army was very powerfu
and had been invincible in Europe until then
The Junta Central was therefore forced to ally with its traditional enemy
Great Britain, which sent troops to the Peninsula
Confrontations followed, resulting in the precarious French dominance of the territory
Sieges in cities like Zaragoza, Girona and Vitoria-Gasteiz were some of the most dramatic events of the Peninsular War.
The Spanish army’s first defeats led to the people forming guerrillas
armed groups that made surprise attacks on the French army
impeding its movements
This military tactic played a key role in the victory over the French
In 1814, after six years of extreme violence
the French army withdrew from Spain
3 FROM THE CONSTITUTION TO THE RETURN TO ABSOLUTISM
In 1812, in the middle of the war
the Junta Central met in Sevilla and decided to hold elections
to bring together the people’s representatives at the first Parliament (Cortes Generales)
and write a constitution
The only place not under French control was the city of Cádiz.
On 19 March 1812, the elected deputies, influenced by liberal ideas
met in Cádiz and approved the Constitution, the first in the history of Spain.
Two traditional elements were maintained in the Constitution of 1812
the monarchy and the Catholic religion as the official
and only permitted religion
the liberal principles behind the end of the Old Regime were also confirmed.
CONSTITUTION OF 1812
Separation of powers
Legislative power consisted of a single chamber,
the Parliament, that drafted laws with the king
the executive power consisted of the king himself
and the judicial power consisted of the courts established by law.
universal manhood suffrage.
Sovereignty was in the hands of the nation
and the nation therefore established the fundamental laws.
The Cortes de Cádiz also approved a series of laws to modernise Spain
They established the abolition of lordships
the suppression of the Inquisition
and the recognition of freedom of expression and of the press.