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06 THE RESTORATION AND THE GRADUAL MODERNISATION OF SPAIN, image, image,…
06 THE RESTORATION AND THE GRADUAL MODERNISATION OF SPAIN
1 THE REIGN OF ALFONSO XII: STABILITY OF THE REGIME
The Bourbon Restoration is the period that began when the Bourbon dynasty returned to the Spanish throne
Alfonso XII was crowned king
Bringing an end to the First Republic and restoring the monarchical system
Two political elements made the regime stable
Constitution of 1876 and turnismo
Sovereignty
It was in the hands of the parliament and king
Parliament
It was formed by an elected Congress and Senate
The Senate was formed by three categories of senators
By royal appointment
Elected
By right
Suffrage
It was not regulated by the constitution and the governments
Were allowed to choose the system used
Until 1890, censitary suffrage was in place
Rights and freedoms
Many rights were declared, but it was a slow process
Freedom of expression, association and assembly were often restricted
Religion
Catholicism was the official religion
Public expressions of other religions were prohibited
Turnismo
It was a system introduced by conservative politician Cánovas del Castillo
Like the ones that took place during Isabel II’s reign
The two main parties
Agreed to alternate their terms in power in order to avoid military uprisings
TURNISMO
Turnismo was based on the corrupt alternation of parties in power
The government or king decided whose turn it was to govern
The selected party formed a new government and called general elections
Electoral manipulation was used to win elections
The results were altered
The Conservative Party, founded by Cánovas del Castillo
A group of moderate politicians
The Liberal Party, founded by Sagasta
Inherited the ideology of the Sexenio Revolucionario
The election was manipulated in favour of the party that the king had chosen to form a government
This fraudulent practice had a negative impact on the regime
Other political parties during the Restoration included
Republican Party
Spanish Socialist Workers’ Party (PSOE)
Basque Nationalist Party
Regionalist League of Cataluña
2 THE REGENCY OF MARÍA CRISTINA: CRISIS OF THE POLITICAL SYSTEM
In November 1885, Alfonso XII died of tuberculosis
His second wife, María Cristina, became the regent
She was pregnant with the future king, Alfonso XIII
The problem of popular representation
Although universal manhood suffrage was introduced in 1890
There was still electoral fraud
The differences between official Spain and real Spain became more pronounced
Many citizens were not represented in Parliamen
The regional problem
In the 19th century, different political movements emerged
They were dissatisfied with the uniform centralism of moderate liberalism
They were emanded regional identity in Aragón, Valencia, Navarra, Asturias and Andalucía
Cataluña, the País Vasco and Galicia stood out
In 1890, certain sectors of the Catalan and Basque nationalist movements began to state their proposals
Catalan nationalism
In 1877, the first newspaper in Catalan began to be published
In 1901, the Regionalist League of Cataluña was founded
Catalan nationalists wanted Cataluña to be recognised as a nation out of Spain
Basque nationalism
In 1894, Sabino Arana founded the Basque Nationalist Party
Basque nationalism had no Spanish dimension
Basque nationalism wanted independence from Spain
The colonial problem
In the last decades of the 19th century, Cuba made constant demands for greater political and commercial autonomy
The Cuban wars of 1868–1878 and 1895–1898 were between the Cuban independence fighters
Aided by the United States, and the Spanish, who did not want the island to become independent
Spain didn't waned Cuba to became independent because of great commercial benefits they obtained from it
The United States intervened in the conflict between Cuban independence fighters and the Spanish army in 1898
Spain eventually lost the war and, due to the Treaty of Paris
Spain ceded Cuba, the Philippines, Puerto Rico and Guam to the United States
These events became known as the Disaster of 1898 and triggered a national crisis
Spain’s colonial losses were a major blow to Spanish morale, as more than 80,000 people died and there were many injured
3 GRADUAL ECONOMIC MODERNISATION IN SPAIN
Although Spain was a mainly agricultural country in the 19th century
Its partial industrialisation and the gradual construction of a railway network contributed to other transformations at the end of the century
DEMOGRAPHIC CHANGES AND THEIR ECONOMIC REPERCUSSIONS
Spain’s population grew less than those of other European countries during the 19th century
This limited growth was the result of continued disaster-related high death rates
Because of wars, famines and epidemics of diseases such as smallpox or measles
life expectancy was very low, just 35 years in 1900
AGRICULTURAL CHANGES
Agriculture was the most important sector of the Spanish economy during the 19th century
During Isabel II’s reign, traditional production of cereals, the most important crops, remained the same with little modernisation
Production increased thanks to exportation
There was still inequality of land ownership
There was still inequality of land ownership
On the Submeseta Norte and in Aragón and Cataluña there were mainly small and medium landowners
The confiscated lands of the Catholic Church were acquired by the wealthiest people during the desamortizaciones
FINANCIAL CHANGES
In order for the economy to grow
Financial institutions that could provide capital and loans to businesses
In 1865, the Banco de España was founded, and many credit associations were established
Most of these were founded using foreign capital
Thanks to these organisations
Large investments in industry and the railway network could be made
Spain needed foreign capital because it did not have enough of its own financial resources
Government spending had increased because of the Carlist Wars and Cuban independence
The main problem was that little tax was collected and the Spanish tax system was unfair, penalising poorer people
SOCIAL CHANGES
Ruling high class
This class consisted of the richest members of society, the landowning aristocracy of the Old Regime, and the high bourgeoisie
This social class held the nation’s political power
They formed the elite of the Moderate and Conservative parties during the Restoration
Because of their economic prosperity, members of this class were often able to lead a very luxurious lifestyle
Middle Class
This class’s political participation was restricted based on income until 1890
The year that censitary suffrage ended and universal manhood suffrage was introduced
They were two main groups
Upper middle class
It consisted of liberal professionals, high-level civil servants, and those with mid-level ecclesiastical and military positions
Because of their high income, they were able to have homes with servants, have good food and cultural events
Lower middle class
It consisted of owners of workshops and shops
They had progressive political views
Working Class
Most of the Spanish population belonged to this class. There were two groups
Rural working class
Was the largest social group in 19th-century Spain
Day labourers and tenant farmers in the south lived in miserable conditions
Urban working class
This consisted primarily of servants, workshop employees and salaried employees, who worked in the tertiary secto
As industrialisation progressed, the number of industrial workers began to increase
They lived in great poverty in poor districts, surviving on hardly any food
THE LABOUR MOVEMENT
The freedom of association included in the Constitution of 1869 allowed the labour movement to develop in Spain
In 1873, the Spanish Regional Federation of the International Workingmen’s Association was created
It had more than 30,000 members in Cataluña, the Levante and Andalucía
The Spanish Socialist Workers’ Party (PSOE), a Marxist party, was founded in Madrid by the printer Pablo Iglesias in 1879.
Pablo Iglesias also helped found the socialist General Union of Workers (UGT) in 1888
In the last quarter of the 19th century, wages increased slightly, but the main achievements by the labour movement were changes to employment legislation
Protective laws on child labour
Recognition of trade union rights
Cecognition of trade union rights
Caciquismo
They often had armed followers who intimidated the population
Caciques were large landowners
Caciquismo developed in rural Spain in the 19th century
Caciques as well as economic power
They had a large social influence because they controlled employment contracts and municipal jobs
They also rigged elections through turnismo
