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06 THE RESTORATION AND THE GRADUAL MODERNISATION OF SPAIN, image, image,…
06 THE RESTORATION AND THE GRADUAL MODERNISATION OF SPAIN
The reign of Alfonso XII: stability of the regime
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
Constitution of 1876
Combined moderate elements with more advanced elements of the democratic liberalism of 1869
Sovereignty
It was in the hands of the parliament and king
Parliament
It was formed by an elected Congress and Senate
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
After that, there was universal manhood suffrage
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
Other religions were permitted
Public expressions of those religions were prohibited
Turnismo
System introduced by conservative politician Cánovas del Castillo
two main parties, the Conservative Party and the Liberal Party, agreed to alternate their terms in power
based on the corrupt alternation of parties in power
Electoral manipulation was used to win elections, and the results were altered
Conservative Party
founded by Cánovas del Castillo
a group of moderate politicians
supported by the aristocracy, the wealthiest bourgeoisie and the traditional middle classes
Liberal Party
founded by Sagasta
inherited the ideology of the Sexenio Revolucionario
supporters were members of the progressive and regionalist middle class
Other political parties during the Restoration
the Spanish Socialist Workers’ Party
the Basque Nationalist Party
the Republican Party
the Regionalist League of Cataluña
Because the elections were rigged through turnismo, these parties won some seats, but were never given the opportunity to govern
The regency of Maria Cristina: Crisis of the political system
In November 1885, Alfonso XII died of tuberculosis
His second wife, María Cristina, became the regent
was pregnant with the future king, Alfonso XIII
political regime began to show signs of crisis
regional problem
political movements emerged that were dissatisfied with the uniform centralism of moderate liberalism
demanded regional identity in Aragón, Valencia, Navarra, Asturias and Andalucía
Cataluña, the País Vasco and Galicia stood out
their proposals for decentralisation were linked to cultural movements that defended the expression of their own culture
Catalan nationalism
In 1901, the Regionalist League of Cataluña was founded
wanted Cataluña to be recognised as a nation and to play an active role in Spanish politics
In 1877, the first newspaper in Catalan began to be published
Basque nationalism
had no Spanish dimension
wanted Basque national sovereignty
In 1894, Sabino Arana founded the Basque Nationalist Party
The colonial problem
Cuba made constant demands for greater political and commercial autonomy
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 due to the great commercial benefits they obtained from it
There were uprisings in the Philippines
United States intervened in the conflict between Cuban independence fighters and the Spanish army in 1898
due to the Treaty of Paris (1898), Spain ceded Cuba (until 1902), the Philippines, Puerto Rico and Guam to the United States
year later, the German-Spanish Treaty was signed, and Spain ceded the Mariana Islands, Caroline Islands and Palau to Germany
These events became known as the Disaster of 1898 and triggered a national crisis
The income that the colonies provided was lost
Spain’s government, parties that supported turnismo and its leaders were accused of poor political management and lost credibility
Spain’s colonial losses were a major blow to Spanish morale, as more than 80,000 people died and there were many injured
problem of popular representation
there was still electoral fraud
differences between official Spain (the Parliament) and real Spain became more pronounced
many citizens were not represented in Parliament
Regenerationism
movement that sought to regenerate Spain’s socio-political situation by eliminating electoral fraud and promoting reform in the education system, amongst other measures
movement’s priorities were reflected in its slogan: ‘school and larder’
One of its greatest supporters was Joaquín Costa
Gradual economic modernisation in Spain
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
epidemics of diseases
life expectancy was very low, just 35 years in 1900
Agricultural changes
There was still inequality of land ownership
Caciquismo
developed in rural Spain in the 19th century
Caciques were large landowners
often had armed followers who intimidated the population
As well as economic power, they had a large social influence because they controlled employment contracts and municipal jobs
rigged elections through turnismo, so that the results were favourable to their interests
Financial changes
financial institutions that could provide capital and loans to businesses, such as banks and credit institutions, were required
In 1865, the Banco de España was founded, and many credit associations were established
Most of these were founded using foreign capital
Large investments in industry and the railway network could be made thanks to these organisations
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
main problem was that little tax was collected and the Spanish tax system was unfair, penalising poorer people.
The labour movement
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, with 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.
He 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
recognition of trade union rights (1887)
compensation for victims of accidents in the workplace (1900)
protective laws on child labour (1873)
