The First Stage of the Bourbon Restoration (1875–1898)

Flashcards covering the Restoration regime, Canovite political system, opposition movements, colonial wars in Cuba and the Philippines, and the Disaster of 1898.

Which historical period in Spain began in 1875 with the reign of Alfonso XII and ended with the proclamation of the Second Republic in 1931?

The Bourbon Restoration (Restauració borbònica).

What were the main chronological stages of the Bourbon Restoration?

Reign of Alfonso XII (1875–1885), Regency of Maria Christina (1885–1902), Reign of Alfonso XIII (1902–1931), Dictatorship of Primo de Rivera (1923–1929), Dictablanda of Dámaso Berenguer (1930), and the republican victory in municipal elections (1931).

What event drove Prince Alfonso XII into exile prior to the Restoration?

The Glorious Revolution of 1868, a military uprising led by Generals Serrano and Joan Prim that dethroned Queen Isabel II.

What was the Sandhurst Manifesto and when was it signed?

A document signed on December 1, 1874, by Prince Alfonso XII from exile in England and drafted by Antoni Cánovas del Castillo, defining the new monarchy as hereditary, constitutional, Catholic, and liberal.

Which military action directly led to the proclamation of Alfonso XII as King of Spain on December 28, 1874?

A military uprising led by General Martínez Campos in Sagunto (Valencia).

Who were the primary political and military architects of the Canovite system?

Antoni Cánovas del Castillo represented the political arm, while General Martínez Campos represented the military arm.

What was the principle of civilism in the Canovite system?

The subordination of military power to civil power to prevent future military coups (pronunciamientos).

How long remained the Spanish Constitution of 1876 in effect?

55 years (from 1876 until 1931), making it the longest-lasting constitution in Spanish history, despite being suspended during the dictatorship of Primo de Rivera (1923–1930).

What were the main constitutional features of the Spanish Constitution of 1876?

Shared sovereignty between the Cortes and the King (who held veto power), a bicameral Cortes (Congress and Senate), a Catholic confessional state without religious freedom, restricted rights, and unstated suffrage rules dependent on the governing party.

What was 'turnism' (turnisme) or the 'peaceful turn' in Restoration politics?

The system of power-sharing between the Conservative Party and the Liberal Party starting in 1881, where executive power alternated via royal appointment and artificially rigged elections.

What were the core characteristics and policies of the Conservative Party under Antoni Cánovas del Castillo?

Defense of census suffrage (<5% of population), legal immobilism with restricted rights, economic protectionism through tariffs, political centralism based in Madrid, and special privileges for the Catholic Church.

What were the core characteristics and policies of the Liberal Party under Práxedes Mateo Sagasta?

Support for universal male suffrage (approved in 1890), legislative flexibility (Press Law 1881, Association Law 1887), free trade, and federalist decentralization.

What was the 'Encasillado' in the Restoration's electoral fraud mechanism?

A prior agreement between dynastic party leaders establishing which candidates were assigned to win specific electoral districts before voting occurred.

What was 'Caciquisme' (Caciquismo)?

A social and political practice where local powerful elites (caciques), such as landowners or wealthy bourgeois, controlled local voting through favors, manipulation, bribery, coercion, or threats.

What were 'Tupinades' or 'Pucherazo'?

Direct fraudulent practices at the ballot box, such as voting without credentials, using dead citizens' credentials ('raising the dead'), multiple voting, and altering vote tallies.

What were 'Cuneros'?

Candidates designated by the government for electoral districts to which they had no origin or connections, whose victory was guaranteed by local caciques.

What was the Pact of El Pardo (1885)?

An agreement between Conservatives and Liberals signed following the premature death of Alfonso XII to support the regency of Maria Christina and preserve the peaceful alternation of power against opposition forces.

What was the outcome of the Third Carlist War (1872–1876)?

General Martínez Campos defeated the Carlists in Catalonia (1875) and in Navarre and the Basque Country (1876), leading to the exile of Charles VII to Venice and the abolition of Basque charters (furs).

What four main parties represented Republicanism during the Restoration?

Partido Republicano Possibilista (Emilio Castelar), Partido Republicano Centralista (Nicolás Salmerón), Partit Republicà Federal (Francesc Pi i Margall), and Partido Republicano Progressista (Ruiz Zorrilla).

Who founded the PSOE (1879) and the UGT (1888)?

Pablo Iglesias.

Who introduced anarchism to Spain during the Sexenni Democràtic?

Giuseppe Fanelli, between 1869 and 1875.

What were the Montjuïc Trials (1896) and what political assassination resulted from them?

Mass arrests (~400 people) and tortures following an anarchist bomb on a Corpus Christi procession in Barcelona; in retaliation for the executions, Italian anarchist Michele Angiolillo assassinated Prime Minister Antoni Cánovas del Castillo in 1897.

Who founded the Basque Nationalist Party (PNB) in 1895?

Sabino Arana, a former Carlist ideologue.

What was the Cánovas Tariff of 1891 and its impact on Cuba?

A protectionist tax on non-Spanish imports to Cuba that heavily damaged trade relations with the United States, the primary importer of Cuban sugar and tobacco.

Who founded the Cuban Revolutionary Party in 1892 and issued the Monte Cristi Manifesto in 1895?

José Martí (alongside General Máximo Gómez).

What was General Valeriano Weyler's policy of 'reconcentration' in Cuba?

Forcing over 400,000 peasants into army-controlled towns and forts to isolate rebels, causing widespread famine and approximately 300,000 deaths.

What served as the casus belli for the United States to declare war on Spain in 1898?

The explosion and sinking of the US battleship Maine in Havana harbor on February 15, 1898, killing 267 crew members.

Who were 'The Last Ones of the Philippines' (Els últims de Filipines)?

A detachment of about 50 Spanish soldiers isolated in Baler who resisted Filipino revolutionary attacks for 337 days, unaware that Spain had already capitulated.

What were the terms of the Treaty of Paris signed in December 1898?

Spain recognized Cuban independence and ceded Puerto Rico, the Philippines, and Guam to the United States.

Who was Joaquín Costa and what concept did he propose to regenerate Spain after the Disaster of '98?

A Regenerationist intellectual who advocated for educational and agricultural reforms and proposed an 'iron surgeon' (cirurgià de ferro) to carry out radical political reform.