Comprehensive Study Notes on Spanish History: Concepts and Terminology (PAU UCLM 2026/2027)

Introduction to Spanish History: Antiquity to the Middle Ages

• Romanización (Romanization) ($27\text{ BC} - 411\text{ AD}$):

  • Process of complete cultural, linguistic, institutional, and customary integration of the diverse peoples of the Iberian Peninsula into the culture, language, administrative legal system, and social customs of the Roman Empire.

  • Encompasses the historical period from $27\text{ BC}$ (commencement of Augustan territorial reorganizations) to $411\text{ AD}$ (entry of the Germanic invasions).

• Concilios de Toledo (Councils of Toledo) ($418\text{ AD} - 711\text{ AD}$):

  • High-level ecclesiastical and political assemblies held in the Visigothic capital of Toledo during the era of the Visigothic Kingdom.

  • Marked the formal institutional union and alliance between the Catholic Church and the Visigothic Monarchy, particularly following King Recadero's conversion to Catholicism at the Third Council of Toledo ($589\text{ AD}$).

• Islamización (Islamization) ($711\text{ AD} - 1492$):

  • The progressive adoption of the Islamic religion, Arabic culture, social organization, and customs across the territories of the Iberian Peninsula conquered by Muslim armies following the invasion in $711\text{ AD}$, continuing through Al-Andalus until the fall of Granada in $1492$

• Taifas ($1031$):

  • Independent Muslim factions and regional kingdoms that emerged across the Iberian Peninsula in the $11\text{th}$ century following the collapse and official fragmentation of the Caliphate of Córdoba in the year $1031$

• Reconquista ($722 - 1492$):

  • Multi-century historical process through which Christian kingdoms gradually expanded, conquered, and reoccupied Iberian territories under Islamic rule.

  • Geographically and chronologically progressed systematically from North to South (Norte a Sur), initiated at the Battle of Covadonga ($722$) and concluding with the capture of the Kingdom of Granada ($1492$

• Repoblación (Repopulation):

  • The process of human settlement, economic organization, and administrative governance of the territories acquired during the Reconquista.

  • Executed through land grants, municipal charters, royal concessions, and privileges (fueros) bestowed upon settlers, military orders, and nobles.

• Mesta (Honrado Concejo de la Mesta) ($1273 - 1836$):

  • A powerful crown-chartered association of transhumant livestock farmers created in $1273$ by King Alfonso X.

  • Regulated grazing rights, pasture usage, and livestock migratory paths (cañadas reales); maintained political and economic prominence until its official dissolution in $1836$

• Señorío (Lordship System):

  • A territorial unit or group of lands granted under the legal authority of a lord (nobleman, high clergyman, or crown representative).

  • Comprised lands donated directly by the King (territorios donados por el rey) where the lord exercised both financial extraction and jurisdictional justice (capacidad de mostrar/ejercer justicia) over the local inhabitants.

• Fuero (Local Charters/Privileges):

  • A set of legal statutes, rights, and special privileges granted to a specific municipality, city, or territory to regulate local life, civic duties, and repopulation incentives.

  • The system of regional and municipal fueros was dismantled and largely disappeared in the $19\text{th}$ century ($\text{S. XIX}$

Modern Era: Monarchies, Colonial Institutions, and Religious Control

• Monarquía autoritaria (Authoritarian Monarchy) ($15\text{th} - 16\text{th}$ Centuries / $\text{S. XV-XVI}$):

  • Governmental structure developed at the transition between the late Middle Ages and early Modern Era (exemplified by the Catholic Monarchs and early Habsburgs / Ausburgo).

  • Kings consolidated central state authority and military power (valor) over the feudal nobility and church hierarchy, though stopping short of absolute centralized power.

• Monarquía compuesta (Composite Monarchy) ($1516 - 1700$):

  • State model characteristic of the Spanish Habsburg dynasty (Austrias), in which a single monarch ruled over multiple distinct kingdoms and territories (e.g., Castile, Aragon, Naples, the Low Countries).

  • Each individual kingdom maintained its own unique legal systems, administrative institutions, tax structures, and fueros.

• Decreto de Nueva Planta (Nueva Planta Decrees) ($1707 - 1716$):

  • Legislative decrees enacted by King Felipe V following his victory in the War of the Spanish Succession.

  • Explicitly abolished the historical fueros, self-governing charters, and administrative institutions of the Crown of Aragon (Aragon, Catalonia, Valencia, Majorca), centralizing governmental power under the uniform legal frameworks of Castile.

• Sociedades Económicas de Amigos del País (Economic Societies of Friends of the Country):

  • Enlightened regional civic societies established across Spain during the $18\text{th}$ century Enlightenment (Ilustración).

  • Dedicated to modernizing national and regional economies, advancing technical education, improving agriculture, and promoting scientific progress.

• Encomienda ($1501 - 1791$):

  • Spanish colonial institution in America whereby a assigned group of indigenous people was entrusted to a Spanish settler (encomendero).

  • The settler was legally bound to Christianize and protect the indigenous individuals in exchange for extracting their labor and exacting tribute.

• Mita:

  • A compulsory forced-labor system of Inca origin adapted by Spanish colonial administrators in American territories.

  • Applied extensively to rotated indigenous workforces in high-intensity mineral extraction mines, such as the silver mines of Potosí (associated with colonial administrators like Viceroys such as Tullot).

• Virreinato (Viceroyalty):

  • The primary administrative and territorial division established in Spanish America, governed directly by a Viceroy (virrey) serving as the personal representative of the King of Spain.

• Inquisición (Tribunal of the Holy Office of the Inquisition) ($1478 - 1834$):

  • Judicial-ecclesiastical tribunal created in $1478$ by the Catholic Monarchs to detect, prosecute, and punish religious heresy and maintain strict Catholic orthodoxy.

  • Expanded its scope to prosecute crypto-Judaism, crypto-Islam, blasphemy, witchcraft (brujería), and satanism (satanismo).

• Sefarad:

  • Hebrew designation for the Iberian Peninsula.

  • Refers to the historical and cultural homeland of the Sephardic Jewish community (Sefardíes) who lived in Spain prior to their forced expulsion by the Edict of $1492$

• Moriscos:

  • Muslim populations who were forced to convert to Christianity following the conquest of Granada in $1492$ and subsequent decrees.

  • Many maintained their original Islamic faith, customs, and language in secret (crypto-Islam) until their final expulsion from Spain in $1609$

• Conversos:

  • Jewish converts to Christianity and their descendants in Spain.

  • Frequently viewed with social suspicion and targeted by the Inquisition under accusations of practicing Judaism in secret (crypto-Judaism).

The Crisis of the Old Regime in Spain (1808–1833)

• Antiguo Régimen (Old Regime):

  • Socio-political and economic organization existing prior to the French Revolution ($1789$) and liberal revolutions.

  • Characterized by an absolute monarchy, an estate-based society (sociedad estamental) with social privileges for nobility and clergy, and an agrarian economy.

• Absolutismo (Absolutism):

  • Political regime in which the reigning monarch holds unchecked concentration of all state powers (legislative, judicial, executive, tax collection, and military command).

• Abdicación (Abdication):

  • The formal act of renouncing monarchical crown authority, such as the forced Abdications of Bayonne in $1808$ where Carlos IV and Fernando VII surrendered the Spanish crown to Napoleon, who installed his brother José I.

• Afrancesados:

  • Spanish intellectuals, aristocrats, and civil servants who supported King José I Bonaparte and the French administration during the War of Independence ($1808 - 1814$).

  • Believed French rule would modernize Spain through Enlightenment political reforms and avoid violent revolutionary excess.

• Aristocracia (Aristocracy):

  • Privileged upper social class (comprising titled nobility, high military leaders, and ducal lineages / ducados) possessing extensive landed estates, wealth, and hereditary governance privileges.

• Carta otorgada (Granted Charter):

  • A pseudo-constitutional document issued unilaterally by an absolute monarch without popular sovereign consultation or democratic parliamentary deliberation.

  • Example: The Bayonne Statute (Estatuto de Bayona, $1808$).

• Guerrilla (Anti-French Guerrilla Warfare):

  • Irregular combat tactics and armed civilian groups (civiles) that ambushed, disrupted, and resisted regular Napoleonic military forces during the Spanish War of Independence ($1808 - 1814$).

• Juntas:

  • Emergency administrative bodies formed at local and provincial levels to assume sovereignty and coordinate military defense against French forces, eventually coalescing into the Junta Central Supreme.

• Revolución (Revolution):

  • A radical, fundamental, and frequently violent ($violencia$) overhaul of existing political, legal, and social structures, marking the transition away from the Old Regime.

• Motín (Mutiny / Revolt):

  • A localized popular or military uprising targeting state ministers or political policy.

  • Example: The Mutiny of Aranjuez (Motín de Aranjuez, $1808$), which led directly to the downfall of Prime Minister Manuel Godoy and forced King Carlos IV to abdicate in favor of Fernando VII.

The Liberal Revolution, Cortes of Cádiz, and the Reign of Fernando VII

• Constitución (Constitution):

  • Supreme law of a nation-state establishing the legal-political organization, separation of governmental powers, and citizen rights.

  • Spain's first written constitution was the Constitution of Cádiz ($1812$), popularly nicknamed "La Pepa", which delineated state operations and guaranteed fundamental public liberties.

• Soberanía nacional (National Sovereignty):

  • Principle establishing that ultimate political legitimacy and power reside exclusively in the nation, represented by its elected parliament (Cortes), effectively restricting monarchical supremacy.

• Soberanía compartida (Shared Sovereignty):

  • Moderate constitutional principle stating that political sovereign authority is held jointly between the Crown (Monarch) and the elected Parliament (Cortes).

• Liberalismo (Liberalism):

  • Ideology advocating civil liberties, legal equality, private property, and limited state interference; served as the ideological foundation of modern capitalism and the pursuit of material progress (búsqueda del progreso material).

• Monarquía parlamentaria (Parliamentary Monarchy):

  • State system where an inherited King serves as Head of State, but whose political authority is circumscribed by a constitution and monitored by an elected Parliament (the system established in modern Spain).

• Parlamentarismo (Parliamentarianism):

  • Political regime (Régimen Parlamentarista) wherein the executive executive government derives its mandate from and remains accountable to the legislature (Parliament).

• Derecho de Asociación (Right of Association):

  • Legal right of citizens to form voluntary civic, economic, or political organizations freely.

  • Excluded from the Constitution of $1812$, but formally instituted in Spanish law in $1868$

• Pronunciamiento (Military Uprising):

  • A distinct form of military rebellion or coup manifesto directed against the ruling cabinet to overthrow the government (derrocar al gobierno); heavily utilized by liberal military officers during the reign of Fernando VII.

The Construction of the Liberal State (1833–1868)

• Carlismo (Carlism):

  • Traditionalist, ultra-Catholic, and anti-liberal movement emerging in $1833$ opposing the liberal succession of Isabella II.

  • Fought under the slogan "Dios, Patria, Fueros y Rey" ("God, Fatherland, Regional Charters, and King"), backing Prince Carlos María Isidro, traditional absolute monarchy, and regional fueros.

• Desamortización (Disentailment / Desamortization):

  • State expropriation and public auctioning of unalienable mortmain lands (manos muertas) belonging to the Catholic Church and municipal common holdings.

  • Prominent acts: Juan de Dios Mendizábal ($1836$) targeting religious orders, and Pascual Madoz ($1855$) targeting municipal properties.

• Deuda pública (Public Debt):

  • Financial bonds issued by the State to secure loans from private national or foreign investors to fund structural budget deficits.

• Fuerismo / Foralismo:

  • Ideology advocating the defense, preservation, or restoration of ancient regional legal privileges and fiscal autonomy (fueros), particularly in Navarre and the Basque Country.

• Propiedad amortizada o vinculada (Mortmain / Entailed Property):

  • Estates or property legally bound to family lineages (mayorazgo) or corporate institutions (Church, town councils) that were legally protected from being sold, divided, or alienated.

• Regencia (Regency):

  • Provisional monarchical government exercising power during the minority, absence, or incapacity of the monarch.

  • Examples: Regency of Queen María Cristina ($1833 - 1840$) and General Baldomero Espartero ($1840 - 1843$) during Isabella II's youth.

• Consumos (Consumption Tax):

  • Unpopular indirect tax levied on essential consumer goods ("comer, beber y arder" — food, drink, and fuel) between $1845$ and $1911$.

  • Highly controversial due to its severe economic burden on lower working classes (clases bajas).

• Partido Moderado (Moderate Party):

  • Center-right liberal party representing affluent elites and landholders; favored shared sovereignty, restricted voting rights, and order during the Moderate Decade (Década Moderada, $1843 - 1854$).

• Partido Progresista (Progressive Party):

  • Left-leaning liberal party (izquierda) advocating expanded franchise, national sovereignty, and anti-clerical reforms; led by Generals Espartero and Prim, driving the Revolution of $1868$

The Democratic Six-Year Term (Sexenio Democrático: 1868–1874)

• Cantonalismo (Cantonalism):

  • Radical political movement during the First Spanish Republic ($1873 - 1874$) advocating the breakup of the unified state into small, autonomous, self-governing local cantons.

• Centralismo (Centralism):

  • System of government concentrating administrative, fiscal, and political authority exclusively within national central institutions.

• Federalismo (Federalism):

  • Decentralized political structure seeking to organize the State into autonomous regions or member states, attempted under the First Republic.

• Republicanismo (Republicanism):

  • Political movement advocating a Republic over a Monarchy.

  • Historical occurrences in Spain: First Spanish Republic ($1873 - 1874$) and Second Spanish Republic ($1931 - 1939$).

19th-Century Socioeconomic Frameworks and Labor Movements

• Latifundio:

  • Vast agricultural estate prevalent in southern Spain during the $19\text{th}$ century, owned by oligarchical landowners and worked by impoverished, landless day-laborers (jornaleros).

• Librecambismo (Free Trade):

  • Economic policy promoting international commerce without state tariffs, quotas, or trade barriers.

• Burguesía (Bourgeoisie):

  • Dominant socio-economic class in $19\text{th}$ century industrial capitalism, deriving power from private capital, banking, and industrial ownership.

• Capitalismo (Capitalism):

  • Economic system grounded in private ownership of production means, free market competition, and wage labor.

• Sociedad de clases (Class Society):

  • Social structure defined by wealth and economic capacity rather than birth estates, divided into upper, middle, and lower working classes.

• Proletariado (Proletariat):

  • Urban wage-earning working class who owned no means of production, enduring hard labor and harsh living conditions during $19\text{th}$ century industrialization.

• Socialismo (Socialism):

  • Ideology advocating public or worker ownership of production and essential services to eliminate economic inequality.

  • Formally founded in Spain through the Partido Socialista Obrero Español (PSOE) in $1879$

• Sindicato (Trade Union):

  • Organized union of workers created to defend labor interests, wage standards, and working conditions (analyzing labor conditions under figures like Javier).

• Comunismo (Communism):

  • Political movement aiming to eliminate private property, capitalist structures, and class hierarchy to achieve social equality.

• Ludismo (Luddism):

  • Early working-class protest movement in which industrial workers destroyed machinery to protest poor conditions and job elimination caused by mechanization.

• Mutualismo (Mutualism / Anarchism):

  • Anarchist social framework based on voluntary cooperation, direct mutual aid societies, and shared resources.

• Nacionalismo (Nationalism):

  • Ideology asserting that a community defined by language, culture, or history constitutes a nation entitled to statehood or political autonomy.

• Partido Político (Political Party):

  • Organized political organization seeking to represent citizens and hold political power (e.g., Liberal and Conservative parties).

• Regionalismo (Regionalism):

  • Movement defending the distinct identity and local self-governance of a region within a broader national state, uniting members across diverse political backgrounds (gente de diferentes partidos).

• Catalanismo (Catalanism):

  • $19\text{th}$ century Catalan cultural and political movement advocating self-governance, federal political organization, or national independence (independencia).

• Abolicionismo (Abolitionism - Slavery):

  • Movement to eliminate human slavery.

  • Timeline of formal abolition by Spain: Peninsular Spain ($1837$), Puerto Rico ($1873$), and Cuba ($1886$).

• Esclavismo (Slavery System):

  • Socioeconomic organization built on the forced labor, ownership, and trading of human beings.

• "Asiento de negros" (Slave Trade Contract):

  • Monopoly contract and royal license granted to private merchants to traffic enslaved Africans into Spanish American territories.

The Restoration Regime (1874–1902) and Crisis of Alfonso XIII (1902–1931)

• Restauración (The Restoration) ($1874 - 1931$):

  • Restoration of the Bourbon monarchy initiating in $1874$, engineered by Antonio Cánovas del Castillo, based on the Constitution of $1876$ and peaceful party alternation.

• Bipartidismo (Bipartisanship):

  • Political system designed by Cánovas del Castillo centered around two main systemic political parties (Partido Conservador and Partido Liberal) taking turns in power.

• Turnismo (Peaceful Turn / Alternation):

  • Agreed alternation in government between the Conservative and Liberal parties during the Restoration, guaranteed through electoral fraud.

• Caciquismo (Caciquism):

  • System of local political bossism and clientelism exercised by influential figures (caciques) in rural areas to rig electoral outcomes.

• Encasillamiento ("Encasillamiento" / Slate Fixing):

  • Pre-electoral manipulation process where the Ministry of the Interior preassigned official candidates ("encasillados") to designated districts to ensure victory.

• Anarquismo (Anarchism):

  • Ideology rejecting state hierarchy, capitalism, and political institutions, seeking a self-governing society based on voluntary mutual aid.

• Internacionalismo (Internationalism):

  • Movement advocating global working-class solidarity to combat international capitalist exploitation.

• Regeneracionismo (Regenerationism):

  • Reform movement led by figures like Joaquín Costa evaluating Spain's decline after the Disaster of $1898$ (loss of remaining colonies) and demanding political modernization.

• Africanistas (Africanists):

  • Faction of military officers stationed in colonial campaigns in North Africa who gained fast promotions and political dominance (e.g., General Francisco Franco).

• Huelga (Strike):

  • Collective labor stoppage undertaken by workers to demand employment reforms, safety standards, or higher wages.

• Pistolerismo ($1917 - 1923$):

  • Era of violent urban conflict in Barcelona marked by mutual assassinations and violence between labor unionists and employer-hired gunmen (pistoleros).