Cadiz Cortes

The Cadiz Cortes and 1812 constitution

In the Old Regime the men were not equal and the society was divided into three groups; the nobility, the church (who had privileges) and the third stage. The main economy activity was the agriculture, the industry was strangled by the guilds and the trade was ruled by the crown. The King held sovereignty and he was the source of authority, the power wasgiven by God. While, in the liberalism all men were equal and the social groups were distinguished by the individual’s ability to make money. In the agriculture it was a right to free and full property, there was industrial freedom and the guilds disappeared, the trade was also free. In the politics, the bourgeoisie led to political revolution and there was powers separation thanks to theConstitution.

But all this finished with the liberalism which appeared in the reign of Carlos IV in 1788. He wanted to continue with the general policies of his father so he kept the Conde of Floridablanca as prime minister. The beginning of the French Revolution in 1789 altered the policy of the Spanish crown, so Floridablanca imposed a censorship on all news from France and his enemies force himfrom power. He was replaced by Conde de Aranda (liberal and Francophile) who before a year was replaced by Manuel Godoy, who was the real ruler of Spain from 1792 to 1808.

The Spanish Crown was worried about the spread of the revolutionary France, so it joined the alliance of legitimacy against France and the War of the Pyrenees started (1793-1795). Although Spain scored some initial successes,France occupied San Sebastian and northern Catalonia, so in 1795 the Peace of Basel was signed, because France had interests in detaching Spain from the British alliance. In 1796 the Treaty of San Ildefonso was signed, an alliance with France against Great Britain. Because of the cost of the wars the Spanish economy was falling down, so the government started to auction off surplus building of themunicipalities and the church properties. In 1807 Godoy signed the Treaty of Fontainebleau, which let the French army get into Spain.

In 1808, Godoy was imprisoned in the mutiny of Aranjuez, and was dismiss as prime minister. After this mutiny, the court forced Carlos IV to abdicate and give the throne to his son and rival, Fernando VII. The rivalry between the father and the son, cause a greatinterest for Napoleon, and with the false pretence of solving their problems he invited the two monarchs to Bayonne where he forced them to abdicate and named his brother José I king of Spain. The Spaniards didn’t want Jose I as King and the Independence War started in 1808. His regime was based on the Bayonne Statute, which was a charter given by the King trying to follow the French system.The reaction of the Spaniards to the French domination ended up with the Revolt of May of 1808, which was support by all the population in order to save the national independence and the traditional religion. The main burden of the war was made by the Guerrillas. The final outcome of the War was a complete victory, although the cost was heavy in 1813.

When the Spanish Royal family was not inthe country the Spanish affairs were in the hands of the Regency Council, which after the revolt of 1808 resulted in the creation of the Juntas. The representatives of the juntas delegated authority to a national Junta Central, which was seat in Cadiz because it was the most liberal city and was protected by the British and Spanish fleets. The Junta Central called for the selection ofrepresentatives to create a new Cortes, chosen by indirect male suffrage. The opening session of the Cortes was geld on 1810; important resolutions were took, such as the equality between the Spaniards and Latin Americans or the abolition of some taxes. The most important step taken by the Cadiz Cortes was the Cadiz Constitution of 1812.

The Cortes immediately set to work to provide a progressivist...