Spanish Political Development, 1808–1868

Mark Lawrence examines a period, 1808–1868, that was frequently dismissed as chaotic and where little attention had been paid to popular agency. The war against the French produced a political culture of both democratisation and militarisation, the latter often linked at attempts to achieve the former. International concern at liberal and radical capacity in Spain produced a reactionary restoration, led from abroad. Liberal and conservative forces re-aligned and broke with their more radical fringes, with the emergence of Carlism one manifestation of this tendency. Radicalisation and internationalisation, including the arrival of foreign volunteers, during the Carlist War were echoed a hundred years later in the civil war of 1936–1939. Unlike the civil war, however, the reactionary right lost. By mid-century Spain had established a form of liberal settlement that lasted largely intact until 1923. New social constituencies produced further challenges and new forms of political organisation, a challenge which culminated in the revolution of 1868.