The Reign of Isabella II of Spain has been seen as being essential to the modern history of Spain. Her reign spanned the death of Ferdinand VII of Spain in 1833 until the Spanish Glorious Revolution of 1868, which forced the Queen into exile and established a liberal state in Spain.[1]
After the death of Ferdinand VII on 29 September 1833, his wife María Cristina De Borbón-Dos Sicilias assumed the regency with the support of the liberals, on behalf of their daughter, Isabella II. Conflict with her brother-in-law, Carlos María Isidro de Borbón, who aspired to the throne by virtue of a supposedly valid Salic Law – already repealed by Carlos IV and Ferdinand VII himself – led the country into the First Carlist War.[2]
After the brief regency of Espartero, which succeeded the regency of María Cristina de Borbón-Dos Sicilias, Isabella II was proclaimed of age at the age of thirteen by resolution of the Cortes Generales[3] in 1843. Thus began the effective reign of Isabella II, which is usually divided into four periods: the moderate decade (1844–1854); the progressive biennium (1854–1856); the period of the Liberal Union governments (1856–1863) and the final crisis (1863–1868).[citation needed]
The reign of Isabella II was characterized by an attempt to modernize Spain which was contained, by the internal tensions of the liberals, the pressure that continued to be exerted by the supporters of more or less moderate absolutism, the governments totally influenced by the military establishment and the final failure in the face of the economic difficulties and the decline of the Liberal Union which led Spain into the experience of the Democratic Sexenio. Her reign was greatly influenced by the personality of Queen Isabella, who had no gifts for government and was under constant pressure from the Court, especially from her own mother, and also from Generals Ramón María Narváez, Baldomero Espartero and Leopoldo O'Donnell, which prevented the transition from the Old Regime to the Liberal State from being consolidated, and Spain reached the last third of the 19th century in unfavorable conditions compared to other European powers.[4]
The reign of Isabella II was divided into two major stages:
Her minority reign (1833–1843), during which the regency of Spain was assumed first by her mother Maria Christina of the Two Sicilies and later by general Baldomero Espartero. Upon the death of Ferdinand VII on 29 September 1833, his wife, Maria Christina of the Two Sicilies assumed the regency with the support of the liberals, in the name of her daughter and future queen, Isabella II. The conflict with her brother-in-law, Infante Carlos, Count of Molina, who aspired to the throne in virtue of the presumed validity of Salic law—which had been abolished by Charles IV and ignored by Ferdinand VII—brought the nation into the First Carlist War.[1]
Her true reign (1843–1868), which began with the declaration of the Cortes Generales that her majority reign was to begin when she was thirteen years old. This period can also be subdivided in following periods:
1844–1854: The Moderate decade (Década moderada), a period of conservative retrenchment under the Moderate Party after the passing of the progressive constitution of 1837.
1854–1856: The progressive two years (Bienio progresista), following the unrest of the Vicalvarada, as the Progressive Party attempted to implement the reformist Manzanares manifesto.
1856–1868: The Liberal Union period, as the Liberal Union government, a centrist coalition, tried to maintain a balance between the two positions
1868: The crisis (La Gloriosa) and downfall of Queen Isabella, led to her exile to France.
^ abHistoria de España. Carr, Raymond., Gil Aristu, José Luis. Barcelona: Ediciones Península. 2001. ISBN 84-8307-337-4. OCLC 46599274.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: others (link)
^Vilches García, Jorge. (2001). Progreso y libertad : el Partido Progresista en la revolución liberal española. Madrid: Alianza Editorial. pp. 37–38. ISBN 84-206-6768-4. OCLC 48638831.
^http://www.cortesgenerales.es/ [bare URL]
^"Collections Online | British Museum". www.britishmuseum.org. Retrieved 25 September 2022.
and 22 Related for: Reign of Isabella II of Spain information
IsabellaII (Spanish: Isabel II, María Isabel Luisa de Borbón y Borbón-Dos Sicilias; 10 October 1830 – 9 April 1904) was Queen ofSpain from 1833 until...
also Queen of Aragon from 1479 until her death as the wife of King Ferdinand II. Reigning together over a dynastically unified Spain, Isabella and Ferdinand...
IsabellaIIofSpain (10 October 1830 – 9 April 1904) was barely three years of age when her father Ferdinand VII ofSpain died on 29 September 1833. Her...
Roman Empress and Queen of Italy in February 1530. She acted as regent ofSpain during her husband's long absences. Isabella was born in Lisbon on 24...
the marriage of Ferdinand and Isabella. Their reign was called by W.H. Prescott "the most glorious epoch in the annals ofSpain". Spain was formed as...
list of monarchs ofSpain, a dominion started with the dynastic union of the Catholic Monarchs ofSpain— Ferdinand IIof Aragon and Isabella I of Castile...
Isabella Clara Eugenia (Spanish: Isabel Clara Eugenia; 12 August 1566 – 1 December 1633), sometimes referred to as Clara Isabella Eugenia, was sovereign...
XIII, one of the arms of the River Guadalquivir that isolate Triana as an almost-island. It was built during the reignofIsabellaIIofSpain and completed...
he was also King of Castile from 1475 to 1504 (as Ferdinand V). He reigned jointly with Isabella over a dynastically unified Spain; together they are...
who reigned as King ofSpain from 1870 to 1873. The only king ofSpain to come from the House of Savoy, he was the second son of Victor Emmanuel IIof Italy...
reignof Alfonso XII ofSpain began after the triumph of the Pronunciamiento de Sagunto of December 29, 1874, which put an end to the First Spanish Republic...
the title used was king of Castile, Leon, Aragon,… by divine grace. After the Spanish Revolution of 1868 deposed IsabellaII, there was established a...
of age in 1902. Alfonso was born in Madrid as the eldest son of the reigning Queen IsabellaII on 28 November 1857. His official father, Isabella's husband...
Born in Lisbon, the son of King Afonso V of Portugal by his wife, Isabellaof Coimbra, John II succeeded his father as ruler of Portugal in 1477, when...
completed during his reign. Under Philip II, Spain reached the height of its influence and power, sometimes called the Spanish Golden Age, and ruled...
quite active during the 19th century. During the reignofIsabellaIIofSpain, Andalusia was a hotbed of anarchist insurgency. Later, these anarchist cores...
John IIof Castile (Spanish: Juan; 6 March 1405 – 20 July 1454) was King of Castile and León from 1406 to 1454. He succeeded his older sister, Maria of Castile...
John II (Spanish: Juan II, Catalan: Joan II, Aragonese: Chuan II and Basque: Joanes II; 29 June 1398 – 20 January 1479), called the Great (el Gran) or...
surviving daughter of Philip IIofSpain and Elisabeth of Valois. Catherine Michaela was the daughter of Philip II, ruler of the vast Spanish Empire, and his...
Charles II as King ofSpain and by John IV as King of Portugal. Philip IV was born in the Royal Palace of Valladolid, and was the eldest son of Philip...