Part 1. Questions to develop
a) The reign of Ferdinand VII: phases, characteristics and consequences
b) The impact on Spain of World War I and the Russian Revolution
a) Ferdinand VII, born in 1784 and son of King Charles IV, came to the throne after several years of mistrust, manipulation and conspiracies until he was discovered in the well-known El Escorial process. This caused Godoy to be dismissed a few months later after the Aranjuez Mutiny and Charles IV to abdicate in favor of his son. After a series of deals and meetings with Napoleon Bonaparte such as the one that took place in Bayonne, Ferdinand VII renounced the Spanish Crown and Napoleon appointed his brother Joseph king who reigned until 1813, while the War of Independence was taking place, where the Spanish They fought against the French until their defeat. With the signing of the Treaty of Valençay in 1813 the Crown was once again under the rule of Ferdinand.
The king titled as the Wanted He arrived in Spain in 1814, landing in Valencia, where a group of absolutist deputies gave him the Persian Manifesto, in which they advised a return to the absolutist system and the repeal of the Constitution called the Pepa which was promulgated in the Cortes of Cádiz in 1812 before the war ended. With all this, the monarch finally annulled the Constitution and the laws of Cádiz, thus returning to absolutism. This caused the flight of many liberals due to the king's repression and the beginning of the period known as the Absolutist Sexennium (1814-1820).
During these years an attempt was made to rebuild a devastated and bankrupt country. This economic instability and the influence that liberal ideas had on part of the army gave rise to military pronouncements, all of them unsuccessful, except for that of General Riego in Cabezas de San Juan (Seville) in 1820. Helped with the troops prepared to go to America to quell the revolts and thanks to the extent of the revolt, he was able to pressure the monarch to re-swear the Constitution of 1812. Thus began the Liberal Triennium (1820-1823).
Immediately afterwards, a new government began to take shape and called parliamentary elections. The balance tilted towards the side of the liberals whose deputies put into force previously eliminated decrees such as the suppression of mayorazgos and lordships and in turn deputations, the national militia, etc. were recovered. Faced with these changes, the king tried to paralyze all the laws he could until he finally decided to ask for support from the Holy Alliance (union of European absolutist powers) to end the liberal government. France will intervene by sending the army titled the Hundred Thousand Sons of Saint Louis under the command of the Duke of Angoulême. The outcome ended with Ferdinand VII on an absolutist throne. Thus began the period called the Ominous Decade (1823 – 1833).
With everything that had happened, Fernando VII returned to the repression of the liberals, but the political fracture was growing and the economic situation of the country continued to be very complicated. But a new problem confronted the monarchy, and it was the question of succession, since in 1830 Ferdinand's only daughter, Isabel, was born, which came into conflict with the Salic Law that prevented women from ascending the throne. The king, influenced by his wife, repealed the law with the “pragmatic sanction” that annulled the previous law so that Elizabeth could reign in the future. The most conservative sector grouped around the figure of Carlos María de Isidro, Fernando's brother, refused to accept this decision. This would later trigger the Carlist wars.
In 1833, Ferdinand VII died, reaffirming Isabel as the future queen and his wife María Cristina as regent until their daughter came of age.
b) During the reign of Alfonso XIII, the outbreak of what was known as the Great War or the First World War (1914 – 1918) took place.
Spain at that time chose to remain neutral in the face of public opinion divided between Germanophiles and allies, that is, between supporters of the central powers (Germany, Austria and the Ottoman Empire) made up of upper classes and members of the army; and among the supporters of liberal countries (France and England) made up of middle classes, workers, intellectuals, etc.
In Europe, the countries immersed in the war had to import products as their industries were shut down or under military reconversion. This meant that many countries that were traditionally importers became exporters and, on the contrary, many countries that were traditionally importers became exporters. This meant an increase in demand for goods from other countries in Spain, but this caused a series of negative consequences such as increased inflation and shortages of essential products. Furthermore, workers' discontent increased since these business benefits did not translate into salary improvements.
Meanwhile, in 1917, the Bolshevik revolution took place in Russia, which produced great acceptance and enthusiasm in workers' organizations that saw that country as a model to follow. This translated in Spain into the fact that the labor movement became increasingly stronger and a series of social measures by businessmen and the government had to be adapted.
Even so, the Russian Revolution was significantly noted in Andalusia in the so-called “Bolshevik triennium” in 1918 under the leadership of the UGT and the CNT when fields, lands and town halls were occupied motivated by the hunger and misery of the day laborers. The tense situation ended with strong repression. Also in Catalonia where the CNT in its most violet faction, the anarcho-syndicalist, carried out strikes, attacks... leading to strong repression of the employers. And finally with the founding in 1919 of the Communist International, which had as its objective the grouping of all workers' organizations in order to spread the Russian Revolution throughout the world. This led to the creation of the Communist Party of Spain (PCE) in 1920.
Part 2. Analysis of historical text
Reasoned explanation of the type of text, summary of its fundamental ideas, historical location of the events and/or processes present in the document, and analysis of the content within the context of the time and the history of Spain as a whole.
TEXT 1
1st. That the object and flag of the revolution in Spain is the fall of the Bourbons.
2nd. That universal suffrage being for the democrats an essential principle of their political dogma and the progressives admitting the modern constituent right of the plebiscite, the basis of the intelligence of the two parties was that by a plebiscite [...] or by Constituent Cortes elected by universal suffrage, the form of government that was to be established in Spain would be decided, and the monarchy being the dynasty that should replace the current one; in the understanding that, until this was decided, freedom of the press had to be absolute and without any limitation the right of assembly, so that national opinion could be enlightened and properly organized without the provisional government, which emerged from the revolution , could influence as such the resolution of the fundamental question; without prejudice to the people who composed it being able to privately and publicly hold their individual opinions. 3º That General Prim was recognized as the head and military director of the movement, who could employ those present and his friends in whatever he deemed appropriate.
Ostend Pact (Belgium). 1866
TEXT 2
The Franco regime before the outbreak of World War II
The Soviet Anglo-Saxon front, which has come to be constituted by a personal action of
Roosevelt, at the service of the lodges and the Jews, is truly the front of Jewish power where the entire complex of democracies, Freemasonry, liberalism, plutocracy and communism raise their flags, which have been the classic weapons that Judaism has used. to provoke a catastrophic situation that could crystallize the collapse of Christian civilization […]. If we entered the war we could only side with Germany, because the Axis fights today against everything that is anti-Spain today.
Report from Carrero Blanco to Franco, December 1941
a) The text shown to us is a primary source of a historical-political nature, of collective authorship since it was made by progressives and democrats in the middle of the century and was addressed to the public when addressing the nation. All this during the reign of Elizabeth II in the mid-19th century. The pact was made at a complicated time due to the continuous protests against Queen Elizabeth II after the Narváez and O'Donnell governments.
Therefore, the text explains the government agreement between the members of the Progressive and Democratic parties from that same moment. Furthermore, it is advisable to end the Bourbon monarchy established since the 18th century in order to achieve a series of freedoms and rights.
With this, the main idea of the text is to expel the queen from the throne and put an end to the Bourbon dynasty. As for the secondary ideas, the following can be highlighted: a revolution in Spain, led by General Prim; creation of new Constituent Cortes, elected through universal male suffrage; The form of government will be chosen by those Cortes, both parties agree that the monarchy is the appropriate form but not the Bourbon one; and the implementation of freedom of the press and assembly.
This text is set at the end of the reign of Elizabeth II (1866), two years before The Glorious Revolution of 1868 that led to the eviction of the queen from the throne.
In the last years of the queen there was a decomposition of the moderate regime. This meant the alternation in power of unionists and moderates. From the year 1856-58 there were the Unionists, coming to power by force, led by O'Donell. Its internal policy was stable, and the confiscation continued. Regarding his foreign policy, he regained international prestige thanks to the defeat of Morocco with General Prim as military director, thus keeping Spain with the Western Sahara plus what was already his property. Later in 63, the moderates took charge with General Narvaéz. His policy would be very reactionary, developed in a very authoritarian way. At this time a triple economic crisis breaks out; subsistence, industrial and financial. The progressives, democrats who were out of the political game, encouraged conspiracies and insurrections against the government and the queen until they signed the Ostend Pact.
Finally, with the military pronouncement in Cádiz, La Gloriosa, led by Prim, Serrano and Topete, we will enter the Democratic Sexennium (1868-1874), during which the reign of Amadeo I of Savoy and the proclamation of the first Republic will take place.
b) The text shown to us is a primary source of a historical-political nature, of individual authorship since it is made by Carrero Blanco, an army admiral during the Franco regime and a trusted person of the dictator, and a private addressee when addressing the latter. . All this in December 1941, at the outbreak of World War II.
The main idea of the text is the unequivocal position that Spain would take towards the Axis countries (Germany, Italy and Japan) if they entered into the conflict or provided support. And as a secondary idea is the linking of governments such as the Anglo-Saxon or the American one to ideologies closer to Soviet communism that are far from everything that Franco's Spain wants to represent, according to the author.
The text takes place at the beginning of World War II and shortly after the end of the Civil War after the victory of the Francoist side. At this time, Franco maintained close relations with the Axis powers thanks to the support they received during the Spanish war (troops, weapons and money). The dictator opted for a state of non-belligerency, a system that did not directly involve the country in the world war but did show support for the German cause, thus participation was suspended for the near future. Franco also aimed to take over a large part of the North African territory, but his claims were excessive for Hitler and this was reflected in the meeting they both had in Hendaye (1940). Even so, Franco provided basic products and supplies to the Germans and even sent the Blue Division, Spanish volunteer troops, to fight on the Russian front in 1941.
But this situation changed as the war progressed in favor of the English and French, thus returning to neutrality and the withdrawal of the Blue Division. Even so, due to the support maintained during World War II towards the Axis powers, Spain saw how it was isolated from the UN and a blockade was placed on it. And although the Franco state took hold in the country and the dictatorship ended up lasting 40 years, there was finally a political and economic opening that culminated with the death of the dictator in 1975.
