Spanish Restoration

The period of Spanish political life beginning with the Bourbon monarchy’s restoration in 1874 and ending with the monarchy’s fall in 1931. Its politics were shaped by constitutional monarchy, managed elections, and alternating parties.

Constitution of 1876: Spain’s constitution from 1876 to 1931, establishing a constitutional monarchy with shared legislative authority. It supplied the legal framework for the Restoration monarchy and its parliamentary system.
Glorious Revolution (Spain): The 1868 Spanish uprising that deposed Queen Isabella II and began the Sexenio Democrático. Its overthrow of the monarchy opened the turbulent political era the Restoration sought to close.
Práxedes Mateo Sagasta: A Spanish Liberal politician who served several times as prime minister during the Restoration. Sagasta led the Liberal party that alternated in office with Cánovas’s Conservatives.
Spanish–American War: The 1898 war between Spain and the United States that ended Spanish rule over Cuba, Puerto Rico, and the Philippines. Spain’s defeat intensified criticism of the Restoration political order.
Carlism: A Spanish traditionalist movement supporting an alternative Bourbon line and defending Catholic monarchy and regional privileges. Carlist dynastic claims challenged the branch installed by the Restoration.
Turno pacífico: The planned alternation in government between Spain’s Conservative and Liberal parties during the Restoration. Its orderly rotation made the regime’s apparent parliamentary competition predictable.
Sexenio Democrático: Spain’s democratic experiment from 1868 to 1874, encompassing a provisional government, monarchy, and republic. Its unstable governments set the stage for restoration of the Bourbon dynasty.
María Cristina of Austria: Queen consort of Alfonso XII and regent of Spain from 1885 to 1902. Her regency preserved the monarchy and party system during Alfonso XIII’s minority.
Generation of '98: A group of Spanish writers and thinkers who examined national decline after the 1898 disaster. Their writing made the crisis of Spain’s institutions a central cultural question.
Federalism: A system of government that constitutionally divides authority between a central state and constituent political units. Federal republicanism offered a competing answer to Spain’s territorial and constitutional questions.

Linked from 12 pages