Spanish Constitution of 1869

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The Spanish Constitution of 1869 is called the Democratic Constitution of the Spanish Nation (Constitución democrática de la nación española). The constitution was adopted by a constituent assembly on June 6, 1869 after the overthrow of Queen Isabella II . It provided for a constitutional monarchy .

Development of the Constitution

In the mid-1860s, the population's approval of Queen Isabella II's government waned . Arbitrary impeachment of professors and the military crackdown on demonstrating students, as well as the banning of various newspapers, raised the intelligentsia against the government. The economic policy of the government was also blamed by the bourgeoisie for the recession and a series of bank failures. The exile of various generals turned the military against the government. Even in the private sphere, the queen lost a lot of respect after the expulsion of her brother-in-law, the Duke of Montpensier , who was accused of wanting to overthrow Isabella II. Various pronunciamientos failed because the various opposition groups were surprised by the timing and took little or only hesitant participation.

In August 1866, the exiled leading representatives of the progressives and democrats met in Ostend , Belgium . They agreed to seek general elections for a constituent assembly , and then let the constituent assembly decide on the form of government . After the death of Leopoldo O'Donnell in November 1867, the Unionists also joined this Treaty of Ostend . While General Narváez as Prime Minister of the Moderados could at least use his personal prestige as Prime Minister for the Queen, Isabella's support also ceased with his death in April 1868.

When the government under Luis González Bravo cut the budget of the navy, it was the reason that a pronunciamiento was published in Cádiz on September 18, 1868 , that led to a general survey. Within a few days, not only did many military join the uprising, but Juntas del Gobierno were formed in many cities to take over local or provincial administration. Prime Minister González Bravo resigned from his post on September 19. After the loyal troops under General Manuel Pavia y Lacy, Marqués Novaliches were defeated on September 28, 1868 in the Battle of Alcolea by an army under the command of General Serrano , Queen Isabella went into exile in France . The government in Madrid was initially taken over by a Junta Superior Revolucionaria . On October 3rd, General Serrano was appointed Chairman of the Council of Ministers.

On November 9, 1868, the law governing the holding of general elections was passed. This law basically regulates local elections, elections to the provincial councils and elections to the Cortes. A constituent assembly was then elected from January 15th to 18th . 3.8 million Spaniards were eligible to vote. That was 24% of the population. On February 11, 1869, the Constituent Cortes (Cortes Constituyentes) met for their inaugural session. 236 MPs were assigned to the monarchical-democratic direction, including 156 progressives. The Republicans received 85 seats. On June 1, 1869, the new Democratic Constitution of the Spanish Nation (Constitución democrática de la nación española) was promulgated. In the constitution, the Cortes had opted for the form of government of a democratic monarchy ( constitutional monarchy ).

But there was disagreement about who should become king. The reinstatement of Queen Isabella or her son Alfons was out of the question for the majority of the MPs. A large number of potential candidates turned down the crown offered to them. For a transition period that lasted 19 months, General Serrano was elected regent on June 16, 1869 . On November 16, 1870, Amadeus of Savoy was elected by the Cortes with 191 of 311 votes and, after his arrival in Madrid, was proclaimed king on January 2, 1871. Although he was elected with a sufficient majority, he received no support from the political parties, the Church or the Spanish nobility. Amadeus abdicated on February 10, 1873. On February 11, the two chambers of the Cortes, the Congress and the Senate, met together as the National Assembly (Asamblea Nacional). With 258 votes against 32, a motion was passed that determined the republic to be the form of the nation.

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Declaratory part

In the preamble the consolidation of law, freedom and security was stated as the aim of the constitution. The legitimacy of the Cortes to enact the constitution was derived from the general elections. The constitution was not seen as a contract between the people and the king, but as a statement of what the will of the people is.

There was a clear statement about sovereignty: In Article 32, the phrase La soberanía reside esencialmente en la Nación , ( By its nature, sovereignty resides in the nation) was taken over from Article 3 of the Cádiz Constitution . The rights of the Spaniards have been summarized in one section and greatly expanded compared to previous constitutions. a. freedom of association . The state saw itself obliged to support the Catholic Church. The public and private practice of other religions were allowed to foreigners and Spaniards.

Organizational part

The Cortes consisted of two equal chambers , the Senate and the Congress. The MPs were representatives of the entire nation, not of their constituencies. They did not have an imperative mandate . Congressmen were elected by universal suffrage from the male population over 25 years of age. The term of office for Congressmen was three years. The Senate should be filled to a quarter every three years. The composition and the way in which the members of the Senate were elected made it something between territorial representation and the Chamber of Honoraries. The senators were elected in an indirect electoral process at the provincial level. The candidates must hold or have held certain political, military, ecclesiastical or university offices.

The king convened parliament. He could leave it on leave or cancel it within certain limits. The Cortes should be convened on February 1st of the year and meet at least four months a year. The chambers determined their own presidents. The MPs had immunity and indemnity . The king and both chambers had the right to introduce legislative initiatives . The king's right of veto was not regulated in the constitution. The section on public powers clearly divided and assigned powers. The king was portrayed as the supreme executive power, but he did not exercise this power himself, but made use of the ministers. This status had a certain resemblance to the position of the president as it is described later in Article 49 of the non-effective constitution of the First Republic as poder de relacion (mediating power).

The independence of the courts has been improved through simplified organization, self-administration and clear channels of authority. Jury courts were provided.

A change in the current government of the Overseas Provinces should bring the rights into line with the Constitution. The administration of the Philippines should be reformed by law.

Provincial militias were not provided for in the constitution, but were not excluded. The provincial and city administrations were granted self-government rights, which should be regulated by new laws.

A constitutional amendment should be able to be decided by the new Cortes, who were to be convened as Constituent Cortes.

See also

Web links

  • Law on the implementation of general elections of November 9, 1868 online at cchs.csic.es (Spanish, Word document; 112 kB)

literature

  • Walter Bernecker: History of Spain in the 19th and 20th centuries. Course unit 1: Spain's path to modernity. Fernuniversität Hagen, Hagen 1988.
  • José Luis Cornellas: História de España Contemporánea. Ediciones Rialp, Madrid 1988, ISBN 84-321-2441-9 ( Manuales universitarios Rialp 26).
  • Angel Bahamonde: El Sexenio democrático. Gobierno de Castilla y León, online .

Individual evidence

  1. Law on the implementation of general elections of November 9, 1868 on cchs.csic.es, as of August 4, 2010 (Spanish, Word document; 112 kB)
  2. ^ Walter Bernecker: History of Spain in the 19th and 20th Centuries Course Unit 1, Distance University Hagen 1988, p. 38
  3. Amadeo's abdication  ( page no longer available , search in web archivesInfo: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. on fernandovera.es, viewed August 4, 2010 (Spanish, PDF) @1@ 2Template: Dead Link / www.fernandovera.es