Bienio progresista
Encyclopedia
In the history of Spain
, the Bienio progresista ("Progressive Biennium" or "Progressivist Biennium") was the two-year period from July 1854 to July 1856, during which the Progressive Party
attempted to reform the political system of the reign of Isabella II
, which had been dominated by the Moderate Party
since 1843 in the so-called Década moderada
. The Progressives were exaltados or veinteañistas, advocates of radical liberalism
, in contrast to the conservative liberalism
of the doceañistas or Moderates.
by a system of census suffrage that left less than one percent of the population eligible to participate in the country's electoral politics.
The perceived injustice of this situation provoked protests and subversive movements. These movements were led by those liberal leaders who were not in accord with the Moderate government. For the most part, this meant the Progressives, but there were also moderates such as General Leopoldo O'Donnell who were simply opposed to what an increasingly corrupt and ineffective regime.
The dismissal of prime minister
Juan Bravo Murillo
toward the end of 1852 marked the acceleration of the decline of the Moderate regime. The government attempted to rule by decree
, ignoring its own constitution. Even many of the most prominent Moderates were unhappy with the cabinet
that had been hand-picked by the queen mother
Maria Christina of the Two Sicilies
. Francisco Martínez de la Rosa, Alejandro Mon y Menéndez
and Leopoldo O'Donnell wished to form a government that would restore the country's confidence without handing power over to the Progressives, but they were excluded from any role in the government.
in February 1854, and had extended throughout the country by July. On 28 June 1854, O'Donnell, who had been hiding in Madrid
during a wave of persecutions of prominent figures not aligned with the current regime, managed to unite diverse forces and to confront troops loyal to the government at Vicálvaro
southeast of Madrid, where he demanded a new government that would put an end to the corruption. He made it clear that he respected Queen Isabella, but not her government. This coup attempt became known as La Vicalvarada; it did not result in the immediate fall of the government, but neither was it quickly crushed. Through the ensuing weeks, troops in Barcelona
also pronounced in favor of La Vicalvarada.
General O'Donnell and his troops retired to the south, where they connected with the Progressive general Serrano. Together they issued the Manifesto of Manzanares
on 7 July 1854:
This manifesto was distributed among the populace, inviting the people to rise up in support. The popular reaction was immediate, with agitations and popular revolts throughout the country in support of the Manifesto. On 17 July, civilians and soldiers took to the streets of Madrid, (as well as Alcira, Cuenca
, Logroño
, Valencia and Zaragoza) in a violent uprising that threatened the life of queen mother Maria Christina, who had to seek refuge. The result was a revolution, to which the Catalan
workers also allied themselves.
Isabella II had no choice but to accede to the demands of the Manifesto. The bienio progresista began.
. However, they proved not to have enough unity to agree on a text. Nonetheless, they supported the rights of citizens, such as freedom of expression, freedom of the press
, and freedom of political association
. Other political parties arose, including socialist
and federalist
parties. The political panorama became much more complicated. Taking advantage of the new liberties, the workers' movement sprang into action, above all by means of the general strike
. The peasants also began to protest and demand improvements in their situation.
Municipal government was decentralized, with the restoration of local elections. The resulting municipal governments were yet another source of pressure on the Progressive government. On the other hand, the Moderates in the Cortes hounded the Progressives, taking advantage of a free press to attack them from the right
.
: properties owned by municipalities
, military order
s, hospital
s, hospice
s and casas de misericordia (charity homes) were confiscated and sold to raise funds for the State. The negative consequences were suffered not only by the agents of these institutions but by the poorer villagers, who used the municipal commons
for their subsistence. When these lands were placed in private hands, they could no longer use them. Second, another law gave major benefits and privileges to whoever would invest in the construction of railways, given that transport was essential to the process of industrialization that was beginning to develop in Spain. Under this law, foreign investors, especially from France
and the United Kingdom
employed their capital in constructing railways; the law also proved very beneficial to the banks. Third and finally, a liberalization of banking and corporate law attempted to expand the financial system to underwrite industrial development.
Whatever the intentions, the result was chaos. In the face of instability and conflict, O'Donnell led another coup in July 1856. The bienio progresista had ended in failure.
History of Spain
The history of Spain involves all the other peoples and nations within the Iberian peninsula formerly known as Hispania, and includes still today the nations of Andorra, Gibraltar, Portugal and Spain...
, the Bienio progresista ("Progressive Biennium" or "Progressivist Biennium") was the two-year period from July 1854 to July 1856, during which the Progressive Party
Progressive Party (Spain)
The Progressive Party was one of the two Spanish political parties that contended for power during the reign of Isabel II . They were to the left of the opposing Moderate Party , but also characterized themselves as liberal...
attempted to reform the political system of the reign of Isabella II
Isabella II of Spain
Isabella II was the only female monarch of Spain in modern times. She came to the throne as an infant, but her succession was disputed by the Carlists, who refused to recognise a female sovereign, leading to the Carlist Wars. After a troubled reign, she was deposed in the Glorious Revolution of...
, which had been dominated by the Moderate Party
Moderate Party (Spain)
The Moderate Party or Moderate Liberal Party was one of the two Spanish political parties that contended for power during the reign of Isabel II...
since 1843 in the so-called Década moderada
Década moderada
In the history of Spain, the década moderada was the period from May 1844 to July 1854, during which the Moderate Party continuously held power.-Rise to power:...
. The Progressives were exaltados or veinteañistas, advocates of radical liberalism
Radicalism (historical)
The term Radical was used during the late 18th century for proponents of the Radical Movement. It later became a general pejorative term for those favoring or seeking political reforms which include dramatic changes to the social order...
, in contrast to the conservative liberalism
Conservative liberalism
Conservative liberalism is a variant of liberalism, combining liberal values and policies with conservative stances, or, more simply, representing the right-wing of the liberal movement....
of the doceañistas or Moderates.
Background
After a decade of rule by the Moderates, the Spanish were aware of massive government corruption in the entrenched Moderate regime. Furthermore, all but the wealthiest were disenfranchisedDisfranchisement
Disfranchisement is the revocation of the right of suffrage of a person or group of people, or rendering a person's vote less effective, or ineffective...
by a system of census suffrage that left less than one percent of the population eligible to participate in the country's electoral politics.
The perceived injustice of this situation provoked protests and subversive movements. These movements were led by those liberal leaders who were not in accord with the Moderate government. For the most part, this meant the Progressives, but there were also moderates such as General Leopoldo O'Donnell who were simply opposed to what an increasingly corrupt and ineffective regime.
The dismissal of prime minister
Prime Minister of Spain
The President of the Government of Spain , sometimes known in English as the Prime Minister of Spain, is the head of Government of Spain. The current office is established under the Constitution of 1978...
Juan Bravo Murillo
Juan Bravo Murillo
Juan Bravo Murillo was a Spanish politician, jurist and economist. He was president of the council of ministers of Spain from 14 January 1851 to 14 December 1852 during the reign of Isabella II.-Origins:Bravo Murillo was born in Fregenal de la Sierra on 24...
toward the end of 1852 marked the acceleration of the decline of the Moderate regime. The government attempted to rule by decree
Decree
A decree is a rule of law issued by a head of state , according to certain procedures . It has the force of law...
, ignoring its own constitution. Even many of the most prominent Moderates were unhappy with the cabinet
Cabinet (government)
A Cabinet is a body of high ranking government officials, typically representing the executive branch. It can also sometimes be referred to as the Council of Ministers, an Executive Council, or an Executive Committee.- Overview :...
that had been hand-picked by the queen mother
Queen mother
Queen Mother is a title or position reserved for a widowed queen consort whose son or daughter from that marriage is the reigning monarch. The term has been used in English since at least 1577...
Maria Christina of the Two Sicilies
Maria Christina of the Two Sicilies
Maria Christina of the Two Sicilies was Queen consort of Spain and Regent of Spain .-Early years and first marriage:...
. Francisco Martínez de la Rosa, Alejandro Mon y Menéndez
Alejandro Mon y Menéndez
Alejandro Mon y Menéndez was a Spanish politician and jurist who served as Prime Minister of Spain in 1864, during the reign of Queen Isabella II.-Early life:...
and Leopoldo O'Donnell wished to form a government that would restore the country's confidence without handing power over to the Progressives, but they were excluded from any role in the government.
La Vicalvarada
Street protests began in ZaragozaZaragoza
Zaragoza , also called Saragossa in English, is the capital city of the Zaragoza Province and of the autonomous community of Aragon, Spain...
in February 1854, and had extended throughout the country by July. On 28 June 1854, O'Donnell, who had been hiding in Madrid
Madrid
Madrid is the capital and largest city of Spain. The population of the city is roughly 3.3 million and the entire population of the Madrid metropolitan area is calculated to be 6.271 million. It is the third largest city in the European Union, after London and Berlin, and its metropolitan...
during a wave of persecutions of prominent figures not aligned with the current regime, managed to unite diverse forces and to confront troops loyal to the government at Vicálvaro
Vicálvaro
Vicálvaro is a district in the southeast of Madrid, Spain, and a former municipality in its own right.-History:When Spain's Civil Guard was established in 1844, the first headquarters of its cavalry was in Vicálvaro. Franco converted it into an artillery barracks for the Brunete Armored Division,...
southeast of Madrid, where he demanded a new government that would put an end to the corruption. He made it clear that he respected Queen Isabella, but not her government. This coup attempt became known as La Vicalvarada; it did not result in the immediate fall of the government, but neither was it quickly crushed. Through the ensuing weeks, troops in Barcelona
Barcelona
Barcelona is the second largest city in Spain after Madrid, and the capital of Catalonia, with a population of 1,621,537 within its administrative limits on a land area of...
also pronounced in favor of La Vicalvarada.
General O'Donnell and his troops retired to the south, where they connected with the Progressive general Serrano. Together they issued the Manifesto of Manzanares
Manifesto of Manzanares
The Manifesto of Manzanares , was issued 7 July 1854 in Manzanares, Spain. Drafted by Antonio Cánovas del Castillo and signed by General Leopoldo O'Donnell, it called for political reforms and a constituent Cortes to bring about an authentic "liberal regeneration".In 1854, Spain was at the tail end...
on 7 July 1854:
This manifesto was distributed among the populace, inviting the people to rise up in support. The popular reaction was immediate, with agitations and popular revolts throughout the country in support of the Manifesto. On 17 July, civilians and soldiers took to the streets of Madrid, (as well as Alcira, Cuenca
Cuenca, Spain
-History:When the Iberian peninsula was part of the Roman Empire there were several important settlements in the province, such as Segóbriga, Ercávica and Gran Valeria...
, Logroño
Logroño
Logroño is a city in northern Spain, on the Ebro River. It is the capital of the autonomous community of La Rioja, formerly known as La Rioja Province.The population of Logroño in 2008 was 153,736 and a metropolitan population of nearly 197,000 inhabitants...
, Valencia and Zaragoza) in a violent uprising that threatened the life of queen mother Maria Christina, who had to seek refuge. The result was a revolution, to which the Catalan
Catalonia
Catalonia is an autonomous community in northeastern Spain, with the official status of a "nationality" of Spain. Catalonia comprises four provinces: Barcelona, Girona, Lleida, and Tarragona. Its capital and largest city is Barcelona. Catalonia covers an area of 32,114 km² and has an...
workers also allied themselves.
Isabella II had no choice but to accede to the demands of the Manifesto. The bienio progresista began.
Development
The bienio progresista was a period full of illusion and hope among great sectors of the populace. The new government led by Baldomero Espartero attempted to put the Manifesto of Manzanares into practice, but ultimately it failed.Political aspect
The Progressives, desiring a progressive constitution, annulled the Moderate Constitution of 1845 and attempted to write a new constitution based on the Progressive Constitution of 1837Spanish Constitution of 1837
The Spanish Constitution of 1837 was the constitution of Spain from 1837 to 1845. Its principal legacy was to restore the most progressive features of the Spanish Constitution of 1812 and to entrench the concepts of constitutionalism, parliamentarism, and separation of powers in Spain.-...
. However, they proved not to have enough unity to agree on a text. Nonetheless, they supported the rights of citizens, such as freedom of expression, freedom of the press
Freedom of the press
Freedom of the press or freedom of the media is the freedom of communication and expression through vehicles including various electronic media and published materials...
, and freedom of political association
Freedom of association
Freedom of association is the individual right to come together with other individuals and collectively express, promote, pursue and defend common interests....
. Other political parties arose, including socialist
Socialism
Socialism is an economic system characterized by social ownership of the means of production and cooperative management of the economy; or a political philosophy advocating such a system. "Social ownership" may refer to any one of, or a combination of, the following: cooperative enterprises,...
and federalist
Federalism
Federalism is a political concept in which a group of members are bound together by covenant with a governing representative head. The term "federalism" is also used to describe a system of the government in which sovereignty is constitutionally divided between a central governing authority and...
parties. The political panorama became much more complicated. Taking advantage of the new liberties, the workers' movement sprang into action, above all by means of the general strike
General strike
A general strike is a strike action by a critical mass of the labour force in a city, region, or country. While a general strike can be for political goals, economic goals, or both, it tends to gain its momentum from the ideological or class sympathies of the participants...
. The peasants also began to protest and demand improvements in their situation.
Municipal government was decentralized, with the restoration of local elections. The resulting municipal governments were yet another source of pressure on the Progressive government. On the other hand, the Moderates in the Cortes hounded the Progressives, taking advantage of a free press to attack them from the right
Right-wing politics
In politics, Right, right-wing and rightist generally refer to support for a hierarchical society justified on the basis of an appeal to natural law or tradition. To varying degrees, the Right rejects the egalitarian objectives of left-wing politics, claiming that the imposition of equality is...
.
Legislative and economic aspects
In the midst of all this political instability, the government brought about a major economic reform. First, there was the civil confiscation under Finance Minister Pascual MadozPascual Madoz
Pascual Madoz , Spanish politician, statistician, was born at Pamplona.In early life he was settled in Barcelona, as a writer and journalist. He envisioned the construction of the Vielha tunnel. He joined the Progresista party formed during the First Carlist War, 1833-40...
: properties owned by municipalities
Municipalities of Spain
The municipalities of Spain In other languages of Spain:*Catalan/Valencian , sing. municipi.*Galician or , sing. municipio/bisbarra.*Basque , sing. udalerria. are the basic level of Spanish local government...
, military order
Military order
A military order is a Christian society of knights that was founded for crusading, i.e. propagating or defending the faith , either in the Holy Land or against Islam or pagans in Europe...
s, hospital
Hospital
A hospital is a health care institution providing patient treatment by specialized staff and equipment. Hospitals often, but not always, provide for inpatient care or longer-term patient stays....
s, hospice
Hospice
Hospice is a type of care and a philosophy of care which focuses on the palliation of a terminally ill patient's symptoms.In the United States and Canada:*Gentiva Health Services, national provider of hospice and home health services...
s and casas de misericordia (charity homes) were confiscated and sold to raise funds for the State. The negative consequences were suffered not only by the agents of these institutions but by the poorer villagers, who used the municipal commons
Common land
Common land is land owned collectively or by one person, but over which other people have certain traditional rights, such as to allow their livestock to graze upon it, to collect firewood, or to cut turf for fuel...
for their subsistence. When these lands were placed in private hands, they could no longer use them. Second, another law gave major benefits and privileges to whoever would invest in the construction of railways, given that transport was essential to the process of industrialization that was beginning to develop in Spain. Under this law, foreign investors, especially from France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
and the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
employed their capital in constructing railways; the law also proved very beneficial to the banks. Third and finally, a liberalization of banking and corporate law attempted to expand the financial system to underwrite industrial development.
Whatever the intentions, the result was chaos. In the face of instability and conflict, O'Donnell led another coup in July 1856. The bienio progresista had ended in failure.
Articles
- Isabel Casanova Aguilar, "El bienio progresista (1854-56): Historia de un intento de modernización institucional", Anales de Derecho, ISSN 0210-539X, Nº 6, 1984, pp. 131-132.
- Oscar Ignacio Mateos y de Cabo and José Fernando Merino Merchán, "La 'Vicalvarada' 140 años después: Aproximación al significado jurídico-constitucional del bienio progresista (1854-1856)", Revista de las Cortes Generales, ISSN 0214-0519, Nº 32, 1994, pp. 121-176.
- José Ramón de Urquijo and Goitia Hispania. "Las contradicciones políticas del bienio progresista", Revista Española de Historia, ISSN 0018-2141, Vol. 57, Nº 195, 1997, pp. 267-302.
- Braulio Díaz Sampedro, "Derecho e ideología en el bienio progresista", Anuario de la Facultad de Derecho, ISSN 0213-988X, Nº 24, 2006, pp. 159-175.
Books
- María Fe Núñez Muñoz and Franco Díaz de Cerio, El bienio progresista (1854-1856) y la ruptura de relaciones de Roma con España según los documentos vaticanos, Universidad de La Laguna, 1993. ISBN 84-7756-381-0.
- José Luis Ollero Vallés, "El Bienio Progresista, 1854-1856", chapter in Sagasta y el liberalismo español, 2000, pp. 246-255, ISBN 84-8140-071-8.
- Alberto Ramos Santana, La desamortización civil en Cádiz en el bienio progresista, Cádiz: Excma. Diputación Provincial, D.L. 1982. ISBN 84-500-5279-3.