138 FERDINAND (SPAIN) ceeclings of the cortes, and abolished the con- stitution. All the members of the cortes or the regencies who had participated in the framing of the constitution of 1812, or had faithfully adhered to it, were arraigned before courts martial, tried, and sentenced. A number perished on the scaffold ; hundreds of the most illustrious were sent to dungeons in Africa or imprisoned at home ; the most fortunate were exiled. For six years Spain was given up to the unrelenting cruelty of a revengeful tyrant, whose gross personal appearance and habits but added to the disgust of the people. At last discontent ripened into insurrection, the signal for which was given by the army. Troops assembled at the Isla de Leon to sail for South America revolted under Col. Riego, Jan. 1, 1820, and proclaimed the constitution of 1812, and the whole army followed their example. Ferdinand convoked the cortes and swore (March 9) faithfully to observe the in- strument he had formerly annulled. Under the influence of a provisional junta who as- sumed the direction of affairs, he abolished the inquisition, banished the Jesuits, and reestab- lished the freedom of the press. On the open- ing of the cortes, July 9, he renewed his oath to the constitution, and appeared to act in per- fect accord with that assembly, while at the same time he was intriguing to defeat the plans of his own cabinet and to encourage the plots of .the opposite party. This 'double dealing soon brought about bloody riots and finally civil war in the capital and nearly all the prov- inces. The liberals or constitutionalists, who formed a large majority of the nation, were strenuously opposed by tire serviles or ultra royalists. The latter, pretending that the king was a prisoner in the hands of the cortes, or- ganized an apostolic junta, and raised bands of insurgents in Navarre and Catalonia, under the name of " army of the faith." Monks and friars, among whom Merino was conspicuous, were at the head of these bands. At Madrid, the royal guards, secretly incited by their own master, attempted in July, 1822, to reestablish by force his absolute power ; but after a violent struggle they were put down. Henceforth the constitu- tionalists held Ferdinand in a kind of imprison- ment scarcely disguised under court ceremonial. A liberal ministry was appointed ; energetic measures were resorted to; the " army of the faith" was totally defeated; its chiefs and sol- diers, as well as the ultra-royalist committee known as the regency of TJrgel, fled to France. The revolution was thus triumphant; but the " holy alliance " were preparing for its over- throw. France, which had assembled an army of observation near the Pyrenees, received orders from the congress of Verona to march into Spain for the purpose of restoring Ferdinand's authority. On the news of the threatened in- vasion, the king was removed to Seville, March 20, 1823 ; and on the rapid advance of the French under the command of the duke d'An- gouleme through the peninsula, he was declared FERDINAND (TUSCANY) to be insane, suspended from his power, super- seded by a regency, and taken to Cadiz, where the constitutionalists intended to make a stand. But this project was baffled by the French army, which stormed the Trocaidero, Aug. 31. The cortes then decided on declaring King Ferdinand reestablished; and the monarch at once published (Sept. 30) a proclamation grant- ing a general amnesty, and securing the en- gagements entered into by the constitutional government. But having left Cadiz the next day, he revoked the proclamation and all his acts since March 7, 1820. He made his solemn entrance into Madrid, with the applause of the ultra royalists, Nov. 13, and the work of ven- geance commenced, and was continued for years. The noblest victims fell under the sword of the executioner, and terror reigned throughout Spain. Ferdinand did not even evince the least forbearance toward those who had served him most faithfully, but used his power against his friends as well as his foes. The most important Spanish colonies in Ameri- ca gained their independence during his reign. He had already been married three times and had no children, and took as his fourth wife, Dec. , 1829, Maria Christina, daughter of King Francis of Naples. This queen, much younger than her husband, gave him two daughters, and procured from him the publi- cation of a decree abrogating the Salic law. This excited the anger of the partisans of Don Carlos, the king's brother ; and insurrectionary movements broke out in the provinces, while intrigues were set on foot at the court for the recall of the decree. During a temporary ill- ness the king was prevailed upon to abrogate it ; but Christina, resuming her sway over her husband's mind, had it confirmed, and re- ceived herself the title of regent, while Carlos and many of his adherents were ordered out of the kingdom. This rekindled civil war, which broke out with great violence soon after the death of Ferdinand. His daughter Isa- bella, a child of three years, inherited the crown ; but it was not secured to her till after a protracted and bloody contest. IV. TUSCANY. FERDINAND III., grand duke of Tuscany and archduke of Austria, born in Florence, May 6, 1769, died there, June 18, 1824. He came into possession of Tuscany in 1790, when his father Leopold II. was called to the imperial throne of Germany. The French invaded his dominions in 1796, under Bonaparte, and con- quered them in 1799. Ferdinand became dis- possessed by the treaty of Luneville in 1801, but in 1803 obtained as indemnity the arch- bishopric of Salzburg, with the title of elector of the empire. This electorate he exchanged in 1805 for Wtirzburg, and in 1806 was ad- mitted into the confederation of the Rhine. After Napoleon's abdication in 1814 Ferdinand was restored to the grand duchy of Tuscany, but was again obliged to abandon his capital
