Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume XV.djvu/227

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SPAIN 215 cessions to the radical wing of the progressive party (exaltados), and to adopt in 1837 the so- called modified constitution of 1812. The Car- lists were finally overpowered in 1839, when Don Carlos fled to France. Cabrera main- tained himself until July, 1840, when he also fled to France, and the Carlist war was at an end. Yet another revolutionary movement broke out in the same year, When the cortes passed a new ayuntamiento law, which abol- ished the former municipal rights of the Span- ish towns. Maria Christina found it necessary to appoint Espartero, the leader of the move- ment, prime minister ; soon afterward (Oct. 12) she resigned, and, with the chiefs of the moderados, embarked for France. The cortes in 1841 appointed Espartero regent during the minority of the queen, and Argtielles, an old constitutionalist of 1812, her tutor. The ad- ministration of Espartero did more to promote the prosperity of the country than any other before or after him. New roads and canals were constructed, mining was encouraged, and industry and trade were put on a firmer ba- sis ; and the functions of public officers were never discharged with greater integrity. But the sale of the ecclesiastical property had provoked the almost unanimous opposition of the Spanish clergy, who, in union with the moderados and the absolutistas, were strong enough to harass Espartero by insurrections during the entire period of his administration. In May, 1843, an open rupture between Espar- tero and the cortes, although a majority of them were progresistas, was at once followed by a general insurrection throughout Spain, at the head of which were the leading generals of the moderados, as Narvaez and O'Donnell, who had returned from France. Toward the close of. July Espartero embarked at Cadiz for England. In October the cortes declared the queen of age, who in the next year formed a ministry of moderados, under the presiden- cy of Narvaez. Christina was recalled from France, her secret marriage with Mufioz, for- merly one of her body guards, publicly an- nounced, and negotiations commenced with the pope, who had denounced the sale of church property as robbery. In the cortes which met in October, 1844, the moderados had a majority, and in the constitution which they adopted (the constitution of 1845) the rights of the cortes were limited, and the trial by jury for offences of the press and the na- tional militia were abolished. The subsequent history of Isabella II., who in 1846 married her cousin, Don Francisco de Asis, is espe- cially noted for the frequent change of her ministers, mostly brought about by palace in- trigues. In 1847 the queen yielded for a time to the counsels of her favorite, Gen. Ser- rano, and appointed a ministry of progresis- tas, which promulgated a general amnesty and conferred on Espartero, whom they recalled from England, the dignity of a senator. But before the end of the year the moderados regained the control of the state under the energetic leadership of Narvaez, who showed a conciliatory spirit, maintained the amnesty, and made no objection to the return of Es- partero. Two illicit expeditions against Cuba, in 1850 and 1851, which were prepared by Cuban refugees in the United States, and met with great encouragement in the southern states of the Union, and subsequently the de- clarations of the American democratic party in favor of an acquisition of Cuba by the United States, disturbed the relations between the two governments. The relations with the papal court were settled on a friendly footing by the concordat of 1851. Narvaez resigned in 1851, and till 1854 short-lived and weak ministries succeeded each other, most of which had reactionary tendencies. In 1854 the pro- gress of illiberal legislation, the financial opera- tions of Maria Christina, her husband Mufioz, and the banker Salamanca, who had wrong- fully obtained the most important railroad con- cessions, and the imposition upon the country of a compulsory loan of 180,000,000 reals, led to a military insurrection, one of the leaders of which was Gen. O'Donnell, who called on all liberal parties to unite and restore the con- stitution of 1837. On July 24 the queen saw herself compelled to charge Espartero with the formation of a new government. Con- stituent cortes were called, in accordance with the law of 1837, which met in a single cham- ber, and elected Espartero their president, Nov. 28 ; but two days later he was again ap- pointed prime minister. The cortes restored in the main the liberal constitutions of 1812 and 1837, and declared themselves in favor of religious toleration, and for the sale of the church property. A large minority demanded the one chamber system, and that the decrees of the cortes should not need the sanction of the crown. The ascendancy of liberal- ism lasted until July, 1856, when, reactionary influences having again prevailed in the pal- ace, Espartero resigned, and O'Donnell was appointed prime minister. An insurrection in Madrid and the other large cities was sup- pressed, and the entire kingdom declared in a state of siege. On Aug. 15 the national guard was dissolved, and gradually the illiberal legis- lation of 1845 restored, especially since Nar- vaez had become prime minister. The sale of church property was inhibited, and the con- cordat of 1851 restored. The church property question was finally adjusted by a convention with Rome, on Aug. 25, 1859 ; and the Span- ish government became the strongest supporter of the temporal sovereignty of the pope. In 1858 Spain united with France in sending an expedition against the emperor of Anam, which conquered part of the coast of that country. At the close of 1859 war was declared against Morocco on account of Moorish piracies, and an army under O'Donnell was sent into Afri- ca. After several indecisive conflicts the Moors were defeated, Feb. 4, 1860, near Tetuan, which