Author(s): Ana Clara Guerrero

Publisher: Ediciones Akal

Publication date: 2011-04-06

Binding: Paperback

Pages: 640

Language: es

The long transition from absolutism to liberalism in the 19th century, which began during the War of Independence and was marked by civil conflicts, ended with the victory of the latter by force of arms. However, the consolidation of the new regime was characterized by governmental instability and the constant use of military pronouncements and popular uprisings—as methods for political change—that culminated in the Revolutionary Sexennium (1868-1874). Although it failed, this period laid the foundations for democratic ideas and social reforms that would triumph a century later. With the Bourbon Restoration in 1875, a period of stability and compromise between monarchist and liberal tendencies began, lasting until Primo de Rivera’s coup d’état. Such a long-lasting political system, however, only allowed for slow economic and cultural development and did not represent a real advance toward democracy. The Restoration thus contained the seeds of its own crisis, which would eventually lead to an authoritarian regime. This work aims to offer students and interested readers a comprehensive and updated manual to delve into the contemporary history of Spain, from the end of the Old Regime to the arrival of Primo de Rivera’s dictatorship in the 1920s.