Ferdinand VII

Ferdinand VII was the King of Spain during a period of intense political change in the early 19th century.

Born in 1784 at the El Escorial palace near Madrid, he was the eldest surviving son of Charles IV and Maria Luisa of Parma.

In his youth, he was the heir apparent, though his parents and their advisor, Manuel Godoy, excluded him from government. His early life was marked by political instability and even arrest during the El Escorial Conspiracy in 1807. He eventually ascended the throne in 1808 following the Tumult of Aranjuez, a popular riot.

Ferdinand's first reign was brief and interrupted by the Napoleonic Wars. After his ascension, Napoleon Bonaparte overthrew him and kept him under guard in France. Ferdinand stayed at the Château de Valençay for six years.

During this time, Napoleon placed his brother, Joseph Bonaparte, on the Spanish throne. This led to widespread uprisings and the Peninsular War. The Spanish people resisted the French, and the Council of Castile eventually declared Ferdinand's previous abdications null and void. By January 1809, the British government officially recognized him as the King of Spain.

In December 1813, Napoleon signed the Treaty of Valençay, which allowed Ferdinand to return to Spain.

He arrived to a warm welcome, but he faced a transformed political landscape. Many Spaniards wanted him to follow the liberal Constitution of 1812. This document established a framework for government that limited royal power. Ferdinand, however, rejected these liberal ideas. Upon his return, he abolished the constitution and arrested its leaders. He believed in the Bourbon doctrine, which stated that sovereign authority resided solely in the person of the king.

Ferdinand's second reign was characterized by a struggle between absolutism and liberalism. An absolutist monarchy is a system where the ruler holds total power. In 1820, a military revolt led by Rafael del Riego forced Ferdinand to restore the constitution. This three-year period of liberal rule is known as the Liberal Triennium. However, in 1823, the Congress of Verona authorized a French intervention to restore Ferdinand to absolute power. This second period of absolute rule was often difficult for the country. He suppressed the liberal press and jailed many writers and editors.

During his rule, Spain underwent massive territorial losses in the Americas. Wars of independence broke out in various Spanish colonies. In 1821, the Treaty of Córdoba was signed to end the Mexican War of Independence.

While leaders like Agustín de Iturbide intended to offer the Mexican crown to Ferdinand, he refused. Ferdinand declared the Mexican constitution void and refused to recognize their independence. As a result, the Mexican Empire collapsed and became a republic. These losses, combined with interrupted treasure fleets, left the Spanish treasury nearly bankrupt.

Ferdinand also engaged in intense domestic conflicts with specific groups. He was a fierce opponent of Freemasonry, which he viewed as a threat to the Crown and the Catholic faith. He also reinstated the Jesuits, a religious order that became linked to his conservative policies. During a period called the Ominous Decade, he stepped up campaigns against Freemasons. Some members of this group were even hanged. His rule was often described as unstable, as he frequently changed his ministers and used the police to monitor political opponents.

In his final years, Ferdinand issued the Pragmatic Sanction in 1830. This decree allowed his daughter, Isabella, to succeed to the throne instead of his brother, Carlos.

This decision changed the line of succession and created a major crisis. When Ferdinand died in 1833, the disagreement over who should rule led to a large-scale civil war. Historians continue to debate his legacy, with some describing him as a short-sighted and despotic leader.