Six Years of Democracy

In 1868 there was a military upring and the queen was forced to go into exile. The Glorius Revolution was the first serious attempt to establish democracy in Spain. The Constitution approved in 1869 established universal manhood suffrage and protected several rights and freedoms. It was the most progressive of the Spanish 19th century.

The reign of Amadeo de Saboya 1871-1873

General Prim choose Amadeo to be King of Spain. Unfortunaly for Amadeo, Prim was murdered just before the new King arrived to Spain loosing his main supporter. Republicans and Carlist rejected him. He had to abdicate because he wasn´t able to govern the kingdom in a democratic way as it was his wish.

The First Republic (1873-1874)

The Fist Republic faced a lot of problems from the beginning:

• Demands of greater regional autonomy (Cantoneros)
• Division among republicans
• The Third Carlist War

The main goal of the Republic was to achive the monetary union by the creation of the peseta.

In 1874, a coup led by General Pavia dissolved the Cortes and made General Serrano head of state.