Reign of Ferdinand VII of Spain
Kingdom of Spain and the Indies/ Kingdom of the Spains Reino de España e Indias/ Reino de las Españas | |
|---|---|
| Motto: Plus ultra (Further beyond) | |
| Anthem: Marcha Real Himno de Riego (1820–1823) | |
Spanish monarchy (Spain and the Indies) under Ferdinand VII. Spanish American independence was recognized after his death. | |
| Capital | Madrid |
| Official languages | Spanish |
| Religion | Catholicism |
| Government | |
• King | Ferdinand VII (1814–1833) |
| Establishment | |
| 1809–1829 | |
• Liberal triennium | 1820–1823 |
| 1814 | |
• Decree annulling the decisions of the Cortes of Cádiz | May 4, 1814 |
• Pronouncement of Riego | January 1, 1820 |
• Beginning of Isabella II's reign | September 29, 1833 |
| Currency | Escudo |
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The reign of Ferdinand VII lasted from 1808 to 1833, a period in Spain's contemporary history. He ascended the throne on March 19, 1808, immediately after his father, Charles IV, abdicated after the Aranjuez uprising. His reign ended upon his death on September 29, 1833.
Although Ferdinand VII became king in title after Aranjuez, he was held captive following his abdication in Bayonne in 1808. Nonetheless, he was recognized as Spain's legitimate monarch by the governing Juntas, the Regency, and the Cortes of Cádiz, as well as by the American Juntas. Between July 25, 1808, the proclamation of Joseph I, and the return of the captive Ferdinand VII, Spain effectively had no reigning monarch. After the final defeat of Joseph Bonaparte, who abandoned Madrid on May 27, 1813, Napoleon recognized Ferdinand VII as king of Spain through the Treaty of Valençay.
Ferdinand VII was released and returned to Spain on March 22, 1814, entering through Figueres. As the effective king, he promised to restore traditional Cortes and govern without despotism. Ferdinand gained widespread support, including that of 69 deputies of the Cortes through the Manifesto of the Persians, presented to him on April 16 in Valencia. With this backing, he led the Coup d'état of May 1814. He declared himself an absolute monarch, deeming the Cortes of Cádiz illegal along with all their decrees, as well as the rebellious juntas established in the Americas. In subsequent years, following a series of liberal uprisings in the Iberian Peninsula, Rafael Riego and Antonio Quiroga ultimately sparked a military revolt in 1820 that restored the Cortes during the Trienio Liberal (1820–1823). However, the civil war of 1822–1823 and the French-led "Expedition of Spain" reinstated absolutist rule, which lasted until Ferdinand VII died in 1833.
The period of Ferdinand VII's reign after reclaiming his throne is conventionally divided into three phases: the Sexenio Absolutista ("Six Absolutist Years"), the Trienio Liberal, and the Década Ominosa ("Ominous Decade").