Exaltados facts for kids

The Exaltados (say: Ex-al-TAH-dos) were a group of very left-wing or progressive thinkers in Spain during the 1800s. Their name means 'Fanatics' or 'Extremists', but in a way that meant they were very radical. They were like the Jacobins in France, who wanted big changes in their country. The Exaltados were a key part of liberalism in Spain.

Spain's War and a New Constitution (1808-1814)

The Exaltados first appeared after the Spanish War of Independence (1808-1814). This war was fought against the French Empire. Before the war, Spain had an absolute monarchy ruled by the Bourbon family. This meant the king had all the power.

Then, Napoleon Bonaparte took over Spain and put his brother, Joseph Bonaparte, on the throne. This new rule was strong, but it also brought some new, modern ideas from the Enlightenment.

The war divided Spain. Some Spaniards, called Afrancesados, supported the French rule. They liked the new, modern ideas it brought. But many others fought against it. They wanted to bring back the old absolute monarchy.

However, a large group of Spaniards opposed the French rule for different reasons. They didn't like that it was foreign or that it was too controlling. But they did agree with some ideas from the French Revolution. These people became known as the Liberals. They didn't want to go back to the old ways. Instead, they wanted a new system for Spain. They hoped for a government that was modern, had a constitution, and was run by a parliament.

When the war ended, the French were kicked out. Before King Ferdinand VII could return, the Liberals quickly set up elections. They formed a special meeting called the Cortes of Cádiz. Their goal was to create a new national rulebook, or constitution, for Spain. This constitution, written in 1812, was inspired by the Enlightenment and French Revolution ideas.

The Three Liberal Years (1820-1823)

After the king returned in 1814, he brought back the absolute monarchy. This made the Liberals from 1812 split into two main groups:

• The Moderados (say: Mo-de-RAH-dos) were the more conservative liberals. They didn't want to completely change society. They just wanted to bring back the 1812 Constitution and limit the king's power. They were sometimes called Doceañistas (say: Do-the-ah-NYEE-stas), meaning 'Supporters of 1812'. They were a bit like the Girondins in France.
• The Exaltados were the more radical group. They didn't want to compromise with the absolute monarchy. They wanted a brand new system with more progressive and democratic ideas than the 1812 Constitution. They hoped for a new constitution for the year 1820, so they were called Veinteañistas (say: Vayn-te-ah-NYEE-stas), meaning 'Supporters of 1820'. They wanted a deeper revolution to change society and culture with Enlightenment ideas. The Exaltados were similar to the Jacobin group in France.

The name Exaltados came from their very radical and revolutionary ideas. They believed that change was an ongoing process. They wanted the king to have very little power, mostly just to carry out the decisions of the parliament. If they couldn't get a new constitution, they wanted to strictly follow the parts of the 1812 Constitution that brought the most change.

They wanted to get rid of old systems like feudal property and noble titles. They also wanted to separate church and state, and they specifically wanted to dissolve the Society of Jesus (Jesuits). They pushed for reforms in education and wanted to reorganize Spain into new provinces, like the French départments.

Many Exaltados were middle-class people from cities. A lot of new military officers from the War of Independence also joined them. These officers came from ordinary families and were influenced by French Revolution ideas. They were unhappy with King Ferdinand VII for letting them go after the war.

Some important Exaltados included General Rafael de Riego, General Francisco Espoz y Mina, and future prime ministers José María Calatrava and Juan Álvarez Mendizábal.

The Exaltados were very important at the beginning and end of the Three Liberal Years. They helped start the Revolution of 1820. Later, in July 1822, they gained power when the National Militia stopped a royal guard attempt to bring back the absolute monarchy. The Exaltados used this chance to elect one of their own, Evaristo San Miguel, as prime minister.

However, in 1823, the French king Louis XVIII sent an army to Spain to bring back Ferdinand VII. This ended the Three Liberal Years. The Exaltados faced a ten-year period of harsh punishment, and Riego was even executed. Since they couldn't work in parliament, many radical liberals started secret groups or tried to get military officers to lead revolts.

The Isabelline Monarchy and the Progressive Party

King Ferdinand VII died in 1833. His daughter, Isabel II, became queen. Because Isabel was very young, a regent (someone who rules for a child monarch) took charge. This allowed Spain to move in a new direction. It was a time when many European monarchies were becoming more liberal.

The new regency stopped the harsh treatment of the Exaltados. This allowed them to organize again. By 1834, many former Exaltados and other radical democrats were in the Spanish parliament. By 1836, many of them formed a new group called the Progressive Party.

The Progressive Party became one of the two main political parties in Spain between 1834 and 1870. They often shared power with the Moderate Party, which was more conservative but still liberal. These two liberal groups started to work together more because of a new movement called Carlism. The Carlists were ultra-royalists who wanted to bring back the absolute monarchy and opposed any form of parliament.

In 1835, the Queen Regent Maria Cristina chose a veteran Exaltado, Juan Álvarez Mendizábal, to be prime minister. The Progressives strongly supported him. But the Queen Regent didn't want to sign a document that recognized the people's power. This upset the Progressives. They wanted to go back to the 1812 Constitution or create an even more progressive one.

In 1837, a revolt by radical military officers forced Maria Cristina to appoint another Exaltado government. The Progressives had a majority in parliament and got their demands met. This led to the Constitution of 1837. This constitution was a compromise between the Progressives and the Moderates. It included several key ideas from the Exaltado tradition, such as citizens' juries, a citizens' National Militia, and a list of citizens' rights. The radicals compromised on other things, like the role of the monarchy and keeping a two-house parliament.

By 1840, the relationship between the radical-liberal and conservative-liberal groups got worse. A Moderate government tried to change local administration, which the Progressives saw as a power grab. The Progressives walked out of parliament. They demanded that the popular war hero General Espartero become regent to protect the constitution. But Espartero's strong rule (1840–43) soon disappointed them. The Exaltados then joined with the Moderates to remove him. The two liberal parties were now very distant. The Moderates even started working with the absolutists and wrote a much more conservative constitution in 1845. This made the Progressives fear they would be shut out of government.

At this time, the Revolutions of 1848 happening in other parts of Europe caused big changes in Spain's political system:

• The Democratic Progressive Party was formed in 1849 by the left-wing Progressives. They had long wanted big changes to the monarchy. They were inspired by the creation of the Second Republic in France in 1848. They now strongly pushed for universal suffrage (everyone being able to vote) and a republican state. They left to form a new party based on these ideas. The Democrats believed their new party was the true follower of the Exaltados' radical ideas.
• The Liberal Union was formed in 1858. It brought together different moderate liberal groups. Unlike the Democrats, who wanted a republic and universal voting, this party accepted a constitutional monarchy and only allowed property owners to vote. This brought them closer to the conservative-liberals. So, the moderate parts of both parties joined to form the Liberal Union.
• A small number of Progressives stayed loyal to the original party, but it became less important.

This new party setup led to political instability. As the Moderates moved further right in the 1840s, the Democrats and Progressives pushed for a change in government. A revolution in 1852, similar to those in Europe in 1848, brought the Progressives to power. This was supported by the progressive General Espartero and the center-right General O'Donnell. But they were removed in 1854 after another revolution led by O'Donnell.

After the Revolution of 1854, O'Donnell brought together the moderate Progressives and the liberal Moderates. He formed the Liberal Union, which controlled the Spanish government from 1858 to 1868.

The Glorious Revolution (1868)

By 1863, the most radical part of the Progressive Party split off. By 1888, they had formed the Radical Democratic Party, often called the Radical Party.

The Second Republic (1931-1939)

Later, before and during the Second Republic, the main political party of the republican left, the Radical Socialist Republican Party, was seen as carrying on the ideas of the Exaltado tradition.

Images for kids

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  A robot for kids.

See also

In Spanish: Exaltados para niños