Spanish statesman
In this
Spanish name
, the first or paternal
surname
is
Fernandez-Espartero
and the second or maternal family name is
Alvarez de Toro
.
Baldomero Fernandez-Espartero y Alvarez de Toro
(27 February 1793 – 8 January 1879) was a Spanish marshal and statesman. He served as the
Regent of the Realm
, three times as
Prime Minister
and briefly as
President of the Congress of Deputies
. Throughout his life, he was endowed with a long list of titles such as
Prince of Vergara
,
Duke of la Victoria
, Count of Luchana, Viscount of Banderas and was also styled as "the Peacemaker".
A "
self-made man
", Espartero was an exceptional case of
social mobility
.
With a humble origin, son of a cart-maker from a small village, he was originally destined to the priesthood yet he finally opted for a military career, taking part in the
Peninsular War
. He would become a champion for the Liberals after taking credit for the victory in the
First Carlist War
and replaced
Maria Christina
as
regent of Spain in 1840
.
Associated with the
Progressive Party
, he was one of the so-called
espadones
("big swords"), general-politicians who dominated much of the political life of the country during the
reign of Isabella II
. He was ousted from the regency in 1843, temporarily distancing from politics. He was called to government after the
1854 revolution
, opening the two-year period known as the
Bienio Progresista
.
Despite retiring from political life after his exit from government in 1856, Espartero maintained a cult following largely nurtured by the popular classes throughout the 1860s and, following the
1868 Glorious Revolution
and subsequent overthrow of Isabella II, he emerged as popular candidate to become the head of state of the country, either as president of a republic or as king.
Early life
[
edit
]
Engraving illustrating the house where Espartero was born
Espartero was born at
Granatula de Calatrava
, a village of the province of
Ciudad Real
. He was the ninth child of Manuel Antonio Fernandez-Espartero y Canadas, a master carpenter, who wanted him to become a
priest
, and wife Josefa Vicenta Alvarez de Toro y Molina.
In November 1809, age 16, Espartero enlisted in the Regiment of Infantry "Ciudad Rodrigo" in
Seville
, seat of the
Central Supreme Junta
.
Barely 9 days after his enlisting, he took part in the
Battle of Ocana
,
[4]
in which the
French Imperial Army
defeated the Spanish. He joined the Military Academy of the
Island of Leon
in September 1810, and he was poised to join the Corps of Engineers thanks to his skills in mathematics,
technical drawing
, fortification and
military tactics
, but following a failed examination, he was returned to the infantry in 1813.
[5]
During 1815 he went to
South America
as a captain serving with General
Pablo Morillo
, who had been made commander-in-chief to quell the rebellions of the colonies on the
Spanish Main
. For eight years, Espartero distinguished himself in the struggle against the colonists. He was wounded several times, and was made major and colonel on the battlefields of
Cochabamba
and
Sopahuy
.
[
citation needed
]
Espartero returned to Spain, and, like most of his companions in arms, was socially discredited for some time. He was sent to the garrison town of
Logrono
, where, on 13 September 1827 he married
Maria Jacinta Martinez de Sicilia y Santa Cruz
[
es
]
, an orphan since 16 raised by her maternal grandfather, the most important landowner in Logrono.
The marriage did not have issue, but they went on to adopt Espartero's niece, Eladia, who was designated as their principal heir.
Thenceforth, Logrono became the home of the most prominent of the Spanish political generals of the 19th century.
[7]
Carlist War
[
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]
Battle of Luchana
Espartero became, on the death of King
Ferdinand VII
during 1833, an ardent defender of the claim of his daughter,
Isabella II
, to the Spanish throne. With the beginning of the
First Carlist War
, the government sent him to the front as
commandant
of the province of
Biscay
, where he decisively defeated the Carlists in many encounters. He was quickly promoted to a divisional command, and then made a lieutenant-general. At times he showed qualities as a
guerrillero
quite equal to those of the Carlists, such as
Zumalacarregui
and
Ramon Cabrera
, by his daring marches and surprise maneuvers. When he had to move large forces he was greatly superior to these men as an organizer and a strategist, and he never disgraced his successes by cruelty or needless severity. Twice he obliged the Carlists to end the siege of
Bilbao
before he was appointed commander-in-chief of the northern army on 17 September 1836. At this time the course of the war seemed to favor the pretender in the
Basque provinces
and
Navarre
, even though
Infante Carlos
had lost his ablest lieutenant, the Basque Zumalacarregui.
[7]
Defeat of the Carlists
[
edit
]
His military duties as commander of the principal national army did not prevent Espartero from showing for the first time his political ambition. He displayed such radical and reformist inclinations that he became popular among the lower and middle classes; his popularity lasted more than a quarter of a century. During this time, the Progressives, Democrats and Liberals considered him their adviser. In November 1836, he once again forced the Carlists to end the siege of Bilbao. His troops included the
British Legion
commanded by
Sir George de Lacy Evans
.
[7]
This success turned the war against Carlos, who vainly attempted a raid on
Madrid
, but was defeated in the
Battle of Aranzueque
. Meanwhile, on 18 June 1837 Espartero was nominated for the first time as the 7th
Premier of Spain
, until 18 August 1837.
Hug of Vergara, between Espartero and Maroto.
Espartero pursued the enemy, and obliged him to hurry northwards, after several defeats. Espartero won the
Battle of Ramales
on 12 May 1839, earning him the title of
Duque de la Victoria
.
During 1839, Espartero carefully began negotiations with
Maroto
and the principal Carlist chiefs of the Basque provinces. These ended with the commanders' acceptance of the general's terms as part of the
convention of Vergara
, which secured the recognition of the ranks and titles of almost 1,000 Carlist officers. Twenty thousand Carlist volunteers surrendered at Vergara; only the irreconcilables commanded by Cabrera persevered for a while in the central provinces of Spain. However, in 1840, the pro-Isabelle general defeated the last forces of the Carlist insurgency, which had lasted seven years. He was styled
El pacificador de Espana
, was made a
grandee
of the first class, and received two
dukedoms
.
[7]
Political life
[
edit
]
Espartero's political opponents, the moderates, desired to amend the progressive Constitution of 1837. In particular, the moderates' proposal to abolish democratically elected local councils threatened to destroy the power base of the progressives. This threat was checked by the radical revolution of 1840, after which the
conservatives
became marginal and Espartero became the master of the destiny of Spain.
During the last three years of the war, Espartero, who had been elected a
deputy
, exercised from his distant headquarters such influence over Madrid politics that he twice hastened the end of the cabinet, and obtained office for his own friends. At the end of the war the queen regent and her ministers attempted to eliminate Espartero and his devotees, but a
pronunciamiento
ensued in
Madrid
and other large towns which culminated in the marshal's accepting the post of
prime minister
. He soon became virtually a
dictator
, as Queen Christina became offended by his popularity and resigned, leaving the kingdom very soon afterwards. The
Cortes Generales
met and elected Espartero regent by 179 votes to 103 over
Agustin Arguelles
, who was appointed guardian of the young queen.
[7]
Forcing the
regent
,
Maria Cristina
, into exile for her conspiracy with the moderates, Espartero himself became regent with the intention of remaining so until the future Queen
Isabella II
became of age. Espartero's popularity enabled him to defeat moderate military rebellions across Spain during 1841. Yet his ruthless execution of dozens of the conspirators, including many popular fellow war heroes like
Diego de Leon
, as well as his hasty and ungrateful dissolution of the radical
juntas
that had ended the rebellions, decreased the popularity of his regency (Maria Cristina told him, "I made you a duke, but I could not make you a gentleman.").
[8]
Rule of Espartero
[
edit
]
Portrait by
Antonio Maria Esquivel
, 1841.
While continuing as regent, Espartero ruled Spain as its 18th Prime Minister for two years from 16 September 1840 to 21 May 1841, in accordance with his radical and conciliatory dispositions, giving special attention to the reorganization of the administration, taxation and finances, declaring all the estates of the church, congregations and religious orders to be national property, and suppressing the
diezma
, or tithe. He suppressed the Republican rebellions with as much severity as he did the military
pronunciamientos
of Generals Concha and Diego de Leon. The latter was shot in Madrid.
[7]
Espartero defeated a
rebellion in Barcelona
, but on his return to Madrid was welcomed so weakly that he perceived that his prestige was decreasing.
[7]
An economic slump and rumours of a free-trade deal with the
United Kingdom
provoked a popular rebellion by workers and the
bourgeoisie
of Barcelona in 1842. Espartero's ruthless bombardment of the city ended this revolutionary threat. But a second rebellion in 1843 combined with moderate conspiracies and military uprisings. The rebels declared Queen Isabella of age, and, commanded by General
Ramon Maria Narvaez y Campos
, marched on Madrid, advancing as far as the city's gates. From this position
Narvaez
issued an ultimatum in a dispatch to Espartero,
[9]
who, deeming resistance useless, embarked at Cadiz on 30 July 1843 for England, and lived quietly until 1848, when a royal decree restored to him all his honors and his seat in the senate.
[7]
Dubbed public enemy number one by the moderates, and directed by their leader Narvaez, Espartero was unable to return to his estates in northern Spain until an
amnesty
was decreed later in the 1840s.
Although Espartero's regime (1840?1843) in reality had done little for Spain's poor, the anti-radical reaction of the moderates made the former regent a folk hero to many workers. Therefore, it was logical that he should become director of the short-lived "
progressive Biennium
" of 1854?1856, thus becoming the 43rd Prime Minister of Spain on 19 July 1854. But, as
Karl Marx
observed, the progressive
caudillo
was a man whose time had passed.
[10]
The old marshal vainly endeavoured to keep the demands of his own Progressists reasonable in the Cortes of 1854?1856 and in the great towns, but their excessive demands for reforms and liberties played into the hands of a clerical and reactionary court and of the equally retrograde governing classes. The growing ambition of General
O'Donnell
constantly clashed with the opinions of Espartero, until the latter, in sheer disgust, resigned his premiership and left for Logrono, after warning the queen that a conflict was imminent between O'Donnell and the Cortes, backed by the Progressist militia. O'Donnell's
pronunciamiento
in 1856 ended the Cortes, and the militia was disarmed, after a struggle in the streets of the capital.
[7]
Spanish political power was assumed again by the
moderates
in 1856.
He was the 42nd
Grand Cross
of the
Order of the Tower and Sword
.
Retirement
[
edit
]
Portrait of the
Prince of Vergara
, by
Jose Casado del Alisal
. Picture gallery of the
Spanish Congress of Deputies
After 1856 Espartero resolutely refused to identify himself with active politics, but was frequently asked to become involved. On 14 July 1858, he resigned as Premier. He refused to allow himself to be named as a candidate when the Cortes of 1868, after the Revolution, sought a ruler. Espartero, strangely enough, adopted a laconic phrase when successive governments on their advent to power invariably addressed themselves to him. To the Revolution of 1868, the Constituent Cortes of 1869,
King Amadeo
, the Federal Republic of 1873, the nameless government of
Marshal Serrano
during 1874, the
Bourbon
restoration during 1875, he simply said:
Cumplase la voluntad nacional
("Let the national will be accomplished").
[7]
King Amadeo made him
Prince of Vergara
. Along with
Manuel Godoy
, Espartero has been the only person other than the
Prince of Asturias
to have held the title of
prince
in the Kingdom of Spain, traditionally reserved for the heir to the throne.
[11]
The Restoration caused a statue to him to be built near the gate of the
Retiro Park
in Madrid. A magnificent statue and fountain was raised in his memory at Logrono. Spaniards of all political factions, except
Carlists
and
Ultramontanes
, paid homage to his memory when he died in
La Rioja
on 8 January 1879. He was a typical Spanish soldier-politician, but he sometimes had difficulty accommodating himself to courtiers and professional politicians.
[7]
In popular culture
[
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]
Arms
[
edit
]
- Heraldry of Baldomero Espartero, Prince of Vergara
-
Coat of arms
(1839-1879)
See also
[
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]
References
[
edit
]
- Citations
- Bibliography
- Further reading
- Minkels, Margret Dorothea:
Reisen im Auftrag preussischer Konige gezeichnet von Julius von Minutoli
, Norderstedt 2013, S. 73, 76, 101, 133?144.
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