Mutiny in the Army

It was now clear that the cause of absolute monarchy was lost.

Continuing Spanish Demand Constitution,
our selection from History of Modern Europe by Charles A. Fyffe published in 1890. The selection is presented in six easy 5 minute installments. For works benefiting from the latest research see the “More information” section at the bottom of these pages.

Previously in Spanish Demand Constitution.

Time: 1812-1820

The first step in the enterprise proved successful. Riego, proclaiming the Constitution of 181 2, surprised the headquarters, seized the generals, and rallied several companies to his standard. Quiroga, however, though he gained possession of San Fernando, at the eastern end of the peninsula of Leon, on which Cadiz is situated, failed to make his entrance into Cadiz. The commandant, hearing of the capture of the headquarters, had closed the city gates and arrested the principal inhabitants whom he suspected of being concerned in the plot. The troops within the town showed no sign of mutiny. Riego, when he ar rived at the peninsula of Leon, found that only five thousand men in all had joined the good cause, while Cadiz, with a considerable garrison and fortifications of great strength, stood hos tile before him. He accordingly set off with a small force to visit and win over the other regiments which were lying in the neigh boring towns and villages. The commanders, however, while not venturing to attack the mutineers, drew off their troops to a distance, and prevented them from entering into any communication with Riego.

The adventurous soldier, leaving Quiroga in the peninsula of Leon, then marched into the interior of Andalusia (January 27th), endeavoring to raise the inhabitants of the towns. But the small numbers of his band, and the knowledge that Cadiz and the greater part of the army still held by the Government, prevented the inhabitants from joining the insurrection, even where they received Riego with kindness and supplied the wants of his soldiers. During week after week the little column traversed the country, now cut off from retreat, exhausted by forced marches in drenching rain, and harassed by far stronger forces sent in pursuit. The last town that Riego entered was Cordova. The enemy was close behind him. No halt was possible. He led his band, now numbering only two hundred men, into the mountains, and there bade them disperse (March 11th).

With Quiroga lying inactive in the peninsula of Leon and Riego hunted from village to village, it seemed as if the insurrection which they had begun could only end in the ruin of its leaders. But the movement had in fact effected its object. While the courtiers around King Ferdinand, unwarned by the news from Cadiz, continued their intrigues against one another, the rumor of rebellion spread over the country. If no great success had been achieved by the rebels, it was also certain that no great blow had been struck by the Government. The example of bold action had been set; the shock given at one end of the pen insula was felt at the other; and a fortnight before Riego’s band dispersed, the garrison and the citizens of Corunna together declared for the constitution (February 20th). From Corunna the revolutionary movement spread to Ferrol and to all the other coast towns of Galicia. The news reached Madrid, terrifying the Government and exciting the spirit of insurrection in the capital itself. The King summoned a council of the leading men around him. The wisest of them advised him to publish a moderate constitution, and, by convoking a parliament immediately, to stay the movement, which would otherwise result in the restoration of the Assembly and the Constitution of 1812.

They also urged the King to abolish the Inquisition forth with. Ferdinand’s brother, Don Carlos, the head of the clerical party, succeeded in preventing both measures. Though the generals in all quarters of Spain wrote that they could not answer for the troops, there were still hopes of keeping down the country by force of arms. Abisbal, who was at Madrid, was ordered to move with reinforcements toward the army in the South. He set out, protesting to the King that he knew the way to deal with rebels. When he reached Ocafla he proclaimed the constitution himself (March 4th).

It was now clear that the cause of absolute monarchy was lost. The ferment in Madrid increased. On the night of March 6th all the great bodies of state assembled for council in the King’s palace, and early on the 7th Ferdinand published a proclamation stating that he had determined to summon the Cortes immediately. This declaration satisfied no one, for the Cortes designed by the King might be the mere revival of a medieval form, and the history of 1814 showed how little value was to be attached to Ferdinand’s promises. Crowds gathered in the great squares of Madrid, crying for the Constitution of 1812. The statement of the Minister of War that the guard was on the point of joining the people now overcame even the resistance of Don Carlos and the confessors; and after a day wasted in dispute, Ferdinand announced to his people that he was ready to take the oath to the constitution which they desired. The next day was given up to public rejoicings; the book of the constitution was carried in procession through the city with the honors paid to the holy sacrament, and all political prisoners were set at liberty. The prison of the Inquisition was sacked, the instruments of torture broken in pieces.

On the 9th the leaders of the agitation took steps to make the King fulfil his promise. A mob invaded the court and threshold of the palace. At their demand the municipal council of 1814 was restored; its members were sent, in company with six deputies chosen by the populace, to receive the pledges of the King. Ferdinand, all smiles and bows, while he looked forward to the day when force or intrigue should make him again absolute master of Spain and enable him to take vengeance upon the men who were humiliating him, took the oath of fidelity to the Constitution of 1812. New ministers were immediately called to office, and a provisional Junta was placed by their side as the representative of the public until the new Cortes should be duly elected. Tidings of the Spanish revolution passed rapidly over Europe, disquieting the courts and everywhere reviving the hopes of the friends of popular right. Before four months had passed, the constitutional movement begun in Cadiz was taken up in Southern Italy.

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