Modern SpainThe Industrial Revolution started in Britain in 1760 with the steam engine and spread across Europe during the first part of the 19th century. People from rural areas came to the cities to work at factories. The French Revolution in 1789 brought ideas of liberalism and equality. It meant the end of absolutism (unlimited powers for the king) in France.
IN SPAIN The Spanish Prime Minister signed the Treaty of Fontainebleau with Napoleon Bonaparte. France used it to invade Spain. Carlos IV, monarch of Spain since 1788, abdicated in favor to his son Fernando in 1808, after the Mutiny of Aranjuez. But Napoleon forced Fernando to abdicate in Joseph Bonaparte. The French invasion caused an uprising in Madrid on the 2nd of May 1808, and the war of Independence began. In 1812 the first Constitution was signed in Cadiz, the only place that was not under French rule. We defeated the French with the help of the British in 1814. Fernando VII came to the throne, with an absolute monarchy. Fernando chose his eldest daughter Isabel to be the queen, instead of his brother Carlos. Fernando died when Isabel was 3 years old, so her mother Mª Cristina and General Espartero were her regents. There was a civil war (the Carlist Wars): -People in favour of the absolute monarchy who wanted Carlos to be the king. -Supporters of the regent and the queen. Isabel II’s reign was an instable parliamentary monarchy. Isabel was exiled. With no monarch, another Constitution was sign in 1869. SOCIAL CLASSES -Upper class: nobility + upper bourgeoisie (owners of factories) -Middle class: doctors, lawyers... -Working class: agricultural workers + factory workers. Low-paid, working long hours, dangerous conditions. They started organizing associations to demand improvements (the labour movement).
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AuthorTeacher Belén Archives
June 2018
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