Reign of Isabella II
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España Reino de España | |||||||||
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| 1833–1868 | |||||||||
 Seal of Spain
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| Capital | Madrid | ||||||||
| Government | Unitary constitutional monarchy | ||||||||
| Historical era | 19th century | ||||||||
| 1833 | |||||||||
| 1868 | |||||||||
| ISO 3166 code | ES | ||||||||
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The reign of Isabella II of Spain is the period of the modern history of Spain between the death of Ferdinand VII of Spain in 1833 and the triumph of the Glorious Revolution of 1868, which forced Queen Isabella II of Spain into exile and introduced the liberal state in Spain.
Her reign was divided into two major stages:
- her minority reign (1833–1843), during which the regency of Spain was assumed first by her mother Maria Christina of the Two Sicilies and later by general Baldomero Espartero. Upon the death of Ferdinand VII on 29 September 1833, his wife, Maria Christina of the Two Sicilies assumed the regency with the support of the liberals, in the name of her daughter and future queen, Isabella II. The conflict with her brother-in-law, Infante Carlos, Count of Molina, who aspired to the throne in virtue of the presumed validity of Salic law—which had been abolished by Charles IV and ignored by Ferdinand VII—brought the nation into the First Carlist War.
- her true reign (1843-1868), which began with the declaration of the Cortes Generales that her majority reign was to begin when she was thirteen years old. This period can also be subdivided in following periods :
- 1844 - 1854 : The Moderate decade (Década moderada), a period of conservative retrenchment under the Moderate Party after the passing of the progressive constitution of 1837.
- 1854 - 1856 : The Progressive two years (Bienio progresista), following the unrest of the Vicalvarada, as the Progressive Party attempted to implement the reformist Manzanares manifesto.
- 1856 - 1868 : The Liberal Union period, as the Liberal Union government, a centrist coalition, tried to maintain a balance between the two positions
- 1868 : The crisis (La Gloriosa) and downfall of Queen Isabela, leading to her exile to France.