Glorious Revolution of 1868

In September 1868 a military pronunciamiento and popular uprising in Spain overthrew Queen Isabella II and opened six years of democratic experiment.

Overview

Discontent with the reign of Isabella II, economic crisis, and repression of liberals brought together army generals and civilian politicians. Admiral Juan Bautista Topete issued a pronunciamiento at Cadiz, and General Francisco Serrano defeated royalist troops at the Battle of Alcolea. The queen went into exile in France. A new constitution of 1869 introduced universal male suffrage and freedom of worship. The Cortes chose Amadeo of Savoy as king, but he abdicated in 1873 and the short lived First Spanish Republic followed. The Bourbon monarchy was restored in 1874 under Alfonso XII, but the period known as the Sexenio Democratico left a lasting liberal legacy.