Spains 1812 Constitution and Latin Americas Independence - Report Example

Spain’s 1812 Constitution and Latin America’s Independence Word count (1569) Spanish Constitution Nothing is more interesting in the world of history than understanding the paths followed by various nations in the quest for freedom. In some countries like India, the independence came without much blood being shed but this is not similar to many countries. Instead arming themselves and start a revolt against the British rule India led by Mahatma Gandhi decided to boycott all products of the colonizers. Decolonization is something every country sought to end at all costs and in some cases, it required unending resolve. This is trend that was witnessed in the parts of Spanish-America where there was a vicious circle of wars with each region seeking independence from the masters who seemed little concerned about the same. In this paper, the focus lies in trying to understand how Spain’s 1812 constitution led to the independence of the Latin America countries. Background During the early times of 19th century, Spanish rule in the Latin America experience a spate of wars directed at it due to its continued rule in the said region. Sometimes in 1809, various countries in the region started to rebel against this rule and this was aided by the Napoleonic wars.1 Napoleonic wars were started sometimes after 1803 and lasted until at least 12 years and they involved France’s decision to conquer much of Europe. Because not all countries in Europe agreed with France, the ones rebelling against it were fought. It is during these times that the Americas sought to take advantage of Spain’s perceived weakness. It estimated that during these Napoleonic wars, France won on over 60occasions but lost in less than five. 1. _______________ 1 B., Keen and K. Haynes. A History of Latin America, Volume 1. New York: Cengage learning France and Spain had merged and conquered Portugal but in 1807, the former turned against the latter. The French forces kept on conquering many countries but some provinces in Spain continued with their rebellion. Around 1810, the Spaniards formed a government, which came to be known as Cardiz Cortes. This was because the French had assembled over 70,000 soldiers to surround the country. Eventually, the British teamed up with Portugal, ensured Portugal was reinstated, and this was used as platform from where the two countries launched attacks against the French even as they helped Spain. The resilience demonstrated by the Spanish troops was insurmountable because despite the torture they underwent at the hands of the French, they still rebelled.1 When it became apparent that the resources were running out Napoleon- the man behind the French troops became worried. In a bid to conquer the last time and gain total victory, Napoleon sought to attack Russia. However, the forces comprising Britain, Portugal and Spain came to Russia’s rescue and napoleon’s army could not handle the force. These last events occurred in 1812 and they led to the infamous Spain constitution. The constitution Even during the war with the French, the Spanish society was still divided especially in the colonies they ruled. Often, the local colonies- Americas in this case- would demand total freedom but would not support the French. The then Juntas- officials who were confirmed to be patriotic- convened and expressed a need to be united. Some of the reasons for this meeting were to find a way to react to the French attacks that occurred constantly.2 1 B., Keen and K. Haynes. A History of Latin America, Volume 1. New York: Cengage learning 2012 2 T.A. Meade. A history of Modern Latin America: 1800 to present. California: Wiley 2007 Secondly, the meeting sought to find a way to deal with some of the aid that Britain offered. The groups involved included the Seville, Valencia and the Murcia in additional to another group that had earlier showed support for a certain figure who ruled in Spain. Upon meeting sometimes in the late 1808, the four groups agreed that it was imperative to have representatives from all the provinces to gather and give recommendations on the best to handle the aforementioned issues. The representatives were expected to have a say in the rules and the approaches the kingdom would take on various issues3. Upon meeting the leaders stated that the document that would be drafted would determine how the entire kingdom was to be ruled and that all parties needed to adhere to the laws. In justifying this assertion, the council said that since all people would be represented in the team, all needed to show commitment on the constitution as it would greatly help overcome the French incursion. During this time, the forces fighting the French were under Junta’s command but had continued to experience defeat in trying to remain dominant in the region. In addition, in two battles- battle of Tormes and Ocana- the French inflicted massive damage to the Spaniard army. Apart from the damage, the French took over the southern part of the Spain and the government was cornered and had no choice but to retreat to Cadiz.3In swift turn of events, the central Junta separated itself and instead formed a Regency group made of five people comprising the Spaniards and the Indies. The era where Juntas ruled ended and instead, it was replaced by the Regency, which was now viewed as a permanent government. 1 Even though the constitution was completed in 1812, the truth is that its drafting had started two years prior and it is when the French had continued to occupy Spain’s region. During this time two groups of Spaniards and another form Spanish America converged with an aim to2 come up with a fair document. The liberals who were included in the process were more focused on the creation of a document that could cater for equality in the government not just abolishment of the war. All this time, King Ferdinand, the then leader was imprisoned in France and his input was not considered. Some of the demands and parts included in the document were that the sovereignty of the region lied with the republic, the King Ferdinand was recognized, and the deputies were to be treated fairly. The constitution was completed some months to 1812 but it promulgation was planned for 19th march the following year. The choosing of this day was not coincidental but rather well planned as it was meant to commemorate the day Fernando VII had taken power fours year prior. During that time, Aranjuez had compelled Carlos IV to hand over power to Fernando VII- Aranjuez son. Evidently, the Spanish society was divided and this is where many of its colonies found a chance to fiercely fight for their respective independence 4. The document had other laws stipulating the usage of properties and their rights to own and sell properties at will. Additionally, freedom for contract as opposed to feudal privileges were proposed and included in the document. Interestingly, the document also changed the power structure for the first time. In the previous times, the country was used to monarchy rule but this was changed and instead there would three arms of administration. Firstly, the legislature was included in the constitution, as did the judiciary. Again, the Catholic Church was included as the state religion albeit with a reduction of powers. The Americas regions were no longer to be seen as colonies but part of the entire kingdom. However, the process was not without hurdles as the first one came when Creoles complained that the document denied them equal representation yet they had actively participated in the process. Secondly, regency sought to occupy Ferdinand’ place until his return from the exile and this brought misunderstand. The group was warned against this but it persisted in trying to occupy the throne leading to the arrest of its members and was forced to relinquish their positions. Consequently, the legislative body had to form another regency to replace the first one until the return of their leader. Maintaining this constitution was not the easiest of the tasks because the national assembly was still expected to restructure the government as well maintain its power in other regions of the world. The legislature encountered a myriad of challenges because the society was split into two with one group refusing to acknowledge the legislature authority. To them, the parliamentary group was temporal as they awaited the release and the subsequent re-assumption of power by King Ferdinand. The other group did not necessarily object this rule but rather felt it did not focus on freeing the society. To this group, there was nothing wrong with the law but it had to come after equality was guaranteed and practiced. Even though this had earlier been suggested to be included in the constitution, the final document did not clearly stipulate the issue of equality hence the rebellion and the subsequent quagmire by the legislative branch3. The squabbles continued and even though this was happening miles away from the America’s it gave the colonies a lifeline. Earlier, these regions had tried to claim independence when the French attacked Spain but their efforts yielded no results. The traditionalists and the liberals in Spain had bitter exchange of ideas and each was determined to see their proposal go through. On one side, the traditionalists wanted the King Ferdinand retained as the leader no matter how long it would take to have him back. The other group felt that the society needed to have equality which could hardly come with the king in power especially when the constitution needed the power to be with the people .The two groups continued in the back and forth until king Ferdinand was released from the prison in 1814 and came back. Contrary to the expectations many, immediately upon his release, King Fernadez disregarded, rejected and abolished the constitution. Consequently, the conflict between the liberals and the traditionalists just escalated from these actions and until the early 20th century. Latin America’s path to independence Many times, the constitution made by the Spaniard in conjunction with the Indies is credited for bring freedom to the areas of Americas for various reasons. This section will focus primarily on the influence the 1812 Spain’s constitution had on the independence of the Latin American countries. The infighting Because of the continued bickering of the Spaniard society, other countries saw it as an opportunity to seize independence. This was greatly facilitated by the King Ferdinand’s refusal to recognize the constitution. Consequently, the kingdom was split by half meaning. It was pretty simple for the subordinates to find a way to exploit and demand freedom.4. Since the infighting involved the entire kingdom, the outsiders found it easier to form alliances that began fighting for freedom. The constitution Despite King Ferdinand’s refusal to acknowledge the constitution, the Courts still used it in governing the area. It was declared that it is the people of Spain who had sovereignty over every kingdom that was under Spain. Again, in the constitution, the systems of kingdoms were 3abolished meaning that even though many regions remained under Spain, there would be freedom for the individual regions to initiate calls for full recognition as states. Even though the declaration was viewed positively by many liberals, many people in the Latin America went ahead to resist the notion of those areas being under Spain anymore. Instead, the regions declared these regions as under own kingdoms under no other power. Due to the continued misunderstanding bedeviling Spain then, many regions kept on fighting for recognition. Because the Spanish army was totally divided, it became impossible to conquer these regions again. Efforts by King Ferdinand to amass wealth in a bid to rebuild the kingdom were not successful. Puerto Rico and Cuba were still under Spain’s dominion by the year 1826.2 The rest had claimed victory, which did not require much use of resources because the soldiers sent by Ferdinand did not find it easy to encounter the motivated forces of the Latin side. In conclusion, the path that the Latin American region took to independence was rather dramatic, as it did not come mainly because of their efforts. For decades, they had persevered oppression by their masters. The steps followed by the Latin were that they constantly rejected the Spanish rule even though at first they did not have a choice but adhere to them. However, when napoleon attacked Portugal with the help of Spain and later turned against the latter, it became evident that at some point Latin would gain its independence. Even though it took a further decade after France and Spain turned into enemies, the Latin’s persistent efforts eventually paid off. The arising disagreements between the Spanish communities gave the Latin region a leeway to fight for freedom. With the help of the constitution, the region eventually liberated itself and Spain’s power in the area ceased. Bibliography Keen, B. and Haynes. K. (2012). A History of Latin America, Volume 1. New York: Cengage learning 2012 Pedraja R.D. (2013) Wars of Latin America, 1982-2013. UK: McFarland Schneid F.C (2012.). Napoleonic Wars. US: Potomac T.A. Meade. (2007). A history of Modern Latin America: 1800 to present. California: Wiley Read More