Antonio Cánovas del Castillo was a Spanish politician and historian known principally for serving six terms as Prime Minister and his overarching role as "architect" of the regime that ensued with the 1874 restoration of the Bourbon monarchy. He died in office at the hands of an anarchist, Michele Angiolillo.

The Restoration or Bourbon Restoration was the period in Spanish history between the First Spanish Republic and the Second Spanish Republic from 1874 to 1931. It began on 29 December 1874, after a coup d'état by General Arsenio Martínez Campos ended the First Spanish Republic and restored the monarchy under Alfonso XII, and ended on 14 April 1931 with the proclamation of the Second Spanish Republic.