History of Spain (1808–1874)
Spain in the 19th century was a country in turmoil. Occupied by Napoleon from 1808 to 1814, a massively destructive "liberation war" ensued. Following the Spanish Constitution of 1812, Spain was divided between the 1812 constitution's liberal principles and the absolutism personified by the rule of Ferdinand VII, who repealed the 1812 Constitution for the first time in 1814, only to be forced to swear over the constitution again in 1820 after a liberal pronunciamiento, giving way to the brief Trienio Liberal (1820–1823).
The first Spanish Constitution was established by the Cortes of Cádiz
King Ferdinand VII of Spain (r. 1808, 1814–1833)
The cortes of the Trienio Liberal (1820–1823), a period of liberal rule in Spain
The execution of Torrijos, by Antonio Gisbert Pérez. Ferdinand VII, after his restoration as absolute monarch in 1823, took repressive measures against the liberal forces in his country.
Ferdinand VII was King of Spain during the early 19th century. He reigned briefly in 1808 and then again from 1813 to his death in 1833. Before 1813 he was known as el Deseado, and after, as el Rey Felón.
Portrait by Vicente López Portaña, c. 1814–15
Young Ferdinand as Prince of Asturias, 1800
Francisco Goya – Portrait of Ferdinand VII of Spain in his robes of state (1815) – Prado
Equestrian portrait of Ferdinand by José de Madrazo y Agudo, 1821
