The Political Constitution of the Spanish Monarchy (), also known as the Constitution of Cádiz () and nicknamed La Pepa,Because it was passed by the Cortes on the day of Saint Joseph (in Spanish, Pepe is a nickname for "José"). was the first Constitution of Spain and one of the earliest codified constitutions in world history. The Constitution was ratified on 19 March 1812 by the Cortes of Cádiz, the first Spanish legislature that included delegates from the entire nation and its possessions, including Spanish America and the Philippines. "It defined Spanish and Spanish American liberalism for the early 19th century."Thiessen, Heather. "Spain: Constitution of 1812." Encyclopedia of Latin American History and Culture, vol. 5, p. 165. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons 1996.

The Constitution of Cádiz emerged as a response to the French occupation in a context of rivalry with the Bayonne Statute imposed by Napoleon. With the notable exception of proclaiming Roman Catholicism as the official and sole legal religion in Spain, the Constitution was one of the most liberal of its time: it affirmed national sovereignty, separation of powers, freedom of the press, free enterprise, abolished corporate privileges (fueros), and established a constitutional monarchy with a parliamentary system. It was one of the first constitutions that allowed universal male suffrage, with some exceptions, through a complex indirect electoral system. It extended political rights for representation to Spanish America and the Philippines, a significant step for the demands of overseas-born Spaniards.

When King Ferdinand VII returned to power in 1814, he dissolved the Cortes and abrogated the constitution, re-establishing absolute monarchy. The constitution was reinstated during the Trienio Liberal (1820–1823) and again in 1836–1837 while the Progressives prepared the Constitution of 1837. It was an important model for later constitutions in Spain and Spanish America.Thiessen, "Spain: Constitution of 1812", p. 166. However, during the interim, in 1815, a fresh wave of military conflict unfolded as Ferdinand VII dispatched Royalist troops to reclaim control of the Americas. This era is commonly labeled as the restoration or the re-conquest. Reflections on these terms, however, delve into differences between the two. All in all, being pondered whether this period should be viewed as a restoration of Spanish authority or a re-conquest of territories.

Napoleonic political changes Until the Napoleonic invasion of Spain in 1808, Ferdinand VII ruled as an absolute monarch. Napoleon forced Ferdinand's abdication as well as the renunciation of his father Charles IV's rights, and then placed his brother Joseph Bonaparte on the Spanish throne.

Seeking to create legitimacy for Joseph I of Spain, Napoleon called the Cortes, whose delegates he had selected, to proclaim Joseph as the legitimate monarch. The Cortes then approved the French-style Bayonne Constitution and called for a Cortes with 172 members, of which 62 were to be from Spanish America. There was to be a Council of State with a section for The Indies, the name Spain persisted in using for Spanish America and the Philippines, which would be under the control of American-born and Philippine-born Spaniards.Zimmerman, A.F., "Spain and Its Colonies, 1808–1820." Hispanic American Historical Review 11:4(1931), pp. 439–440. Despite these formal attempts to legitimize the rule of Joseph Bonaparte by gaining consent of the Cortes, it was rejected by Spaniards from the peninsula, as well as Spanish America and the Philippines. It had great importance, since it "set off a process that led to the collapse of the Spanish empire. The Napoleonic regime in Madrid forced two issues: the relative freedom of the colonies to pursue their own affairs, and the rights to representation in imperial assemblies."Adelman, Jeremy. Sovereignty and Revolution in the Iberian Atlantic. Princeton: Princeton University Press 2006, p. 186.

Spanish Cortes of Cádiz

As Spaniards in the peninsula and overseas grappled with the new political reality, for them it created a crisis of legitimacy of rule. Many places in Spain created juntas to rule in place of the legitimate monarch. A Supreme Central Junta was created to coordinate the multiplicity of juntas. Napoleon opened a new way for the Spanish Empire to be constituted. His vision acknowledged the aspirations of Spanish colonies for greater equality and autonomy. Spaniards rejecting Napoleon's rule meant they needed to offer political inducements for Spanish America and the Philippines to stay loyal to the empire. A new Cortes was called with delegates from Spain and overseas components of the Spanish Empire in the Americas and the Philippines. The Spanish organized an interim Spanish government, the Supreme Central Junta, and called for a Cortes to convene with representatives from all Spanish provinces in the empire, in order to establish a government with a firm claim to legitimacy. The Junta first met on 25 September 1808 in Aranjuez and later in Seville, before retreating to Cádiz. Cádiz was the most secure place for the Cortes to take place, since it was a fortified port. Retreating before the advancing French and an outbreak of yellow fever, the Supreme Central Junta moved to Isla de León, where it could be supplied and defended with the help of the Spanish and British navies, and abolished itself, leaving a regency to rule until the Cortes could convene. The Cortes of Cádiz crafted and adopted the Constitution while besieged by French troops, first on Isla de León (now San Fernando), then an island separated from the mainland by a shallow waterway on the Atlantic side of the Bay of Cádiz, and within the small, strategically located city of Cádiz itself.

When the Cortes convened in Cádiz in 1810, there appeared to be two possibilities for Spain's political future if the French could be driven out. The first, represented especially by Gaspar Melchor de Jovellanos, was the restoration of the absolutist Antiguo Régimen ("Old Regime"); the second was to adopt some sort of written constitution.

The Cortes did not have revolutionary intentions, since the Supreme Central Junta saw itself simply as a continuation of the legitimate government of Spain in the absence of a monarch considered legitimate. The opening session of the new Cortes was held on 24 September 1810 in the building now known as the Real Teatro de las Cortes. The opening ceremonies included a civic procession, a Mass, and a call by the President of the Regency, Pedro Quevedo y Quintana, the Bishop of Ourense, for those present to fulfill their task loyally and efficiently. Still, the very act of resistance to the French involved a certain degree of deviation from the doctrine of royal sovereignty: if sovereignty resided entirely in the monarch, then Charles and Ferdinand's abdications in favor of Napoleon would have made Joseph Bonaparte the legitimate ruler of Spain.Charles J. Esdaile, Spain in the Liberal Age, Blackwell, 2000. . pp. 19–20.

The representatives who gathered at Cádiz were far more liberal than the elite of Spain as a whole, and they produced a document far more liberal than might have been produced in Spain were it not for the war. Few of the most conservative voices were at Cádiz, and there was no effective communication with King Ferdinand, who was a virtual prisoner in France. In the Cortes of 1810–1812, the majority were liberal deputies with the implicit support of the British protecting the city, while representatives of the Church and nobility constituted a minority. Liberals wanted equality before the law, a centralized government, an efficient modern civil service, a reform of the tax system, the replacement of feudal privileges by freedom of contract, and the recognition of the property owner's right to use his property as he saw fit. Three basic principles were soon ratified by the Cortes: that sovereignty resides in the nation, the legitimacy of Ferdinand VII as King of Spain, and the inviolability of the deputies. With this, the first steps towards a political revolution were taken, since prior to the Napoleonic intervention, Spain had been ruled as an absolute monarchy by the Bourbons and their Hapsburg predecessors. Although the Cortes was not unanimous in its liberalism, the new Constitution significantly reduced the power of the Crown and the Catholic Church (although Catholicism remained the state religion).

Terms

As the principal aim of the new constitution was the prevention of arbitrary and corrupt royal rule, it provided for a limited monarchy, which governed through ministers subject to parliamentary control. It laid out the structure of the three branches of government: executive, legislative and judicial.

The constitution has 384 articles in 10 major chapters (or Títulos). Chapter I was Of the Spanish Nation and Spaniards (articles 1–9). Chapter II (articles 12–26) was Of the Spanish Territory, Religion, Government and Rights of Citizenship. Chapter III (articles 27–167) dealt with the Cortes, the legislative branch of government. Chapter IV Of the King (articles 168–241) defined the powers of and the restrictions on the monarchy. Chapter V Of the Tribunals, and Administration of Civil and Criminal Justice (articles 242–308) concerned how laws would be administered by specific courts. Chapter VI Of the Internal Government of Provinces and of the Pueblos (articles 309–323) lays out governance at the provincial and local level. Chapter VII Of the Financial Contributions (articles 338–355) dealt with taxation. Chapter VIII Of the National Military Force (articles 356–365) specified how the military would operate. Chapter IX Of Public Education (articles 366–371) called for uniform public education from primary schools through university, as well as freedom of expression (article 371). Chapter X Of the Observance of the Constitution and the Way to Proceed to Amend it (articles 366–384).Constitución de 1812 The constitution had no bill of rights, which had been the case of the Constitution of the United States when it was first ratified. Rights and obligations of citizens were embedded in individual articles of the Spanish Constitution.

Male suffrage, which was not determined by property qualifications, favoured the position of the commercial class in the new parliament since there was no special provision for the Church or the nobility. Repeal of traditional property restrictions gave liberals the freer economy that they wanted. There was no provision for literacy of voters until 1830, which allowed men in the popular groups access to suffrage.Articles 18–26 of the Constitution. Spain, The Political Constitution of the Spanish Monarchy. Alicante: Biblioteca Virtual Miguel de Cervantes, 2003. The constitution set up a centralized administrative system for the whole empire, in both Iberia and overseas components, based on newly-reformed and uniform provincial governments and municipalities, rather than maintaining some form of the varied historical local governmental structures.

The first provincial government created under the Constitution was in the province of Guadalajara con Molina. Its deputation first met in the village of Anguita in April 1813, since the capital Guadalajara was the site of ongoing fighting.

Establishment of Spanish citizenship