SANDHURST MANIFESTO: BACKGROUND AND CONSEQUENCES - HISTORY - 2025

The Sandhurst Manifesto was a document signed by the then prince Alfonso de Borbón and devised by the politician Cánovas del Castillo. The crown prince was studying at the British Military Academy in Sandhurst, since he had lived in exile for years before.

This text, of a political nature, was made public in Spain on the 27th of 17th, 1874, although it was written on the 1st of the same month. The excuse for preparing this text was the seventeenth birthday of the future King Alfonso XII, although in reality it was a political movement to reestablish the monarchy as a system of government in Spain.

Alfonso XII. Source: Per Internet Archive Book Images, via Wikimedia Commons

Years before, in 1868, a revolution had broken out that ended the reign of Isabel II, Alfonso's mother. This event was followed by the period known as the Democratic Sexenio. In 1874, a coup d'etat ended the republic, establishing a military dictatorship.

With the manifesto, Alfonso de Borbón showed his willingness to occupy the throne and detailed what type of government system he intended to establish.

Background

The Spanish political situation in the middle of the 19th century was quite turbulent. There was great dissatisfaction with the regime of Queen Elizabeth II and the government of the Liberal Union suffered a strong internal crisis.

After several changes in the country's presidency, in June 1866 an insurrection broke out in Madrid that tried to end the monarchy. That uprising ended in failure, but caused the removal of the then president, Leopoldo O'Donell, whom the queen accused of having been very soft with the rebels.

The economy was also in low hours. The same 1866, Spain suffered a great financial crisis, to which was added the terrible situation caused by the bad harvests of the following years and the increase in the number of unemployed. There were several popular riots asking for basic foods, such as bread, to be lowered in price.

Revolution of 1868

In September 1868, all that instability ended up exploding. At the beginning of the month, a group of soldiers. In mid-September 1868, a group of military men took up arms against the government and, in a few days, the uprising spread throughout the country.

On the 19th, the president of the government, González Bravo, resigned and Isabel II tried to resolve the situation by appointing a general, Gutiérrez de la Concha, as a substitute. He tried to organize an army in Madrid to put an end to the rebellion, but did not find support even among the high command of the military.

At the end of that month, on the 28th, the decisive battle of Alcolea was fought, in which the rebels defeated the monarchists. Just two days later, Queen Elizabeth II left the country. Just two days later, Queen Elizabeth II left the country. Thus began the so-called Democratic Sexenio.

The manifesto

Alfonso de Borbón was the son, and therefore heir, of Isabel II. Like his mother, he had to leave the country after the overthrow of the monarchy.

During those years, he had studied in various countries and, on his seventeenth birthday, he was finishing his training at the British Military Academy in Sandhurst.

Antonio Cánovas del Castillo

Apart from Alfonso de Borbón himself, there was another fundamental figure in the elaboration and publication of the Sandhurst Manifesto: Antonio Cánovas del Castillo. This politician was deeply monarchical and, before the coup that ended the republic, had formed the Alfonsino Party.

From 1873, Cánovas began to work to achieve the return of the Bourbons to the country, being fundamental for the so-called Bourbon Restoration. The Manifesto, despite being signed by the future Alfonso XII, has traditionally been attributed to the politician as part of his plan to restore the monarchy in Spain.

Publication

The Sandhurst Manifesto was signed on December 1, 1874, the newspapers published them in Spain on the 27th of that month.

The excuse used to publish the Manifesto was to thank the congratulations received on the monarch's birthday. The real motive was to offer to return to Spain and restore the monarchy.

Thus, the document described the political regime that Alfonso (and Cánovas) wanted to establish. It was a constitutional monarchy, conservative and Catholic in character, but guaranteeing the liberal state.

In the text, Alfonso de Borbón claimed his status as the legitimate heir to the Crown. He argued that, given the political situation in the country. For the author, the republican regime had been illegal, like the system that emerged after the coup.

Restoration proposal

As previously mentioned, the Manifesto proposed the establishment of a constitutional monarchy. To distinguish itself from earlier times, it promised to maintain a liberal and non-authoritarian political regime. He promised the convocation of elections so that the popular will would be heard.

This proposal was linked to the idea of ​​shared sovereignty typical of moderate Spanish liberalism, which was in opposition to the principle of popular sovereignty that the republic had embraced. Cánovas believed that, given its history and peculiarities, Spain should have a shared power between the Crown and the Cortes.

Thus, the Constitution that regulated this system should be flexible: with a limited democracy, but giving options so that political alternation could take place. Cánovas, an admirer of the British system, planned to implement bipartisanship in the country, with two parties alternating in government.

Consequences

Two days after the Manifesto appeared in the Spanish newspapers, General Martínez Campos staged a coup and proclaimed Alfonso XII as King of Spain. This, despite agreeing on the final objective, went against Canovas' plans to remove the army from the exercise of power.

From then on, however, he did achieve that goal. Political power alienated the military from the government. The military pronouncements to change governments were replaced by the agreed bipartisanship, controlling the elections so that there was alternation between two parties.

In short, a non-democratic liberal-conservative regime was established in Spain, since the elections were census. Furthermore, falsification of the results was common.

Apart from the army, the other great factual power in Spain was the Catholic Church. The new regime tried to improve relations between the clergy with liberalism, badly damaged after the confiscations.

The end of the Manifesto is a great summary of all these considerations: "I will neither stop being a good Spanish, nor like all my ancestors, a good Catholic, nor as a truly liberal man of the century."

References

1. Hypatia's eyes. The Sandhurst Manifesto and the Bourbon Restoration. Obtained from losojosdehipatia.com.es
2. Remnants of history. The Sandhurst Manifesto. Obtained retalesdehistoria.blogspot.com
3. Senate of Spain. Antonio Cánovas del Castillo, 1896. Obtained from senado.es
4. The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica. Alfonso XII. Retrieved from britannica.com
5. TheBiography. Biography of Antonio Cánovas del Castillo. Retrieved from thebiography.us
6. Wikipedia. Restoration (Spain). Retrieved from en.wikipedia.org