News, September 2010

200th anniversary of opening of the Cortes de Cádiz

24th September. Today in Cádiz Spain is celebrating the 200th aniversary of its first democratic experiment. 200 years ago, 2 years after the defeat at nearby Trafalgar, with the Napoleonic wars still raging and just days after the Mexican declaration of independence, liberals from across Spain met in Cadiz to declare themselves the legitimate government of the country - which was largely controlled by the French and ruled by Napoleon's brother Joseph.

The Cortes, or parliament, set out as its objective to establish a Constitution, which was agreed in 1812. The deputies actually met on a small island in nearby San Fernando. The country was to become a republic, following the example of France - but independent of that country. (Actually, many deputies' hoped that they could bring in king Ferdinand in some constitutional way.) However, the course of the Peninsula War led to the restoration of the absolute Bourbon monarchy, which under Ferdinand VII included the revival, although only until 1827, of the feared Spanish Inquisition, which had been the instrument of the Habsburgs to extinguish the earliest sparks of the reformation is Spain during the 16th century. It was certainly not immediately the start of Constitutional Monarchy as we know it today. Read Wikipedia on the Cortes.

During the celebration, which in a sense unusually king Juan Carlos has presided this commemoration of a republican experiment, former speaker of the Congress, JM Bono has told the king 'you have done more for Spain than all your predecessors together'.

Among those who might have attended as a representative was the fascinating Jose María Blanco White, whose spiritual search later led him to become an Anglican priest. In fact he had recently fled to Britain and was well used during these years through his publication of a news magazine called El Español, which nevertheless was also condemned by a good proportion of the deputies, due to his also supporting the right to independence of the Spanish colonies. Read Wikipedia on Blanco White.

The celebrations will continue until 16th October. On this day a 'macro concert' will take place, transmitted by MTV and involving evangelical singer Juan Luís Guerra.