«Strange Means of Governing»: The Spanish Restoration in European Perspective (1813–1820)

Abstract

«Strange Means of Governing»: The Spanish Restoration in European Perspective (1813–1820) This article proposes a reassessment of the Spanish Restoration through a study of its connections with, and departures from, European post-war strategies. Dominating accounts focus on two intertwined narratives: the definitive displacement of Spain from the category of great power, and the political involution of King Ferdinand VII's reactionary monarchy. These aspects were highlighted by numerous contemporaries and have been considered by most historians, yet they would benefit from a reappraisal that is comparative and considers transnational entanglements. This article addresses whether the character of the Spanish Restoration differed from the processes that were experimented in other parts of Europe and, if so, what the consequences of its particular situation were both for Spain and the international order.