10 Things to Know About Queen Isabella II of Spain

Queen Isabella II reigned in a tumultuous century for both Europe and Spain. Thrusted into politics as a toddler, she grew up to controversial monarch. Here are 10 things to know about Queen Isabella II of Spain.

1. She reigned very young and in a turbulent time

Born on October 10, 1830, Isabella came to the world celebrated by Ferdinand VII and his 4th wife Maria Cristina of Two Sicillies after several infant mortalities and miscarriages.

 

Only 3, Isabella lost her father and she succeeded to throne of a Spain amidst tumultuous times. Early 1800s saw the Napoleonic Wars, the late 1810s saw a liberal movement, then the 1820s witnessed the secession of the American colonies from Spain. Moreover, across Europe technological and industrial revolutions disrupted traditional economies.

A toddler Isabella, or Isabel if Anglicized, inherited a nation that must navigate such disruptive events. But as a child, most of the decisions came from her regent, her mother Queen Maria Cristina. Furthermore, due to her age and gender, some challenge her claim to the throne.

Isabella II as child

2. Isabella’s Ascension was Questioned

A part of the royal family rejected Isabella, mainly the brother of Fernando VII, Don Carlos, Count of Molina. They based their arguments from an old succession law to push Don Carlos’ claim. Their actions brought dire results immediately.

The basis which supporters of Don Carlos, dubbed the Carlist, referred to the Salic Law. Instituted since King Philip V (r. 1700 - 1724), it prevented women from inheriting the throne, hence disqualifying Isabella. The throne must then pass to the King’s closest male kin, therefore Don Carlos.

The Isabelline factions, on the other hand, begged to differ. Led by the Regent Queen Maria Cristina and General Baldomero Espartero, they claimed the Charles IV revoked the Salic Laws which allowed Ferdinand VII to issue a Pragmatic Sanction in 1830 to allow Isabella to succeed. Both then decided to bring their case to the battlefield.

Queen Maria Cristina

3. Civil War Dominated the First Decade of Isabella’s Reign

The Carlist War erupted in 1833 and lasted until 1839. It split the country into 2 factions which turned ideological. Isabella's mother and General Espartero formed an alliance of convenience to bring an end to the war.

While the war raged, different sections of society and ideology took sides. Fervent Catholics called Apostolicos, alongside Conservatives, rural folks, and the population of the Basque as well as the Catalonia Region formed the Carlist. Despite being conservatives themselves, Maria Cristina and Espartero sought the support of liberals, which included intellectuals, bourgeoisie, and urbanites.

The Isabelline factions also received massive assistance from other liberal countries, most importantly France and Great Britain. They of course interfere with politics with one case pushing their own Prime Ministerial candidate Juan Alvarez Mendizabal in 1835 to enact liberal reforms. The war finally came to a conclusion in 1839 when Isabella secured her throne, sending Don Carlos to France in exile.

Embrace of Vergara led to a convention
that ended the Carlist War

4. Isabella’s Champions Fought Each Other

After the defeating the Carlist, Dowager Queen Maria Cristina and General Baldomero Espartero fought each other. The General did not lack any bullets while Maria Cristina’s decadence got the best of her. Eventually, the fighting came to naught.

Maria Cristina’s downfall resulted from her choice of heart than duty. Her regency tied to a condition that prevented her from remarrying. Unfortunately, the Queen’s heart got the best of her and decided to marry a royal guard officer named Agustin Fernando Muñoz.

It became a scandal that erupted in 1840 and General Espartero exploited this to overthrow the Dowager Queen and succeed as regent. Few years later, Espartero unwisely alienated all of the liberal factions who then plotted his downfall. In 1843, a liberal-backed pronunciamiento, aka a coup, replaced Espartero with General Ramon Maria Narvaez. Also, they declared Isabella, despite being only 13, an adult and ready to assume direct rule.

Gen. Baldomero Espartero

5. She was initially loved by the people

Generosity and forgiving earned Isabella the people’s love initially. This stoutly built woman as Martin Andrew Sharp Hume described displayed such characteristics that amazed the population. But it only lasted for a few years.

Firstly, Isabella demonstrated generosity to the people. She forgave government debts to her amounting to 100 million reales while she donated jewelry to the poor. Her Mother Theresa actions scored her admiration.

Secondly, forgiving, this cheeky Queen once targeted by the assassin Angel de la Riva. In a Jesus Christ act, Isabella forgave this disgruntled lawyer/journalist instead of hanging him. Once again, it brought her fans, until she got married and everything changed.

Isabella II, 1844

6. Her Marriage a Sham and Riddled by Extramarital Affairs

Time for Isabella to marry in 1846. Her government and foreign powers decided to partner her with his cousin, Francisco de Asis, Duke of Cadiz. What a pair they became?

Isabella knew her husband to be impotent and a homosexual. She even said that her husband wore more lace than her. As a result, she found company in other men.

From officers, to courtiers, to opera singers, Isabella took them as lovers. According to gossip, her affairs led to 12 pregnancies. The most famous of which related to her last 3 daughters, Pilar, Paz, and Eualia said to be the fruits of relation with a military engineer named Enrique Puigmolto.

Infantas Pilar, Paz, Eulalia

7. She had Christian Mystics as Camarilla

Isabella knew she sinned and doubled down on her faith. This related on the only thing she and her husband loved to share, mystics. Even this caused a stir.

Violating the 6th Commandment of God “Thou Shall Not Commit Adultery, Isabella tried to make it up with extreme piety. She even endured hours of kneeling alongside sobbing while in prayer. Finally, she sought absolution of her sins from mystics, especially from one Sor Patrocinio.

The story of Sor Patrocinio rivalled Rasputin and Choigate of Korea. This mysterious nun with stigmata or wounds mirroring Jesus’ during crucifixion arrived in Isabella’s court with Francisco de Asis. Both of them turned out to be entranced by such figures.

Such mystics became their favorites or camarillas also influenced their actions and support. So much so, 2 Generals, Baldomero Espartero and Leopoldo O’Donnell in multiple times discredited and forced out Sor Patrocinio.

Sor Patrocinio

8. She had more PMs than fingers in hand

Besides mystics and scandals, Isabella unfortunately saw a merry-go-round of Prime Ministers and coups by generals. Basically the banana republic-like situation stunted Spain’s growth and made it vulnerable to unrest.

The Liberals, after the victory in the Carlist War, dominated Spain’s politics. But they split into Moderados (Moderates) and Progresivos (Progressives), both championed by different PMs and Generals. Men like General Ramon Narvaez and Leopoldo O’Donnell alongside the veteran General Baldomero Espartero dominated politics using their army to take power in so-called Pronunciamento.

Shifting of PMs with few staying more than 3 years brought uncertainty and prevented long term reforms and development projects. Hence, as Europe industrialized, Spain witnessed minimal. Moreover, it made Spain vulnerable to crises and disasters.

Gen. Leopoldo O'Donnell

9. Her Old Love Deposed Her

A story of betrayal and failed rule led to Queen Isabella II’s downfall. Spain’s situation soured and most of his strong-men who ruled on her behalf died off. Eventually, her lover from 1847 sent her packing.

By the 1860s, Spain experienced several crises. In 1865, cholera hit the country while Andalucia suffered from famine. The Queen by then decided to rule having more say in government. However, she proved to be incapable of handling the crisis and resorted to repression.

This breeded plots of overthrowing Isabella. In 1868, while the Queen enjoyed the warm seas of Biscay, her first lover, Francisco Serrano joined the anti-Isabelline plot with General Juan Prim and Admiral Juan Bautista Topete. The Glorious Revolution errupted. By then Espartero retired while Narvaez and O'Donnell passed away years before. Isabel’s forces failed to stop the revolutionaries in the Battle of Alcolea.

On the advice of her officials, Isabella did not return to Madrid and instead escaped to France. She lived in exile in Paris and attempted to return in the 1870s but stopped by then Prime Minister Antonio Cánovas del Castillo. She lived the rest of her life in Paris until passing away in April 9, 1904.

Queen isabella II, 1870

10. Her Downfall Caused the Unification of Germany

The Glorious Revolution toppled down Queen Isabella II and the Bourbon Dynasty, but not the whole of the monarchic institution for a while. They search for a replacement monarch, but their search became an opportunity for an ambitious Chancellor in Prussia. The absence of Isabella brought about the unification of a nation.

By 1870, Francisco Serrano’s government searched for a new monarch. They considered Prince Leopold of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen, a cadet branch of Prussia’s rulling dynasty, as a candidate. It alarmed Paris and Napoleon III of encirclement by Prussia and its Chancellor Otto von Bismarck.

The French Ambassador sought reassurances from King Wilhelm of Leopold’s refusal in a spa town of Bad Elms. Bismarck obtained the dispatches of the conversation, altered it to anger the French public, and spread it to Paris’ press. This resulted to the Franco-Prussian War and ultimately the unification of Germany.

See also:

Queen Isabella II

Industrial Revolution in Spain