Queen of Spain 1833-1868
Isabella succeeded to the Spanish throne on the death of her
father, Ferdinand VII,
when Salic Law was set
aside. Her uncle, Don Carlos, disputed her right to succeed. This led to the
First Carlist War, 1833-1839, while her mother, and then General Baldomero
Espartero, served as regents for the underage Isabella. The military established
her rule in 1843.
In a series of diplomatic turns, called the Affair of the Spanish
Marriages, Isabella's marriage and that of her sister to Spanish and French
nobles instead of to a relative of Prince Albert of England helped alienate
England, empower the conservative faction in Spain and bring Louis-Philippe of
France closer to the conservative faction. This helped lead to the liberal
uprisings of 1848 and to Louis-Philippe's defeat.
Isabella was rumored to have chosen her Bourbon cousin, Francisco
de Asis, as husband because he was impotent, and they largely lived apart,
though they did have children.
Her authoritarianism, her religious fanaticism, her alliance with
the military and the chaos of her reign -- sixty different governments -- helped
bring about the Revolution of 1868 that exiled her to Paris. She abdicated in
1870 in favor of her son, Alfonso XII, who ruled beginning in 1874. Even
though Isabella eventually returned to Spain, she never again exerted much
political power or influence.
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Isabella II on the Web |
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About Isabella II |
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- Categories: Queens
- Places: Spain
- Period: 19th century
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Text
copyright 1999-2006 ©
Jone Johnson Lewis.
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