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they themselves or their fathers had effected. At Rome, on the contrary, the reactionary movement tended towards those methods of administration, of legislation, and of policy, which reflected the Middle Ages, a matter which was the cause of serious discontent, especially in those provinces that for many years had formed part of the kingdom of Italy created by Napoleon.

In the secular States the public functionaries were changed, change in and perhaps, too, as is the custom of revolutions and of restorations, without any restraint of justice or humanity; but in the pontifical State the havoc was much greater, inasmuch as the ecclesiastics returned to the exercise of those civil offices which in former times, when society was in infancy, they had filled not without distinction to themselves and advantage to the public, but which now they resumed by mere privilege of caste. It is manifest how much evil this must have caused to the laity, how much jealousy towards the clergy. Add that, the philosophical doctrines which take their name from the Encyclopædists had penetrated among us during the sway of the French, so that the authority of Rome had greatly declined among the educated classes; moreover, the meretricious tongue of the conquerors had deformed our own; men both thought and wrote in the French manner.

Section 53. The Spanish-American Colonies and the
Revolution of 1820

The vigorous efforts of Ferdinand VII of Spain and the various Italian rulers to stamp out all signs of liberalism, instead of succeeding, only made the radical reformers all the more determined. In 1820 some bold officers in the Spanish army started an insurrection against the absolutist policy of Ferdinand, and the movement was taken up with such energy in the most important towns that the king, at Madrid, fell into the power of the liberals and was compelled to issue the

following manifesto restoring the constitution of 1812, which he had so contemptuously rejected six years before (see above, pp. 23 sqq.). The tone of the document shows how completely Ferdinand was under the control of the triumphant liberals.

Ferdinand

When, by your heroic exertions, an end was put to the cap- 197. Manitivity in which I had been detained by the most unheard-of festo of perfidy, I had scarcely set my foot on my native soil before all VII restoring that I saw and learned tended to convince me that the nation the constituwished to see its ancient form of government restored; and tion of 1812 (March, 1820) this conviction led me to comply with that which appeared to be the almost unanimous wish of a generous people, who, after having triumphantly contended against a foreign enemy, dreaded the still more horrible results of internal discord.

I did not fail to perceive, however, that the rapid progress of European civilization, the general diffusion of knowledge, even among the less enlightened classes, the more frequent intercourse between the different countries of the globe, and the wonderful events which had been reserved for the present generation, had inspired ideas and wishes unknown to our ancestors, and had created new and imperious wants; nor was it less obvious to me that it was indispensable to mold our political institutions conformably to those elements, in order to establish between the people and the laws that harmony upon which depend the stability and repose of society.

that he had

before the

revolution

But whilst I was maturely deliberating, with the solicitude Ferdinand is peculiar to my paternal heart, upon the changes to be intro- made to say duced into our fundamental system of government, as most been meditatsuitable to the national character and to the present state of ing reforms the different parts of the Spanish monarchy, and at the same time the best adapted to the organization of an enlightened people, you expressed to me your anxious desire for the reëstablishment of that constitution which, amidst the clash of hostile arms, was promulgated at Cadiz in the year 1812, at a period when, to the admiration of the world, you were fighting for the liberty of your country. I have listened to your wishes, and, as a tender father, have consented to that which my

children think conducive to their happiness. I have sworn to that constitution for which you were sighing, and I will ever be its firmest supporter. I have already taken the necessary measures for the early convocation of the Cortes. Coöperating with your representatives, I shall then rejoice in promoting the great work of building up national prosperity.

Spaniards, your glory is the only ambition of my heart. My soul desires only to see you united around the throne in peace and harmony. Trust to your king, then, who addresses you with the sincere feelings inspired by the circumstances in which you are placed at this moment, and with a deep sense of the exalted duties imposed upon him by Providence. Avoid the effervescence of the passions which too often transform into enemies those who ought to live as brothers, united by affection, as they are by religion, language, and habits. . . . Let us follow openly, myself the first, the path of the constitution, and, holding out to Europe an example of wisdom, order, and perfect moderation, at a crisis which, in other nations, has been attended with tears and misfortunes, let us excite admiration and reverence for the Spanish name at the same time that we establish for ages to come our own happiness and glory.

PALACE OF MADRID, 10th March, 1820

f

FERDINAND

During the disorders that had followed the establishment of Joseph Bonaparte on the throne of Spain, the Spanish colonies in America had taken occasion, one after the other, to throw off the rule of the mother country. However, after the revolution of 1820 in Spain, the liberals thought that the colonists would, on learning of the restoration of constitutional government at home, return to their ancient allegiance, and accordingly they induced Ferdinand VII to issue a lengthy address to the inhabitants of Spanish America, from which the following brief extract is taken.

Spanish Americans!

to the

You, who have strayed from the right path, have now 198. Ferdigained that which you have been so long seeking, but at the nand's appeal expense of immense toils, of endless sufferings, of sanguinary Spanish wars, of horrible desolation, and of the most frightful destruc- Americans tion of life. Your lamented separation has been productive to to return to you of nothing but tears and grief, disappointment and bitter- giance ness, turbulence, rancor, deadly feuds, famine, incendiarism, (March, 1820) devastation, and unheard-of horrors; the recital alone of your miseries will be sufficient to terrify future generations.

their alle

in both hemispheres are united by

What, then, do you desire? Hear the tender voice of your Spaniards king and father; let the restless and jealous fears which agitate you cease, and let rancor end with the circumstances in which it originated, and give place to tender and generous senti- blood, lanments. Let not vengeance be regarded as a virtue, nor hatred guage, religion, and laws as a duty. The two hemispheres, formed to esteem one another, need only come to a proper understanding to be forever inseparable friends, affording mutual aid, instead of seeking opportunities for injuring one another. Nor is it possible that those should be enemies who are in truth brothers, who speak the same language, who profess the same religion, who are ruled by the same laws, who observe the same customs, and who are, above all, adorned with the same virtues, virtues which are the offspring of valor, of generosity, and of the elevated sublimity of great souls.

cially favors

the colonies

Let those relations with the mother country be renewed Reform in which, after the toils and sacrifices of three centuries, were es- Spain espetablished by our ancestors, the favored sons of victory; and the restoralet others be created which the enlightened state of the age tion of harand the nature of a representative government require. Let mony with arms be laid aside, and let the barbarous war come to an end, which has been the cause of events so disastrous as to be recorded in letters of blood on the page of history. The quarrels of members of the same family should not be fought out or adjusted by arms; let us, therefore, lay them aside, in order to avoid despair and the risk of oppression and hatred.

The whole nation entertains this wish, and will give me the means of overcoming, without the use of force, the obstacles

The colonists are asked to send representatives to confer with

which have stood in the way of our happiness during the period of domestic calamity. We have adopted a system more generous in its principles, and in harmony with those which you have yourselves laid down; let the distinguishing feature of our character be to observe reciprocally a frank and loyal conduct, rejecting the maxims and suggestions of that erring and crooked policy which the false combinations of fortune may perhaps have once smiled upon with ephemeral favor. The parent State sets you the example; follow it, Americans, for upon this depends your present and future happiness. Give to the mother country a day of joy, at a period so productive of calamitous events; and let the love of order and the general good make us one in our wishes and opinions.

The Cortes, whose name alone is to all Spaniards a sweet memorial of portentous events, are about to assemble. Your brethren of the Peninsula are anxiously waiting with open arms the arrival of those who may come deputed by you to the Cortes on confer with them, as their equals, upon the measures required

terms of

reunion

by the misfortunes of their country and of your own in particular. The security of their persons has for its guarantee the national honor, and that long-wished-for constitution to which, in the face of the world, I have sworn and which I will religiously observe. The fathers of their country, the wise and chosen favorites of the people, will, united, save the State, and fix forever the destinies of both hemispheres; and, as a reward of their wisdom, their contemporaries will prepare the immortal crown to be bestowed upon them by the gratitude of posterity. What happiness, what blessings will this desired union produce! . .

FERDINAND

The revolutions which broke out in Spain and Italy in 1820 had been anticipated by Metternich, who was the soul of the reactionary policy, and who was bent upon setting up a permanent barrier to "revolution," - under which terrible term he included all tendencies toward constitutional government. As early as November, 1815, Austria, Russia, Prussia, and England had concluded a

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