The word 'liberal', as part of our political vocabulary comes from Spain. It was first used to describe a group of radical patriots cooped up in Cadiz, refugees from the French invasion of 1808. In 1812 they drew up a constitution enshrining the sovereignty of the people which struck the very basis of the old monarchy and became the model for advanced democrats from St Petersburg to Naples. Universal male suffrage was established in Spain in 1890 - earlier than Britain. The imposition of advanced liberal institutions on a conservative society, both economically and socially backward, inevitably caused tensions, and these, Raymond Carr argues, explain much of modern Spanish history. His analysis, incorporating much new research, starts at the 'September Revolution' of 1868 and goes right up to the present day.
In the 1970s and 80s the country suffered less from the violent social disruption experienced in previous decades, but - as always - Spain is beset with acute regional problems which become more pressing the longer they remain unsolved.
Chronology: Main Political Events 1868-1979 ; Glossary of Political Terms and Organizations ; Map of Twentieth Century Spain ; 1. Revolution and Restoration 1868-1875: The Liberal Heritage ; 2. The Economy 1875-1914: Stagnation and Progress ; 3. Society in Transition 1875-1914 ; 4. Regenerationism and the Critics of the Regime ; 5. Politics 1898-1917: The Failure of the Revolution from Above ; 6. The Crisis of the Parliamentary Monarchy 1927-1923 ; 7. The Dictatorship of Primo de Rivera and the Fall of the Monarchy 1923-1931 ; 8. The Second Republic 1931-1936 ; 9. The Civil War 1936-1939 ; 10. Francoism 1939-1975 ; 11. The Monarchy of Juan Carlos: The Transition to Democracy ; Select Bibliography ; Index
