Citizenship rights in 1837 and 1869 Spanish Constitutions*
Alberto Cañas de Pablos
(
[email protected])
Universidad Complutense de Madrid
Panel 11: Citizenship. Perspectives from 19th century
Abstract
The concept of citizenship has been one of the main forces of historical
progress over the last two centuries. And the most important achievements
regarding its extension took place over the 19th century, in Spain as well
as in Europe.
This proposal aims to offer a thorough view of the evolution of such
concept in the Spanish case, and for doing so it is the 1837 and 1869
Constitutions that have been chosen. The first one came to light at a time
when the outcome of the First Carlist War was not yet known, and it was
conceived as a thorough reform of the 1812 Constitution. The second one was
the result of the Gloriosa Revolution (1868) and set the start of the
Democratic Sexenio (six-year term), an age of freedoms and rights Spain had
never seen before. Both of them were born in a context of instability, at
times when the anxiety for change and hope for order were intense, and
ideological positions very firm, starting with the consciousness that what
was being decided was of vital importance. The main aim of this paper is to
analyse and contrast the differences in the conception of citizenship
between the two Constitutions; precisely because citizenship has always
been one of the cornerstones in the drawing up of a new constitution.
Keywords: Citizenship, Rights, Liberalism, Worship freedom,
Constitutionalism
Resumen
El concepto de ciudadanía ha sido uno de los motores del avance histórico
de los últimos dos siglos. Tanto en España como en Europa, algunos de los
logros más significativos en cuanto a su extensión tuvieron lugar a lo
largo del siglo XIX.
Para el estudio de este concepto dentro del caso español, en esta propuesta
se han escogido dos de las numerosas Constituciones decimonónicas
españolas, en concreto las aprobadas en 1837 y 1869. La primera vio la luz
en una situación convulsa, con el resultado de la Primera Guerra Carlista
aún por decidir, y supuso una profunda reforma de la Carta de 1812. Por su
parte, la segunda fue el fruto de la Gloriosa Revolución e inauguró el
Sexenio Democrático, una era de derechos y libertades nunca antes vistos en
España. Nacieron en momentos de inestabilidad, en los que las ansias de
cambio y los deseos de orden al mismo tiempo, eran intensos, por lo que las
posiciones eran muy marcadas, al igual que la consciencia de su
trascendencia. Analizar y contrastar cómo construyó la ciudadanía cada
constitución es el núcleo de esta comunicación.
Finalmente, se reserva una sección para la libertad religiosa o de cultos,
origen de numerosos debates y que siempre constituyó uno de los aspectos
clave a la hora de sacar adelante un texto constitucional.
Palabras clave: Ciudadanía, Derechos, Liberalismo, Libertad de culto,
Constitucionalismo
1.The concept of citizen in 19th century Spain
It was during the French Revolution that the word "ciudadano"
('citizen') became widespread and replaced the Classic 'citizen archetype'.
It consists of three levels: legal citizenship (everyone is equal before
the law), political citizenship (member of the political body) and national
one (French citizen, integrated in the nation, separated from foreigners).
The insertion of this concept in the Spanish legal system was difficult and
needed of constant adaptations over the 19th century.[1]
Citizenship concept analysed in this paper fixes with state-national
model established in Pietro Costa's classification, which joins a strong
sovereignty (concept come from absolutist model) with the importance of
political participation, born in republican model. New order created in
this moment uses an indispensable foundational symbol (and mythomoteur):
sovereign nation,[2] turned into an unprecedented membership and individual
inclusion patron.
Another distinction was in the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of
the Citizen:[3] man and citizen are not exactly the same, the citizen was
more "complete" because he had political rights which were added to
propriety, safety and liberty rights, owned by every man because of just
being it.
The Diccionario de la política, translated from French, establishes a
difference between "ciudadano" ("partícipe de la autoridad soberana"-
'participant of sovereign authority') and "súbdito" ("sometido a las leyes
del Estado"-'subjected to State law'), while in Spanish case, in Cádiz
Cortes, a 1810 decree stipulates legal equality for every Spaniard, except
for slaves. In this case, being Spaniard (simple citizenship) is equal to
the enjoyment of civil rights, but a "citizen" also has political rights
(active citizen).[4] The alternation between difference and equalization of
both statuses will be usual in the decades which followed and in every
constitution.
In Cadiz and in the Liberal Triennial (1820-1823) the concept of
citizenship had more popularity. In the 30s it became routine and it fades
from constitutional texts, although its content goes on, partially, inside
them. Until 1843, the word "ciudadanía" did not appear in DRAE (Diccionario
de la Real Academia Española), defined as "calidad y derecho de ciudadano"
('qualities and rights of being a citizen'), although "ciudadano" still did
not figure there.
In specific moments (1836, 1840, 1854 or 1868), it comes back,[5] but
it will do that more intensely in speeches than in law: since 1837, only
the 1873 project talked about the "españoles" as holders of rights.
(…)
5.Conclusions
Debates about citizenship have been fundamental in political dynamics
in last century: that notion has been completed in 20th and 21st centuries.
Citizenship is a multifaceted and flexible concept which has generated some
of the most amazing debates in Parliament, attending to their real content,
but at the same time it has been malleable according to legislator's
wishes.
Both constitutions analysed in this proposal do not perceive in the
same way the fact of being a citizen, in spite of shared change aim and
being closely related. While the first one includes a lax rights
declaration, the second goes deeply into that issue and gives an importance
which, after 1876 setback, would not go back to Spain until 1931.
Moreover, each one's origins were different, and thirty years between
them made those differences deeper. Logically, Constitution approved in
1869 is more advanced, establishing, for example, worship freedom. Both
share separation between metropolitan citizens' rights and those held in
American and Asian territories; dual citizenship model was preserved.
Religious issues granted huge importance in amendments debates for each
constitutional project. That status is a sign of the political charge this
topic had in 19th century's Spain. There were very intense pressures to
legislate in a restrictive way which produced enormous controversies,
especially in 1868-1869. Religion stopped to be supposed a priori as a
central element of citizenship structure. In that way, Spain passed from
sociological confessionalism (mere confirmation of an element of each
person) in 1837 to an explicit acknowledgement of worship freedom for all
citizens in 1869.
Two texts starring this paper tried to impulse a real settlement of
rights in Spain. Although survival of both was brief, they were important
political references beyond their abolition. They defined Spaniards in
almost the same way, a priori identifying them to citizens, although that
condition was restricted later.
Defining who rights holders are is not easy, and it requires a clear
idea of what a citizen is and which capacities he can be granted with.
Immersed in 19th century's instability, 1837 and 1869 constituents did it
with aims of change and progress, but their work did not survive to
political ups and downs.
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* Paper presented with the support from Programa de Financiación de la
Universidad Complutense de Madrid-Santander Universidades, 2014 Edition
(CT4-14).
[1] Manuel PÉREZ LEDESMA: "El lenguaje de la ciudadanía en la España
contemporánea", Historia Contemporánea, 28 (2004), p. 239.
[2] Pietro COSTA: "Ciudadanía y patrones de pertenencia a la comunidad
política" in Pietro COSTA and Benito ÁLAEZ CORRAL: Nacionalidad y
ciudadanía. Madrid, Fundación Coloquio Jurídico Europeo, 2008, pp. 28-29.
[3] Manuel PÉREZ LEDESMA: "El lenguaje de la…", p. 240.
[4] Rafael FLAQUER MONTEQUÍ: "Ciudadanía civil y ciudadanía política en el
siglo XIX. El sufragio", in Manuel PÉREZ LEDESMA (dir.): De súbditos a
ciudadanos. Una historia de la ciudadanía en España, Madrid, CEPC, 2007, p.
61.
[5] Javier FERNÁNDEZ SEBASTIÁN: "Ciudadanía" in Javier FERNÁNDEZ SEBASTIÁN
and Juan Francisco FUENTES (dirs.): Diccionario político y social del siglo
XIX español, Madrid, Alianza Editorial, 2002, pp. 140-142.
