The Spanish royal family is one of the royal families of Europe. This royal family looks no different from other royal families in Europe, the country is a constitutional monarchy, the royal family is only a symbol, there is no real power. But in fact, the Spanish royal family is very tenacious, overthrown three times and restored three times, and still controls Spain today.
The Spanish royal family originated very early, and in 1474, due to the emergence of Spain, the Spanish royal family also officially appeared. However, Spain was ruled by the Trastamara dynasty. What we call the Spanish royal family today is the Breaker Dynasty. The dynasty ruled Spain from 1700 to the present day, but was interrupted three times in between. Now let's look at the specifics of the Spanish Bourbons, how this dynasty was overthrown many times, and how it was restored many times.
After the end of the Trastamara dynasty, Spain was ruled by the Habsburgs. Many people know that the Habsburgs were families from Austria who controlled many European countries through marriage. The Habsburgs ruled Spain from 1516 and ruled until 1700. In 1700, with the death of King Carlos II, the Spanish Habsburgs came to an end.
We know that Europe is monogamous, which leads to a small number of monarchs. Even if the king had lovers and illegitimate children, they were not legally recognized, and illegitimate children had no right to inherit. As a result, many dynasties have become extinct. After the dynasty died, the state elected a person to be king based on kinship with the previous king. The person can be national or foreign, and there are no requirements, as long as they are closely related by blood.
After the death of Carlos II, three people had the right to inherit, Philippe, Duke of Anjou in France, Prince Joseph Ferdinand of Bavaria, and Archduke Karl of Austria. Carlos II had been hesitant about the matter. This led to his death, when war broke out in Europe as the Spanish throne succeeded him. Of course, the war was fought mainly by France and the Holy Roman Empire. Both of them wanted to compete for the Spanish throne. After all, after getting it, Spain became its own sphere of influence. After several years of war, France was victorious. Philip, Duke of Anjou, of France, succeeded to the throne of Spain.
Philippe, Duke of Anjou, was not only a duke, he was also the second grandson of King Louis XIV of France and was therefore a member of the Bourbon family. Because of this, after he arrived in Spain, Spain entered the Bourbon period. In this way, the Bourbon dynasty began its rule in Spain. However, the rule of this dynasty in Spain did not go well, and now we look at the general situation.
First, look at the first overthrow of the Bourbons. In 1807, Napoleon invaded Spain, and King Carlos IV of Spain became a puppet of France. But that's not the end of the story. This incident caused dissatisfaction among the Spaniards, and the king became a puppet, and everyone must not be able to stand it. The Spaniards began a revolt against King Carlos IV, who eventually had to give way to his son Ferdinand VII. In any case, it was still the Bourbon dynasty that ruled Spain at this time, which was also common in ancient continental times. However, Napoleon saw the opportunity and took advantage of the unstable reign of Ferdinand VII to directly force the brothers to abdicate. In 1808, Ferdinand VII abdicated and the rule of the Bourbon dynasty in Spain ended. After the abdication of Ferdinand VII, Napoleon installed his brother Joseph Bonaparte as King of Spain.
Now look at the first restoration of the Bourbons. Joseph Bonaparte became king of Spain and caused resentment among the Spaniards, and uprisings broke out everywhere in Spain. In 1812, due to the failure of Napoleon's expedition to Tsarist Russia, his power began to decline. The Spanish people's revolt was also intensifying. In 1813, with the support of the people, Ferdinand VII returned to Spain and once again served as King of Spain. In this way, the Bourbons, which had been extinct for five years, once again ruled Spain.
Second, look at the second overthrow of the Bourbons. After Ferdinand VII returned to Spain to become king again, not only did not exert himself to rule, but also intensified his dictatorship in Spain and vigorously excluded dissidents, which caused the dissatisfaction of the Spaniards. Not only that, but after the death of Ferdinand VII, his daughter Isabel II became king. However, during the reign of Isabel II, Spain was even worse than a day.
During the reign of Isabel II, he first competed with his uncle for the throne, which almost led to the outbreak of civil war in Spain, which led to the execution of many people and the serious decline of Spain's strength. After that, Isabel II clearly promised the people to carry out reforms, establish a constitutional monarchy, etc., but this was delayed. At this time, corruption was rife in Spain, and the opposition of the people was very loud. In this situation, in 1868, the reformist general Juan Prim staged a military coup d'état that ousted Isabel II. In this way, Bourbon rule in Spain was once again overthrown.
Isabelle II went into exile after being overthrown. Unexpectedly, Juan Prim, who staged the coup, was assassinated in 1870. After his death, the pro-republican people established a republic in Spain, which became the First Spanish Republic. However, there were many people supporting the monarchy in the country at this time, and in this situation, the royalist general Arsenio Martinez de Campos staged a coup d'état in 1874 to welcome Isabella's son, Alfonso XII, as King of Spain. The Bourbons were able to rule Spain again. This time the Bourbon dynasty was overthrown for a total of six years, not too long.
Finally, look at the third overthrow of the Bourbons. This time the Bourbon dynasty was overthrown because of the royal family itself. To put it simply, the monarchs behind the Bourbon dynasty were basically not Ming monarchs and did not do much to benefit the country. During the reign of Alfonso XII and his son Alfonso XIII, Spain did not develop very well. But they were still reluctant to reform, and the whole of Spain was in a miasma. Alfonso XIII was finally forced to carry out reforms in the fields of education, legislation, and religion. However, the reforms at this time could not save the Bourbons.
In 1923, General Miguel Primo de Rivera established a dictatorship in Spain. Alfonso XIII, on the other hand, supported dictatorship. What everyone did not expect, however, was that the dictatorship established by General Miguel Primo de Rivera was overthrown in 1931 and the king's patronage was gone. After that, Spain felt that it was still necessary to establish a republic, and Spain established a second republic. In this way, Alfonso XIII's rule was once again overthrown, and he himself had to go into exile.
This time the restoration of the Bourbon royal family was still very difficult. After the establishment of the Second Spanish Republic, due to many contradictions in the reforms, Franco, a military man, staged a coup d'état against the government. With the support of German and Italian fascists, in 1939, Franco successfully ruled Spain and established a fascist regime in Spain. But Franco, despite establishing a dictatorship, was a veritable royalist. Franco welcomed back in 1948 Juan Carlos I, grandson of Alfonso XIII. Of course, Franco did not intend to make him king directly, but to slowly cultivate him.
In July 1969, Franco announced that Juan Carlos I would be his future heir to power, and after his death, Juan Carlos I would ascend the throne as King of Spain. In 1975, Franco died, Juan Carlos I ascended the throne, and the Bourbon dynasty ruled Spain again after being overthrown for 44 years. It has to be said that Franco's operation is indeed a mystery.
Of course, after Juan Carlos I ascended the throne, he began to carry out democratic reforms in Spain, officially returning to the people, and Spain entered a period of democracy. In this respect, Juan Carlos I did better than his ancestors.
This was the general situation of the Spanish Bourbons. This dynasty ruled Spain from 1700 and was overthrown three times in the middle, but it is still able to rule Spain, which is really great.
Reference: General History of the World