Modern Spain, 1875-1980

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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 wich struck at 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 in 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 Spainsh history. His analysis, incorporating much new research, starts at the September Revolutionof1868 and goes rught up to the present day.