El Yndependiente Periodico de Politica, Administracion, Agricultura…. / Constitucion de 1837.

Description

A highly scarce 1837 Spanish-language broadside announcing and celebrating the liberal Constitution of 1837, a significant milestone in the history of Spain’s political development.

The sheet is divided roughly in half, with the upper half mainly consisting of a symbolically-rich view promoting the liberal values embodied in the constitution. The artisan at left employs a spinning frame, an early industrial device that significantly increased the speed of textile production. Other nearby objects reflect a belief in industry, knowledge, trade, and culture, including a feather pen and ink well, a hammer and anvil, an anchor, a globe, a ship in the background, and what may be an early factory the hill in the background. The peasant and ox at right and the produce in the foreground at right reference the bounty that science and reason could bring to agriculture. Around the image is text explaining and extolling the Constitution of 1837.

The bottom half of the sheet includes an announcement of the new periodical, El Yndependiente, of which this appears to be the first issue, likely created thanks to the free speech provisions in the new constitution. True to its subtitle, the publication promised to cover topics related to politics, finance, administration, law, literature, the arts, mining, and other issues of interest to its audience. It would have consisted of elite members of urban society, especially in Madrid. The periodical was meant to be published every day (except Sunday) and include publication of laws, royal orders, and decrees in addition to unique content. It aimed for nationwide distribution through bookstores and the post. However, the periodical appears to have been short-lived, not producing another issue beyond this inaugural announcement (though periodical in later decades also used the name El Yndependiente or El Independiente).

The Spanish Constitution of 1837

The Spanish Constitution of 1837 was an essential milestone in Spain’s political evolution, a victory for constitutionalists over believers in absolute monarchy. It was the product of a series of reforms enacted under the child Queen Isabella II and the regency of her mother, Maria Christina. Inspired by the Spanish Constitution of 1812, which was very liberal for its time, the 1837 Constitution established a constitutional monarchy with legal limits on the sovereign’s power. A bicameral legislature was created, the lower house of which was directly elected by the country’s adult men, with near-universal male suffrage. Regional parliaments were created, which, among other tasks, generally elected the members of the national Senate. Freedom of the press, the right to petition, and the right to a fair trial were also guaranteed. In the following decade, a conservative backlash limited the gains of the 1837 Constitution, resulting in an 1845 Constitution with a more restrictive franchise. Continuous infighting within the House of Bourbon (the Carlist Wars) also hindered the impact of the 1837 Constitution. Nevertheless, it provided a groundwork for future movements that pressed for greater rights and a limited ceremonial monarchy, including the post-Franco Constitution of 1978.

Census

This broadside was published in 1837 to announce the coming periodical El Yndependiente and celebrate the Constitution of 1837. The view is signed by an artist, “EZ.” The sheet was printed by Litografía de J. Aragón in Madrid. The only other known example of this work is held at the Real Biblioteca del Palacio Real de Madrid (though in their catalog, the printer is listed as “Imp. de La Constitución de 1837” instead of Aragon, suggesting an alternate printing).