Iberia (Cromwell the Great)

Ya osan ser libres los armados brazos Y ya rompen la bárbara coyunda, y con júbilo a ti, todos ¡oh muerte! y a ti, divina libertad, saludan. (José de Espronceda) The Iberian Federation (Spanish: Federación Ibérica, Portuguese: Federação Ibérica) is a state located in the southwest corner of Europe. The peninsula was divided before 1838 between the former polities of Portugal and Spain. Iberia as also important territorial holdings in Western Sahara, Morocco, Angola, Mozambique and Philippines.

Reforms and Counter-reactions
The European Revolutionary Wars (1790-1810) affected both Kingdoms of Spain and Portugal. Initially Portugal keep a strict neutrality while its Spanish neighbor joined the coalition against republican France. However its military campaigns in the Mediterranean and West Indies were unsuccessful or came to standstill due to military ineptitude and logistics failures. At a given point it had to stand the French blockade of Barcelona and a brief invasion of Basque counties. By 1800, the Kingdom of Spain was in a state of social unrest and the internal division of the governing elites between afrancesados (liberal Francophiles) and tradicionalistas (traditionalist conservatives). A third party the majos composed of shopkeepers, artisans, taverners and labourers who dressed in traditional style, and took pleasure in picking fights with petimetres, the young class who styled themselves with French fashion and manners. The invasion and military and political turmoil revived the need of reforms and changes of the society and monarchy.

The neutrality of Portugal ended with the failed blockade French blockade of Lisbon and the aggressive surrender terms that France tried to impose. The same parties appear in Portugal and they call for reforms. Tough Commonwealth intervention, due to interest of having the service of Portuguese ports for the benefit of the British Navy, forced an uneasy compromise.

After the Peace of Vienna (1810) Spain and Portugal keep their overseas colonies but also meant a backlash against any liberal reforms that the conservative ruling elites had accepted as a temporary compromise. The monarchies of Spain and Portugal on regaining power and the loyalty of the army and navy abolished the liberal constitution establishing a parliamentary regime in name only with electoral fraud or disenfranchisement and the rule of the country by conservative ministries.

The reaction against reforms was mostly felt overseas in America were Viceroys and Governors dissolved the governing juntas returning to the old administrative structures. The partisans of self-rule, the Patriots, were exiled, jailed or executed. A new generation of Patriots rose in arms and in a more radical demands declared independence. The viceroyalty of La Plata and Chile were the first to proclaim their independence, follow by the establishment of the Mexican Empire. Viceroyalty of New Granada was embroiled in a civil war between the royalist and patriot forces over the control of the administration. Only the Viceroyalty of Peru (until 1825), Cuba, and Puerto Rico, remained loyal to Spain. In Brazil the transition was peaceful with the viceroy shipped back to Portugal and an autonomous regime proclaimed in the name of good government and alleged loyalty to the Portuguese Crown.

Revolutions and Republic
Among liberal army officials several secret organizations schemed in how to force liberal reforms were in vogue in both kingdoms. The most radicals called for the overthrow of the crown and install a republic. Pronunciamientos (in Portuguese: pronunciamento) from rebellious liberal military became commonplace. All failed but in the process exiled leaders of both countries made several contacts and exchange of ideas. From several parlors the idea of a republican, federal and liberal union of Spain and Portugal grew out. The main vehicle of these ideas was the bilingual newspaper La Iberia Liberal - A Ibéria Liberal published in Paris under the editorship of José Marchena.

The Wars of American Independence began to be a heavy burden in the economy and manpower. The fall of the monarchies was unexpected due to the surveillance on radical military elements and the failures of previous ones. This abrupt fall was later a theme several sainetes and zarzuelas. The pronunciamientos of Spain in 1825 and Portugal in 1826 overthrow the monarchy and proclaimed the establishment of a republic. In Spain it started with a mutiny of the troops being shipped to Mexico and New Granada led by liberal officers. In Portugal it was the royal navy that comeback after a failed attempt to blockade Bahia in Brazil. At Lisbon naval officers harangue, before being sent to court martial, the futility of the war against Brazil. A month later the majority of the army revolted against the conservative government and proclaimed the republic.

The newly established republics of Spain and Portugal had to deal with several economical and political issues. In the economic one they opened to free trade, end of monopolies and guilds, monetary reforms and keep in place the large land holdings and serve the interests of local capitalism. In the political one they had to fight the rebellions of conservative peasants that took the flag of restoration. Affairs with the Catholic Church were quickly solved when the new authorities gave guarantees that they would be no anticlerical persecution and new favorable concordats would be negotiated. The promises of political freedoms and rights were hold back. Only a formal republicanism was established. Thought suffrage was enlarged it was limited to citizens with wealth or independant means of income or paid taxes. Ballot stuffing became all to common in the rural areas. Military leaders became the political leaders and administrators, along liberal intellectuals, the former aristocracy and the new mercantile classes. The republican governments of Spain and Portugal officially recognized the independent American states and negotiated final terms of peace.

The Philippines had two major Creole revolts - Novales Revolt (1823) and Palmero Conspiracy (1828) - that the Spanish Republic answered by declaring Manila an open port and later establishing full freedom of trade ending the last existing monopolies and privileges given to Spanish merchants. These measures favored the interests of the Commonwealth, France and Dutch Republic. In 1833 it was installed a full local government under supervision of the Governor-General and the Metropolis.

The support for a pan-Iberian state gained support, mainly in Portugal, as the solution to chaotic economic situation, the loss of the Brazilian markets, and normalize political conflict and peasant rebellions. Spain, although slow to embrace it, slowly gained support as means to retain what was left of the old colonial empire and enlarge with the Portuguese Africa. Spain also feared the French adquisicion by force of most of the territories of North Africa or the growing Dutch and British Interests in Africa and the Pacific Ocean. In 1840 both governments and ruling elites began contacts for a federation and the terms of it.

Reluctant Cohesion
The Iberian Union Pact (1842) established the federation, with a five year transitional federation, with a common government, a common citizenship, a bicameral legislative, economic and monetary union and a joint army and navy. However the Pactist, as the liberal promoters of the union were called, left undisturbed the large land estates - fazendas (in Portuguese) and haciendas (in Spanish) - but removed all obstacles to free trade and ended several monopolies. The relationship of the Catholic Church and State was kept under a new concordat, but opened religious freedom for Jews and Protestants. The political system also maintained local elites and the safeguards against monarchical restoration. A bilingual status of Spanish and Portuguese was enshrined in public administration, judiciary, and the planned national primary schools. However Catalan/Valencian, Basque and Galician languages were not considered and severally impaired their use in schools, law courts and the army.

The Iberian territorial division provided for the establishment of 18 autonomous regions (13 in former Spain and five in former Portugal) and three autonomous insular districts.

The colonies and overseas territories would have their own laws, norms and statutes that detail their status and organization. The statutes of the Philippines and Portuguese Africa were updated providing for the participation of Iberian colonist and part of native elites and professional groups. An unresolved issue was slavery that was not officially abolished although its trade was limited.

Crisis and Boost
The Crisis of 1858 marked the end of the moderate liberal Pactist governments that had guided Iberia since its unification. The elections of the legislature autonomous regions specifically the Portuguese speaking ones and Catalonia between 1858-1860 signaled the end of liberal Pactist being replaced by the left republicans and liberal radicals. The elections of the National Convention of Delegates marked the ascendancy of liberal radicals with the election of Juan Prim y Prats. The recently elected president called for new elections of the Cortes bringing a majority for the radical liberals.

The abolishment of slavery was proclaimed in 1862 provoking a rebellion in Cuba were it was particularly profitable for its slave owners and the plantation system of sugar.

Under the presidency of Manuel Ruiz Zorrilla (1876-1888) Iberia began a fast economic recovery and growth.

National Government
The Iberian Constitution of 1840 established an executive power exercised by President of the Republic and the Council of Minister, the latter named by the President of the Republic. The President is elected by a National Convention of Delegates for a mandate of six years. The president can dissolved and call for elections of the Congress of Deputies.

The legislative power is the hands of the Federal Cortes, which is composed of the Congress and the Senate. The Congress of Deputies is the house of proportional representation, renewing every five years. The Senate is the chamber of territorial representation, senators being elected by the legislative assemblies of each one of the autonomous regions (five senators) and insular districts (three senators) every five years, tough the legislative assemblies can recall them and elected others before the end of their mandate.


 * Presidents of Iberian Federation


 * Prime Minister
 * Juan Álvarez Mendizábal (Progressive Liberal)
 * Luis José Sartorius
 * Juan Álvarez Mendizábal

Administrative Division
Mainland Iberia is divided in autonomous regions, provinces, municipalities and autonomous cities. Insular territories are organized in autonomous insular districts.

All autonomous regions and insular districts have a parliamentary system based on a division of powers comprising: a unicameral Legislative Assembly whose members are elected by universal suffrage; a Council of Government (Junta or Consejo de Gobierno), with executive and administrative powers, headed by a prime minister, officially titled "Regional President", elected by the Legislative Assembly; and a Regional Court of Justice, hierarchically under the Supreme Court of Justice of Iberia.

The colonies and overseas territories have their own law that detail their status and organization being the most important, after the loss and independence of the American territories, the Philippines and Morocco. Of growing interest in colonial policy are Western Sahara, Barbary Coast and Mauritania the latter two in dispute with France, and the African territories of Angola and Mozambique.

Former territories
 * Autonomous Regions
 * 1) Castilla-Leon (Madrid)
 * 2) Castilla la Vieja (Valladolid)
 * 3) Andalucía (Sevilla)
 * 4) Vascongadas (Bilbao)
 * 5) Aragón (Zaragoza)
 * 6) Navarra (Pamplona)
 * 7) Cataluña (Barcelona)
 * 8) Balearic Islands (Palma)
 * 9) Asturias (Oviedo)
 * 10) Galicia (La Coruña)
 * 11) Extremadura (Badajoz)
 * 12) Valencia (Valencia)
 * 13) Murcia (Murcia)
 * 14) Tras-os-Montes e Douro (Porto)
 * 15) Beira (Coimbra)
 * 16) Estremadura-Ribatejo (Lisbon)
 * 17) Alentejo (Évora)
 * 18) Algarve (Faro)
 * Autonomous Insular Districts
 * 1) Canary Islands (Las Palmas de Gran Canaria)
 * 2) Azores Islands (Ponta Delgada)
 * 3) Madeira Archipielago (Funchal)
 * North African Territories
 * 1) Iberian Morocco (Tetuán) Established in 1850
 * 2) Western Sahara (El Aaiún) Established in 1852
 * 3) Alawite Sultanate of Morocco (Capitals Rabat and Casablanca. Iberian Protectorate)
 * 4) Iberian Barbary Coast (Alger, later Mazalquivir) Partially ceded to France the territories of Alger and Bugia.
 * 5) Mauritania (Nuakchot). Disputed by France and Iberia
 * Consolidated in Iberian Morocco (1850)
 * Melilla
 * Ceuta
 * Tangier
 * Rif
 * Consolidated in Western Sahara (1852 as Spanish Sahara)
 * Ifni
 * Río de Oro
 * Saguia el-Hamra
 * Equatorial and Southern African Territories
 * 1) Angola (São Paulo da Assunção de Loanda)
 * 2) Cabo Verde (Praia)
 * 3) Fernando Po (Santa Isabel)
 * 4) Annobón (San Antonio de Palé)
 * 5) São Tomé and Príncipe (São Tomé)
 * 6) Guinea-Bissau (Bissau)
 * 7) Rio Muni (Bata)
 * 8) Mozambique (Lourenço Marques)
 * Asia
 * 1) State of India (Gao)
 * 2) Macao
 * 3) East Timor (Dili)
 * East Indies
 * 1) Philippines (Manila)
 * 2) Mariana Islands
 * 3) Guam (Agaña)
 * 4) Palaos
 * 5) Caroline Islands

Economy
The 19th century was a turbulent time for Iberia, as it had been for the newly established republics of Spain and Portugal. Until the 1850s, the economy of Iberia was primarily based on agriculture. There was little development of a bourgeois industrial or commercial class. The land-based oligarchy remained powerful; a small number of people held large estates (called latifundia) as well as all the important government positions. The landowners' power was challenged by the industrial and merchant sectors, largely unsuccessfully. The Pactist, moderate liberals, keep an uneasy balance of those interests. Their fall in 1858-1860 marked the ascent of the industrial and commercial interest in detriment of the latifundia. The progressive governments that followed applied the Desmortizacion / Desamortização (confiscation) of church lands. Properties were auctioned creating a new land owning class that favored with their vote the progressive liberal and radical goverments and parties. -