Federico Suárez, one of Spain’s leading historians for over thirty years, is probably best known for his participation in the valuable series Documentos del reinado de Fernando VIL In the present, extraordinarily detailed study, he examines each position that the Junta Central and subsequently the first Regency espoused and each action they took that related to the convocation of the Cortes of Cádiz. Rather than developing a major new thesis, the author carefully presents a mass of material related to the theme.
Suárez uses documentation from the Archivo de las Cortes Españolas and the Archivo Histórico Nacional. This he supplements with letters, contemporary publications, and memoirs by members of the Junta Central, the Regency, and other eyewitnesses. Melchor de Jovellanos receives extensive attention as Suárez draws repeatedly on the Asturian’s revealing letters to Lord Holland and his other writings.
The strengths of the book include: its focus on the oft-mentioned, but inadequately understood, Junta Central and first Regency and especially on the call for a Cortes that both endorsed; the clear delineation of divergent points of view toward convoking a Cortes; clarification of the ongoing controversy over establishing a regency; consideration of the relationship of the Junta Central to the provincial juntas and the Regency to the Junta of Cádiz; analysis of the conflict between adherents to the “fundamental laws” of Spain and those who wanted a clear, precise “constitution”—in short, between men tied to the old regime and those who sought a profound break with the past; and a solid awareness of how much remains unknown about the protagonists of the years 1808-10.
One weakness arises from the book’s tight focus. Although Suárez occasionally mentions the military and financial travail of the years 1808-10, the reader often is left in a world of ideas too divorced from the conflict raging in Spain. A detailed chronology of political and military actions would have facilitated integrating the convoluted process of convoking the Cortes with the broader historical setting.
This book is essential reading for anyone interested in the Junta Central, Regency, and the Cortes of Cádiz. Students of the wars of independence in Spanish America will he especially interested in the discussion of proposed American participation in the Cortes.
