A political-constitutional conflict in times of war. Reflections on an unpublished text by Jovellanos

Abstract

In May 1809, Pedro Caro y Sureda, Marqués de la Romana, dissolved the Junta Superior de Asturias. This assembly had been created from an ancient institution (Junta General del Principado de Asturias), and it was, in fact, the first revolutionary assembly in Spain to declare war to Napoleon. Jovellanos had been elected by the same assembly to become a part of the Junta Central, and he was against the dissolution of the Junta of Asturias. This was the origin of an important political conflict between Jovellanos and La Romana, which reached the Junta Central and the Consejo de Castilla as well.

Keywords

• jovellanos
• marqués de la romana
• junta superior de asturias
• conflicto político