The Abella Case (1819-1820). Discussing Social Changes during the First Restauration of Absolutism in Spain

Abstract

This article studies a case of disenso (a judicial proceeding in which the authority of the State is asked to decide whether a wedding is to be authorized or prohibited) which took place in Barcelona in 1819-1820. The Barons of Abella tried to oppose to the wedding of their daughter and heiress Raimunda de Subirá with her fiancé José Calasanz Abad, a merchant al pormenor (i.e. shop-owner). The case highlights the fact that there are strong discrepancies amongst the ruling elites during the First Absolutist Restauration of Fernando VII. Ultra-reactionaries and “moderates”, who felt close to Enlightment thinking, opposed radically when questioning social change. Whilst the former defended a conception of the society deeply rooted in the Old Regime (rigid division between nobility and common folk), the latter acknowledged that the society was changing. Consequently, a royalist political culture seemed impossible to maintain.

Keywords

• restauración fernandina (1814-1820)
• ilustración
• realismo
• movilidad social
• sociedad estamental
• cultura política