Editing Amadeo I of Spain (section)

===== Halted Reforms and Division Among the Radicals =====
[[File:Madrid - La première revue passée à Madrid par le roi Amédée, en l'honneur du prince Humbert (D'après le croquis de M. Urrabieta).jpg|thumb|Amadeo I reviewing troops, September 1871, by [[Daniel Vierge]].]]

Under [[Manuel Ruiz Zorrilla]]’s second government, ongoing conflicts—the [[Third Carlist War]] and [[Cuban War of Independence|Cuban War]]—blocked his pledge to abolish military drafts. Announcing a new recruitment in late 1872 sparked riots in several cities, emboldening “intransigent” federal Republicans to push their insurrectionary agenda. The most significant revolt erupted October 11 in [[Ferrol, Spain|Ferrol]], but it collapsed due to lack of local support and no nationwide echo. “Benevolent” Republican leaders, like [[Francesc Pi i Margall]], condemned it in the Cortes on October 15 as a “true crime” given “fully guaranteed” freedoms, deepening the party's split between legalists and insurrectionists—a rift only the Republic's proclamation four months later averted from escalating further.{{Sfn|Vilches|2001|pp=315-317}}{{Sfn|López-Cordón|1976|p=47}}

The Carlist War intensified in December 1872, again delaying draft abolition. Republicans rejected Ruiz Zorrilla's policies, with minor Andalusian rebel groups forming, though less threatening than Carlists.{{Sfn|López-Cordón|1976|pp=46-47}} Amid this turmoil, Ruiz Zorrilla tried mending ties with the [[Constitutional Party (Spain)|Constitutional Party]] by proposing ordinary courts, not the Senate, judge [[Práxedes Mateo Sagasta|Sagasta]] for the “two million reales scandal.” This backfired as democratic deputies, led by Congress Speaker [[Nicolás María Rivero]], and ministers [[Cristino Martos y Balbí|Cristino Martos]] and [[José Echegaray]], sided with Republicans to reject it. This internal rift bolstered “benevolent” Republicans’ strategy to lure ex-Democrats ({{Interlanguage link|Cimbrios|es|Cimbrios (política)}}) into a parliamentary majority to topple the monarchy.{{Sfn|Vilches|2001|pp=322-324}}