Editing Ferdinand VII (section)

===Restoration===
{{see also|History of Spain (1810–1873)#Reaction (1814–1820)}}
Five years later after experiencing serious setbacks on many fronts, Napoleon agreed on 11 December 1813 to acknowledge Ferdinand VII as king of Spain, and signed the [[Treaty of Valençay]] so that the king could return to Spain. The Spanish people, blaming the policies of the Francophiles (''afrancesados'') for causing the Napoleonic occupation and the Peninsular War by allying Spain too closely to France, at first welcomed ''Fernando''.{{sfn|Clarke|1906|p=32}} Ferdinand soon found that in the intervening years a new world had been born of foreign invasion and domestic revolution.{{sfn|Chisholm|1911|p=267}} In his name Spain fought for its independence and in his name as well [[wiktionary:junta|''juntas'']] had governed Spanish America. Spain was no longer the absolute monarchy he had relinquished six years earlier. Instead he was now asked to rule under the liberal [[Spanish Constitution of 1812|Constitution of 1812]]. Before being allowed onto Spanish soil, Ferdinand had to guarantee the liberals that he would govern on the basis of the constitution, but only gave lukewarm indications he would do so.<ref>{{harvnb|Carr|1982| pages= 105–119}}</ref>

On 24 March the French handed him over to the Spanish Army in [[Girona]], and thus began his procession towards Madrid.<ref>{{cite book|last=Artola|first=Miguel|title=La España de Fernando VII|location=Madrid|publisher=Espasa|year=1999|page=405|isbn=8423997421}}</ref> During this process and in the following months, he was encouraged by conservatives and the Church hierarchy to reject the constitution. On 4 May he ordered its abolition, and on 10 May had the liberal leaders responsible for the constitution arrested. Ferdinand justified his actions by claiming that the constitution had been made by a [[Cortes Generales|Cortes]] illegally assembled in his absence, without his consent and without the traditional form. (It had met as a unicameral body, instead of in three chambers representing the [[Estates of the realm|three estates]]: the clergy, the nobility and the cities.){{Citation needed|date=August 2022}} Ferdinand initially promised to convene a traditional Cortes, but never did so, thereby reasserting the [[House of Bourbon|Bourbon]] doctrine that sovereign authority resided in his person only.{{sfn|Chisholm|1911|p=267}}
[[File:Francisco Goya - Portrait of Ferdinand VII of Spain in his robes of state (1815) - Prado.jpg|thumb| ''[[Portrait of Ferdinand VII|Portrait of Ferdinand VII of Spain in his robes of state]]'' by [[Francisco Goya]] (1815), [[Museo de Prado|Prado]]]]
Meanwhile, the [[Spanish American wars of independence|wars of independence]] had broken out in the Americas, and although many of the republican rebels were divided and [[Royalist (Spanish American independence)|royalist]] sentiment was strong in many areas, the [[Spanish treasure fleet]]s – carrying tax revenues from the Spanish Empire – were interrupted. Spain was all but bankrupt.

Ferdinand's restored autocracy was guided by a small ''[[camarilla]]'' of his favorites, although his government seemed unstable. Whimsical and ferocious by turns, he changed his ministers every few months. "The king," wrote [[Friedrich von Gentz]] in 1814, "himself enters the houses of his prime ministers, arrests them, and hands them over to their cruel enemies;" and again, on 14 January 1815, "the king has so debased himself that he has become no more than the leading police agent and prison warden of his country."{{sfn|Chisholm|1911|p=267}}

The king did recognize the efforts of foreign powers on his behalf. As the head of the Spanish [[Order of the Golden Fleece]], Ferdinand made the [[Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington|Duke of Wellington]], head of the [[British Army|British forces]] on [[Peninsular War|the peninsula]], the first [[Protestant]] member of the order.

During the aftermath of the [[Mexican War of Independence]], the general of the [[Army of the Three Guarantees]], [[Agustín de Iturbide]], and Jefe Superior [[Juan O'Donojú]], signed the [[Treaty of Córdoba]], which concluded the war of independence and established the [[First Mexican Empire]]. The imperial constitution contemplated that the monarch would be "a Spanish prince," and Iturbide and O'Donojú intended to offer the Mexican Imperial Crown to Ferdinand VII himself to rule Mexico in [[personal union]] with Spain. However, Ferdinand, refusing to recognize Mexican independence or be bound by a constitution, decreed that the Mexican constitution was "void", declined the Mexican crown, and stated that no European prince could accede to the Mexican throne.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.milenio.com/cultura/por-que-firmaron-iturbide-y-o-donoju-los-tratados-de-cordoba|title=¿Por qué firmaron Iturbide y O'Donojú los Tratados de Córdoba?|website=milenio.com|date=24 August 2017|access-date=4 February 2019}}</ref> The imperial crown was consequently given to Iturbide himself, but the Mexican Empire collapsed and was replaced by the [[First Mexican Republic]] a few years later.