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side would receive the support of Britain and France, and the conserva-
tive position would be endorsed by Spain and Austria.
With the constitution abolished and the queen finding sanctuary in
Britain, the absolutists carried out a triumphant persecution of their
opponents during the next several years. All avowed liberals were
declared “atheists, traitors and thieves.” But then, in April 1831, Pedro
abdicated the Brazilian throne in favor of his son and returned to
Europe to fight for Maria da Glória's restoration. With the aid of Britain
and France he secured a foothold for his campaign in the Azores, where
many sympathizers of the young queen had taken refuge. The civil war
soon spread to the mainland, with skirmishes between the two factions
in several northern provinces. Pedro struck a decisive blow in July 1832
when, again with foreign backing, he captured Oporto. The Miguelite
troops were badly defeated in a belated attempt to retake Portugal's
second city. The war continued to go against the conservative forces
during 1833. A naval squadron (on “loan” from Britain) crushed the
royal Portuguese fleet in a confrontation off Cape St. Vincent, and lib-
eral volunteers routed the Miguelites in a series of land battles that
tightened the noose around Lisbon. At the beginning of 1834, with his
resources exhausted, Miguel surrendered and was allowed to go into
exile. His followers were given amnesty, and civil servants and clerics
who had supported Miguel were pensioned, though not restored to
their positions.
SOLDIERS AND THE STATE IN LATE
NINETEENTH-CENTURY SPAIN
The end of the First Carlist War was followed by three decades of politi-
cal maneuvering and socioeconomic stagnation. Two antagonistic fac-
tions emerged from the old liberal movement (the
moderados
and the
progresistas
) to vie for power, while absolutists and republicans on their
respective right and left flanks intervened periodically. Constitutions
came and went, with the famous 1812 document variously incised and
subtracted from or even abolished for a time. There were abortive revo-
lutions and successful military coups with the military holding effective
power throughout. Generals Baldomero Espartero, Ramón Maréa
Narváez, Leopoldo O'Donnell, and their collaborators or rivals rotated
in office as chief minister or regent, all under the nominal rule of Isa-
bella II.
Although there were some generally successful military operations in
Morocco, a series of interventions in the former American empire were
unprofitable. There were short-lived wars with Peru and Chile and a
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