UNED (Spanish National Distance University) News
It was 1812 when Cádiz became a pioneering European city.
There, on the 15th March, the Spanish Constitution was established.
This month is the 200th anniversary of this great charter
an innovative document for its time based on the principles of the French Revolution
with a ringing declaration of Spanish Catholicism.
200 years of the Constitution of Cádiz
Within the framework of celebrations of the last two centuries
the UNED Madrid centre 'Escuelas Pias' is holding a congress
about the origin of constitutionalism in Cádiz.
Experts have gathered to analyse its origin and its current significance.
It is an extremely important document
and I think that at the bicentenary it is logical to study it in depth
weighing up its pros and cons, looking at the impact it had
intentionally or unintentionally.
I think that it was not very successful.
It is important because there are things that are really important
although they are not successful
and as it started a whole cycle of our constitutional history, it's very important.
If constitutional experts agree on anything
it is on the subsequent influence of the text.
This was the greatest success of this special charter
and its greatest failing was
the limited and irregular period it was in use.
The Cádiz Constitution was more successful outside Spain than in it.
In Spain it had practically no success at all.
Ferdinand VII immediately came back and abolished it completely
he erased it from history.
Later it was used for a few years
and it was abolished again.
In contrast, it had great success in Europe where it was considered commendable
because it had been written in defiance of Napoleon's troops
which were invading, or had invaded Spain.
It was a constitution for freedom
as Napoleon had invaded many European countries,
and all these countries saw the Constitution
as the emblem of liberalism, freedom and national independence.
It had great success from Portugal to Russia.
It was used in some of these countries, and later, naturally, in Spanish America.
In the Cádiz Constitution,a clear principle of national sovereignty was stated.
We are talking about a nation of citizens and also there is a clear Ibero-American component.
The idea was that the constitution was written by Spaniards of both hemispheres.
I think that there are good reasons in these difficult times
to look back and find a boost for the future in a Spain
that has an outstanding founding moment in Cádiz.
The Cádiz constitution of 1812 represented a shift
from old to new monarchy
from a monarchy of divine origin to a constitutional one.
It ushered in the troubled era of the constitution in Spain.
This, with the current constitution, is the law that is most widely studied by lawyers and historians.
Script: Daniel Plaza Narrator: Miguel Minaya
Spanish government Ministry of Science and Information Innpacto Project