Las primeras elecciones celebradas con el Estatuto Real de 1834

Abstract

The 1834 Spanish election is highly interesting to researchers because it was the first held during the reign of Isabel II, based on the so-called “Estatuto Real”. In order to study the development of this election I have employed the historical method, the Spanish Congress sources and the press of the period, combined with the available literature. This work shows a distorted election due to the small number of voters —mostly large taxpayers—, the absence of political parties within the liberal amalgam and the fraud motivated by the government interventionism inherited from the Ancien Régime. Finally, it is an interesting contribution on the parliamentary composition.