The Constitution of Cadiz in Cuba: “diputaciones provinciales” and constitutional city councils (1812-1814)

Abstract

This paper addresses some issues related to the implementation of the Constitution of 1812 in its first, short term of validity in Cuba, from its proclamation in Havana in mid-August, 1812, to the end of October, 1814. Particular attention will be paid to the establishment of new local institutions, the Provincial Deputations and the Constitutional City Councils, as well as the conflicts that were generated and largely motivated by the Constitution’s definition of the new model for the Monarchy’s governmental administration and the system of representation and election. The study of these problems reveals the survival of modes and political practices of the old regime, as well as the difficulties faced by the rulers and the ruled, in their attempts to assume the changes posed by the new constitutional system.