The Sword of Luchana : Baldomero Espartero and the Making of Modern Spain, 1793-1879 / Adrian Shubert.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Shubert, Adrian, 1953- author.

Series:

Toronto Iberic.

Toronto Iberic Series

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Generals--Spain--Biography.

Generals.

Prime ministers--Spain--Biography.

Prime ministers.

Spain--History--Isabella II, 1833-1868.

Spain.

Spain--Politics and government--1833-1868.

Espartero, Baldomero, 1793-1879.

Espartero, Baldomero.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (481 pages)

Edition:

First edition.

Place of Publication:

Toronto, Ontario : University of Toronto Press, [2021]

Summary:

"Born into obscurity in a rural backwater of central Spain in the waning years of the eighteenth century, Baldomero Espartero (1793-1879) led a life resembling that of a character created by Stendhal or Gabriel García Márquez. As a seventy-five-year-old man he was offered--and turned down--the throne of an industrializing nation. He fought against Napoleon, Simón Bolívar, and other Latin American independence leaders; won a seven-year civil war, the Carlist War of 1833-1840; served as Regent for the child queen Isabella II; and spent years in exile in England. He governed as Prime Minister and also received multiple noble titles, including that of Prince, which was normally reserved for members of the royal family. By his sixties, Espartero represented an almost mythical figure. Based on comprehensive archival research in Spain, Argentina, and the United Kingdom, The Sword of Luchana explores the public and private lives of this archetypal nineteenth-century hero. Adrian Shubert gives voice to the mass of ordinary Spaniards who revered Espartero as the embodiment of liberty and freedom, and to Jacinta Martínez de Sicilia and Santa Cruz, his wife of more than fifty years who played a key role in his public career. Including unprecedented access to Espartero's personal papers, and set against the background of wars and revolutions in Spain and its American empire, The Sword of Luchana is a compelling account of the history of a crucial period of war, revolution, and political and social change."-- Provided by publisher.

Contents:

From Gránatula to America, February 1793-February 1815

Defender of the Empire, February 1815-November 1825

Defender of the Throne, November 1825-September 1836

Commander in Chief, September 1836-August 1839

The Reluctant Revolutionary, August 1839-May 1841

Regent of the Realm, May 1841-July 1843

Exile and Return, July 1843-July 1854

"The Personification of Liberty," July 1854-July 1856

The Retiree of Logroño, July 1856-September 1868

"King or President?" September 1868-December 1870

The Necessary Man, January 1871-March 1876.

Notes:

Description based on publisher supplied metadata and other sources.

Description based on print version record.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

1-4875-3859-6

1-4875-3858-8

OCLC:

1240240628