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In 1870 the Spanish Cortes had elected king Amadeus of Aosta, Duke of Savoy . However, Amadeus was never accepted by the people or his political opponents and, since he was abandoned by the army and confronted by several attacks on his life, he declined the honour in 1873. The radical Cortes drew up a written constitution for a federal republic based on voluntary membership, which was to work its way through four presidents in the eight months of its existence. This weak republic was contested by the monarchists, who supported Don Carlos III as claimant to the throne. The monarchists' chief base was in northern Spain, especially in the Basque country. In January 1874 General Francisco Serrano y Dominguez proclaimed a military dictatorship, and finally the army selected Alfons XII, a son of the former Queen, Isabella, as King on 24 November. Now came a phase in which these monarchists confronted other monarchists, because the Carlists refused to lay down their arms and chose to continue their guerilla warfare. In the course of 1875 the Carlists conquered first Catalonia and then Aragon, after which it was the turn of the Basque country. Pamplona fell in February 1876. Don Carlos fled to France, and ten thousand of his supporters were exiled. In July a newly elected Cortes brought out a new Constitution, thus bringing a turbulent chapter in Spanish history to a close. |
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