Spanish republicanism

There has existed in the Kingdom of Spain a persistent trend of republican thought, especially throughout the 19th, 20th, and 21st centuries, that has manifested itself in diverse political parties and movements over the entire course of the history of Spain. While these movements have shared the objective of establishing a republic in Spain, during these three centuries there have surged distinct schools of thought on the form republicans would want to give to the Spanish State: unitary (centralized) or federal.

Despite the country's long-lasting schools of republican movements, the government of Spain has been organized as a republic during only two very short periods in its history, which totaled less than 10 years of republican government in the entirety of Spanish history. The First Spanish Republic lasted from February 1873 to December 1874, and the Second Spanish Republic lasted from April 1931 to April 1939.

Currently there are movements and political parties throughout the entire political spectrum that advocate for a Third Spanish Republic, including almost all of the Spanish left, as well as liberal, right-winged, and nationalist parties.

The roots of Spanish republicanism arose out of liberal thought in the wake of the French Revolution. The first manifestations of republicanism occurred during the Peninsular War, in which Spain and nearby regions fought for independence from Napoleon, 1808–1814. During the reign of Ferdinand VII (1813–1833) there were several liberalist military pronunciamientos, but it was not until the reign of Isabella II (1833–1868) that the first clearly republican and anti-monarchist movements appeared.

The Glorious Revolution of 1868 overthrew Isabella II, but the Cortes, the Spanish parliament revived by the elections of 1869, voted in favor of a monarchy. A search for a new king was made from amongst several European royal courts. Their selection was the Italian prince Amadeo I de Saboya, but in the midst of a country that was profoundly instable, enveloped in diverse wars (the Third Carlist War, due to the aspirations to the throne of the Bourbon branch of carlists, and the Ten Years' War in Cuba, among others) and including the opposition of republicans and a large part of the , the Catholic Church, and the Spanish people, King Amadeo abdicated on February 11, 1873.

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