ISABELLA II. (1830-1904). Queen of Spain from 1833 to 1868. She was the (laughter of Ferdinand VII. by his fourth wife, Maria Chris tina of the Two Siedies, and was horn at Ma drid, October 10, 1830. By a (teens- which set aside the Salic law in Spain and which was confirmed by the Cortes• March 29, 1830. the Infanta Isabella been ne the heiress apparent to the throne, which she ascended on the death of her fattier in September, 1833, her mother being appointed Queen Regent. .1n insurrection in favor of her uncle. Don Carlos (q.v.). who ac cording to the Salie law would have succeeded to the throne on the death of his brother, imme diately broke out and raged with great violence until 1S10, \Olen the cause of the Court tri umphed. In the course of the period politieians had begun to divide into the two parties of the liorkradoc. or Liberals; and the Queen Regent. found it necessary to enlarge the littoral Constitution in 1834, and ultinettely (183e) to reitstablish the Constitution of 1812. In 1840 Maria Christina, after making Espartero, the champion of the Court in the war filer the succession, liter. was reduced to the necessity of resigning the regency, which was conferred on Espartero. An insurreetion broke out in 1843. which led to the overthrow of the Espar tero and the establishment of the military die tatorship of Narvaez. who introduced an anti liberal policy. On November 8. DIM, Queen Isabella was declared by the Cortes to have attained her majcrity. Although the young Queen enjoyed personal popularity, political in trigues eontilowd, with frequent attempts at insurrection. In 184(3 the Queen married her
cousin, Don Francisco d'Assisi. elder of Ferdinand yonngest brother. A change to almost. purely absolute government in 1853 was followed by the banishment of many chiefs of the Constitutional Party, as a result of which a formidable rising of the army took place in 1854 under (q.v.). F.spartero was put at the head of an administration in which liberal principles held sway. hint the Queen disap proved of his policy and he resigned in favor of O'Donnell. :loth, 14. 1S511, who was soon after supplanted by Narvaez. For a number of years the chief power was held alternately by these two ministers. Though liberal ministers were more than forced upon her, the Queen as time went on fell more completely 'rink]. the in fluence of the reactionary faetion. She lust nitwit of her former popularity, and the nation beettine impatient under her arbit rat-) rule. In September, 1868, a revolution broke out, headed by Serrano, Prim, and Topote, ending in the formation of a republican provisional government and the flight of 1,aliellit to Ervin-v. In 1870 she abdicated in favor of her son, Alfonso XII., who succeeded to the throne in 1875 after the brief reign of Amadeus of Savoy and the failure of the republic under Castela•. After 187 1 the ex Queen of Spain passed the greater part of her time in Paris. see SpAt N