Foundation The "Conservative" label referred to the dominant political ideas in Spain at the time, particularly regarding matters of state. The political formation of Spain was shaped by
Antonio Cánovas del Castillo, at the request of
Alfonso XII of Spain, who assumed the crown following the failure of the
First Spanish Republic. The Conservative Party brought together a varied group of people, from the supporters of
Isabel II of Spain before the Republic to the members of other groups Cánovas had formed. Its existence was linked to Cánovas himself and on his death in 1897 it was kept going by
Francisco Silvela. In 1885, the party signed the
Pact of El Pardo with the
Liberal Party of
Sagasta, in which the parties agreed to alternate (
turno) in power after the death of
Alfonso XII of Spain. The pact was guaranteed by the
caciques networks right across Spain in both parties and was intended to keep out of power radical socialist, anarchist or republican parties that wished to destroy the monarchy. The party was founded by Antonio Cánovas del Castillo at the end of the Revolutionary Sexennial, during the period 1874–1876. It was called "liberal" because of the system of State it defended – always complying with the 1876 Constitution that Cánovas himself had drafted – and "conservative" because of the type of ideas that were to prevail in Spain during managing State affairs. In its early years, the members of the Conservative Party came from old formations that had existed during the reign of Isabella II: an important part came from the extinct
Liberal Union, while another part came from the also extinct
Moderate Party. Cánovas del Castillo dominated the Spanish political situation for several years, until the 1881 elections. In 1884, the Catholic Union party joined the party. After the assassination of Cánovas del Castillo by an anarchist in 1897,
Francisco Silvela took over the leadership of the party.
Antonio Maura (1905–13) After the death of Francisco Silvela in 1905, the Conservative Party set out again to find a strong and consensual leader, something that was very difficult within the party and in the
Cacique system of Spain, where in each region a politician dominated. Finally, the new leader was the Mallorcan Antonio Maura Montaner, whom Silvela himself had designated as his successor, and who would be president of the Council of Ministers in different stages, the most fruitful and extensive being the so-called "long government" of 1907–1909. Paradoxically, Antonio Maura had originally been a member of the Liberal Party, although he split from it together with the supporters of Germán Gamazo Calvo – the so-called
gamacistas – and ended up joining the Conservative Party. In 1903, Alfonso XIII had already entrusted him with the presidency of the government. In 1920, Dato returned to power continuing his work of social reformism - he created the Ministry of Labour, for which he chose Carlos Cañal - although he repressed with expeditious methods - also defended by Juan de la Cierva and Peñafiel - the anarchist pistolerism in Barcelona. He was the promoter of the Law on Accidents at Work and founded the Alfonso XIII Institute. Dato was assassinated at the Puerta de Alcalá in Madrid in 1921, when he was once again President of the Council of Ministers.
The final years (1923–31) With the coup by General
Miguel Primo de Rivera in September 1923 and the subsequent establishment of the Dictatorship, the Conservative Party and its leaders were distanced from political life until 1930, when the party again became part of the last government of the monarchy, presided over by Admiral
Juan Bautista Aznar, who put
Juan de la Cierva y Peñafiel at the head of the Ministry of Public Works in 1930–1931, already considered the leader of the Conservatives. Silvela, Maura and Dato had died; Sánchez de Toca declined to form part of the last governments of Alfonso XIII and even declined to be prime minister; and other politicians of liberal-conservative origin such as Miguel Maura and Santiago Alba had joined the ranks of the conservative republicans. The results of the municipal elections of April 1931 reflected that neither the Liberal nor the Conservative Party had support among the population, and that their power was more artificial than real. With the proclamation of the Second Republic on April 14, 1931, Juan de la Cierva y Peñafiel tried certainly to prevent Alfonso XIII from going into exile, but it was useless. The Conservative Party disappeared shortly after the proclamation of the Republic. ==Electoral performance==