, built in 1855 During the 42 years of his life that Salamanca spent in Madrid, Salamanca had a major career as a financier and businessman. It is for this that he is most remembered. He was a founder of the
Bank of Isabella II (1844) and the
Bank de Cádiz (1846) This time his partners were the banker
Nazario Carriquiri and the
Count of Retamoso, Maria Christina's brother-in-law. The construction of the line caused Salamanca some economic difficulties, and coincided with the financial crisis of 1846, not to mention Salamanca's
failure at the Bank of Isabella II and a fall from grace that sent him into exile in France for 16 months. Today, that route is part of the line from Madrid to
Alcázar de San Juan, where it divides into a route to
Andalusia and one to the
Spanish Levante. A Sunday tourist train, the
Tren de la Fresa ("Strawberry Train") keeps alive the nickname earned by the Madrid-Aranjuez line in its early years. The present-day Aranjuez station is located at a small distance from the original terminus immediately at the
Royal Palace of Aranjuez. Salamanca also invested in railways from Madrid to
Irún,
Córdoba to
Málaga, and from Aranjuez to the
Mediterranean;
Panic at the Bolsa de Madrid In autumn 1844, the
Bolsa de Madrid—Spain's largest stock exchange—saw a series of enthusiastic sessions. Optimism reigned at the stability provided by the government of Narvaez. However, after several days of analysis, Salamanca began to
sell short in a seemingly clumsy strategy. Taking advantage of his privileged position in public affairs, Salamanca knew that several generals were considering a coup. He also knew that Narváez was maintaining a correspondence with some of them, intending to get them to drop the plan. When the news arrived that General
Martín Zurbano had risen up in rebellion in
Nájera, Salamanca and his associates announced it to sow panic. The stock exchange, sensitive to any abrupt change in public affairs, plummeted, and Salamanca profited by some 30 million reales in a single day. Fernando Muñoz and General Narváez each received 2 million.
Failed Bank of Isabella II Founded in 1844, it was to be an institution more or less on a par with the
Bank of San Fernando. It was founded with capital of 100 million reales, which it distributed generously as credit among Spain's emerging capitalist investors. Although the bank was never a financial success, Salamanca used its capital to make purchases, such as 71-block lot purchased from María Luisa de Borbón, paid for with a check for 1 million reales drawn on the bank. When the time came that the check had to be made good, Salamanca turned to Queen Isabella, who owed money to the bank. However, she insisted on paying the debt with her shares in the Madrid-Aranjuez railway, shares for which she had paid 4 million reales, but which were by this time practically worthless. The bank was ultimately rescued by being merged into the Bank of San Fernando, forming the basis for the
Bank of Spain. ==Financial decline==