CANOVAS DEL CASTILLO, ANTONIO

born Feb. 8, 1828, Mlaga, Spain died Aug. 8, 1897, Santa Agueda, Guipzcoa Spanish statesman and prime minister, whose political activity brought about the restoration of Spain's Bourbon dynasty. He was author of the Constitution of 1876. Upon the death of his father, Cnovas came to Madrid to live under the protection of his relative, the writer Serafn Estbanez Caldern, and of the banker Jos Salamanca. In 1852 he was introduced to General Leopoldo O'Donnell, whose political mentor he later became. His first political act was his involvement in the conspiracy of O'Donnell (1859), the program for which (Manifesto of Manzanares) was the work of Cnovas. In the 1854 elections Cnovas was elected to the Cortes (parliament) for the district of Mlaga, but his unwillingness to support the EsparteroO'Donnell government led him to resign and accept (1855) the lucrative position the government offered him in the Vatican. After his return from Italy (1857), Cnovas held several governmental posts until he became minister of the interior in the administration of Alejandro Mon (1864) and of colonies under O'Donnell (1865). He participated in the Cortes convoked by General Prim (1868) after the dethronement of Isabella II (Sept. 29, 1868) but refused to support the monarchy of Amadeus (187073). Instead, Cnovas became the leader of the Alfonsines and prepared the return of Alfonso XII. After the proclamation of the king by General Martnez Campos at Sagunto (Dec. 29, 1874), Cnovas became prime minister, a post in which he alternated with Prxedes Mateo Sagasta, leader of the liberal party. When King Alfonso XII died (Nov. 25, 1885), Cnovas secured the peaceful transmission of power to Queen Mara Cristina and the future accession to the throne of Alfonso XIII by the so-called Pact of Pardo with Mateo Sagasta and General Martnez Campos and by his own resignation as prime minister. His domestic policy brought to Spain public order and a degree of national unity, but he did not satisfy the working class. In the question of Cuba, Cnovas committed himself to a war policy. He failed to give Cuba any liberal reforms. Furthermore, Cnovas aggravated the situation by sending to the island, after the resignation of Martnez Campos, General Valeriano Weyler y Nicolau, whose measures of repression did not promote the cause of Spain before the eyes of the U.S. government. He was still trying to solve the Cuban problem when he was assassinated by the Italian anarchist Angiolillo. Cnovas del Castillo was a learned man, a member of the academies of language and history. He published meritorious historical works, of which his Estudios del reinado de Felipe IV (Studies of the Reign of Philip IV), Historia de la decadencia de Espaa (History of the Decadence of Spain), and Bosquejo de la casa de Austria en Espaa are useful.