Ominous Decade

The Ominous Decade (Castilian: Década Ominosa) is a term for the last ten years of the reign of King Ferdinand VII of Spain, dating from the abolition of the Spanish Constitution of 1812, on 1 October 1823, to his death on 29 September 1833.Ferdinand, however, had not abandoned his reactionary goals, and appealed to the Holy Alliance established at the Congress of Vienna in 1814, by which the main absolutist monarchies of Europe had agreed to help each other in case one of them had to suffer a democratic revolution.Harsh censorship was re-established, while an archaic and totally reactionary organization of universities was introduced under the strict control of the Minister of Justice, Francisco Tadeo Calomarde, who was the mastermind of the suppression of opposition and of the restoration of former institutions, such as the Jesuits (outlawed by the Bourbons in the late 18th century), monasteries and others.The French corps remained in Spain, with the de facto role of an occupation force: however, its heavy cost of supply caused further damage to the Spanish treasury, which had been depleted under the liberal government, also due to the South American revolutions.The discontent of the Spanish military was further spurred by the formation of the Royalist Volunteers, a militia created by Ferdinand VII in 1823, a short time after the collapse of the constitutional cabinet, in order to provide the king a direct means of suppression against the liberal opposition.
Portrait of Ferdinand VII by Francisco Goya .
Coat of ArmsPlus ultraMarcha RealRoman Catholic ChurchofficialDemonym(s)SpanishGovernmentUnitaryabsolute monarchyFerdinand VIICortes Generales19th centuryHundred Thousand Sons of Saint LouisEscudoISO 3166 codeTrienio LiberalReign of Isabella II of SpainFerdinand VII of SpainSpanish Constitution of 1812Peninsular WarRafael del RiegoHoly AllianceCongress of ViennaOne Hundred Thousand Sons of St. LouisLouis Antoine, Duke of AngoulêmeCortesBattle of TrocaderoPortrait of Ferdinand VIIFrancisco GoyaFrancisco Tadeo CalomardeJesuitsRoyalist VolunteersWar of the AggrievedCataloniaValenciaBasque CountryAndalusiaInquisitionWar of the AgraviadosTarragonaPragmatic SanctionCharles IVIsabella IICarlos, Count of MolinaMaria Christina of the Two SiciliesFirst Carlist War