ministers, instead of basing their reforms on the native liberties and constitutions of Spain, imitated almost wholly the spurious liberalism of the encyclopaedists and doctrinaires of France. Hence few of their reforms took root. Those that were not immediately done away with did not grow or develope. The successors of Charles III. were still more feeble than his immediate predecessors, and the condition of the royal family was such that Napoleon had no difficulty in forcing them to abdicate, and to crown his brother Joseph king of Spain; but the nation, unlike the royal family, refused to acquiesce in this usurpation of their rights, and rose as one man to avenge the burning wrong. [Illustration: PORT OF CADIZ. _Page 153._] The modern history of Spain begins naturally with that of the War of Liberation, May 2nd, 1808, and politically with the Cortes of Cadiz, 1812, and with the constitution then promulgated. This declares: That the Spanish nation is not the patrimony of any family or person; that the sovereignty resides essentially in the nation, which is the conservator of its own liberties and rights. The sole religion is and shall always be the Apostolic Roman. The legislative power resides in the Cortes with the king. The suffrage was universal, and one deputy was to be elected for every 70,000 souls. Entails and feudal privileges had been abolished by a law of August 6th, 1811, the liberty of the press was voted, and in 1813 the inquisition was suppressed. The French had been expelled, chiefly through the assistance of England, and the king had returned from captivity; all looked well for the new era. But in 1814 Ferdinand VII. violated the oath which he had sworn to observe the constitution; the inquisition was re-established; the feudal exactions on real property were restored; and the fatal policy of violent reaction and of ruthless vengeance on political opponents was inaugurated which has wrought such deadly harm to the cause of progress in Spain. After an absolute government of six years, Riego raised the standard of revolt at Cadiz, and again Ferdinand swore to observe the constitution of 1812: further reforms were established. In 1820, tithes were partially suppressed, and the Church was forbidden to acquire any more real property. A law of May 3rd, 1823, affirmed in stronger terms the law of 1813 on the abolition of entail: the religious orders were done away with. But in the same year, with the assistance of a French army under the Duc d'Angouleme, Ferdinand conquered the liberals and again violated his oath to observe the constitution. Every act of the Cortes for the last four years was annulled. Riego, with other chiefs of the liberal party, was put to death under circumstances of atrocious cruelty, others were banished, and a crafty and tenacious system of persecution was directed against every liberal for the rest of the reign. During this reign, too, through denial of all reform or suppression of any abuse,