Description
Book SynopsisBorn into obscurity in a rural backwater of central Spain in the waning years of the eighteenth century, Baldomero Espartero (17931879) led a life resembling that of a character created by Stendhal or Gabriel García Márquez. As a seventy-five-year-old man he was offered and turned down the throne of an industrializing nation. During his illustrious life, he fought against Napoleon, Simón Bolívar, and other Latin American independence leaders; won a seven-year civil war; served as regent for the child queen Isabella II; and spent years in exile in England. He governed as prime minister and also received multiple noble titles, including that of prince, which was normally reserved for members of the royal family. By his sixties, Espartero represented an almost mythical figure.
Based on comprehensive archival research in Spain, Argentina, and the United Kingdom, The Sword of Luchana explores the public and private lives of this archetypal nineteenth-century hero. Adrian
Table of Contents
Acknowledgments List of Illustrations Introduction 1. From Gránatula to America, February 1793–February 1815 2. Defender of the Empire, February 1815–November 1825 3. Defender of the Throne, November 1825–September 1836 4. Commander in Chief, September 1836–August 1839 5. The Reluctant Revolutionary, August 1839–May 1841 6. The Regent, May 1841–July 1843 7. Exile and Return, July 1843–July 1854 8. “The Personification of Liberty”, July 1854–July 1856 9. “The Retiree of Logroño”, July 1856–September 1868 10. “King or president?”, September 1868–December 1870 11. The Necessary Man, January 1871–March 1876 Epilogue: Death and Afterlife, March 1876– Bibliography
