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 The elder daughter of Ferdinand
VII by his fourth wife, María Cristina of Naples, Isabella II was born
in Madrid on October 19, 1830.
After a defeat of an
attempt to force María Cristina to recognise Don Carlos' rights during
Ferdinand's illness in December 1832, María Cristina's faction was dominant
at court. She succeeded in securing all-important military commands in the
hands of supporters of the claims of her daughter, Isabella. She was
proclaimed queen on her father's death on September 29, 1833.
Isabella's right to
succeed to the throne was disputed by supporters of her uncle, Don Carlos,
and her accession precipitated civil war, (First Carlist War), between 1833
and 1839. During Isabella's minority (1833-1843), her mother and General
Baldomero Espartero, a hero of the civil war, acted successively as regents.
In 1843 Espartero was deposed by military officers and Isabella, at the age
of 13, was declared of age to rule Spain. In 1846 she married
her cousin, Francisco de Asis.
 The period of
Isabella's personal rule (1843-68) was characterized by political unrest and
a series of uprisings. Her government was dominated by military politicians,
most notably General Ramón María Narváez and the somewhat more liberal
General Leopoldo O'Donnell. Liberal opposition to the regime's
authoritarianism became increasingly directed at the Queen. Scandalous
reports on the private conduct of Isabella, who lived apart from her husband,
Francisco de Asís de Borbón, as well as her arbitrary political interference,
further damaged the monarchical cause. The abortive uprising of 1866, and the
deaths of O'Donnell (1867) and Narváez (1868), weakened her position further,
and gave wide support to the military rising against Isabella. Her armies
would no longer defend her, and she was forced into exile, and left for France in September 1868.
Isabella settled in Paris, where in 1870 she
abdicated in favour of her eldest surviving son, the future King Alfonso XII
(1874-85). She returned to Spain for a time after
Alfonso's accession but was unsuccessful in influencing political affairs.
She died in Paris on April 9, 1904.
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