Amadeo I: The Spanish are ungovernable

February 11 1873 — Amadeo I of Spain, 27, abdicates after 27 months. At 10pm the First Spanish Republic is proclaimed. Amadeo makes an appearance before the Cortes Generales (Spanish Parliament) and proclaims the Spanish people to be ungovernable. The second son of Victor Emmanuel II of Italy was elected by the Cortes as monarch (the only king of Spain from the House of Savoy) in 1870, following the deposition on September 30 1868 of Isabel II in the Glorious Revolution. His reign started on November 16 1970. He had to deal with: unstable Spanish politics, republican conspiracies, Carlist uprisings, separatism in Cuba, interparty disputes, fugitive governments and assassination attempts. Despite a warning of a plot against his life on August 18 1872, he refused to take precautions. While returning from Buen Retiro Park to Madrid in the company of Queen Maria Vittoria, they came under a hail of revolver and rifle fire in Vía Avenal. The horses were wounded, but the occupants of the royal carriage escaped unhurt. A period of calm followed. However, faced with the possibility of reigning without popular support, Amadeo issues an order against the artillery corps and immediately abdicates. He returns to Italy where he resumes the title of Duke of Aosta. He dies on January 18 1890, aged 44, and his friend Giacomo Puccini composes the famous elegy for string quartet “Crisantemi” in his memory. The First Spanish Republic lasts less than two years. In November 1874 Alfonso XII, the son of Isabella II, is proclaimed king.