Una Constitución singular. La carta gaditana en perspectiva comparada

Abstract

This article makes a comparative analysis of some aspects of the 1812 Constitution by contrasting it with the main Charters of the great Atlantic Revolutions, in particular the ones enacted in France between 1789 and 1812, and the North American Constitution of 1787. Through this type of comparative exercise some peculiarities of the Cádiz Charter are revised, which are analysed and revalued taking into account contextual conditioning aspects. Finally, the article proposes an interpretation of the different perceptions that revolutionaries in the three areas compared (French, Anglo-American, and Spanish American) had of their role, and of that of their respective political traditions in the general change process. The effects of those diverse perceptions on their respective identitary constructions are also analysed.