Declinaciones de la reacción eclesiástica contra la Revolución francesa en España (1789-1808)

Abstract

This essay studies how the Catholic Church reacted to the threat of the French Revolution. Manuscripts and primary sources of this period are studied in order to identify the different positions adopted by the Spanish reactionary clergy. Four main epigraphs will be developed with the intention of covering the complexity of the ecclesiastical thinking landscape from 1789. The first one will focus on the traditional enemies of the Enlightenment, which considered that revolution was a consequence of this movement. The second one will analyse the restoration of the alliance between throne and altar addressed by those clerics who were not only closest to power, but also generally the most enlightened. Thirdly, we will see how a sector of the Spanish clergy started to feel disillusioned with the king and his absolutist policies, and found consolation in the Pope (in a sort of Ultramontanism). Finally, the last epigraph will study the case of one of these disaffected clerics, Lorenzana, Archbishop of Toledo. The conclusion of this article is that Spanish reactionary thinking after the French Revolution was much more complex than previously thought. Not every reactionary cleric was against the Enlightenment, nor were all the reactionary clergy favour to the king.