Moderados

a Spanish party of right-wing liberals, bringing together segments of the nobility and the bourgeoisie from 1820 to 1868.

In the course of the Spanish Revolution of 1820–23, the Moderados formed a government which lasted from March 1820 to August 1822. A number of reforms were decreed, including abolition of primogeniture and closure of a number of monasteries. However, the Moderados displayed hesitancy in the struggle against absolutism and were compelled to yield power to the left-wing liberals (Exaltados). But after the outbreak of the First Carlist War, Maria Cristina, acting as regent, transferred power on Jan. 15, 1834, to F. Martinez de la Rosa, the leader of the right-wing liberals. In April 1834, Martinez issued the Royal Statute, a conservative constitution that embodied the political ideals of the Moderados.

The development of a popular movement led to the resignation of the government of the Moderados in September 1835. During the 1840’s the Moderados actively opposed democratic reforms. In July 1843 the leader of the Moderados, R. M. Narvaez, carried out a counter-revolutionary coup that put an end to the Spanish Revolution of 1834–43. With the beginning of the Revolution of 1868–74, the Moderados ceased functioning as a party.