Gentlemen Bourgeois and Revolutionaries

The traditional interpretation of the crisis of the Spanish Old Regime is of a revolution carried out by an ascendant bourgeoisie. Professor Cruz challenges this viewpoint arguing that in Spain as in the rest of Europe a national bourgeoisie did not exist before 1850. Historiography based on the bourgeois revolution theory portrays Spain as an exceptional model whose main feature is the failure produced by the immobility of its ruling class. This work re-examines that understanding and relocates Spain in the mainstream for industrialization urbanization and democratization that characterize the history of Modern Europe.