Cantonal Rebellion

Cantonal Revolution
Foci of cantonal uprising and main battles (over current borders)
Date 12 July – 3 January 1873 (1873-07-12 – 1873-01-03) Location Spain Result Rebellion suppressed Federal Democratic Republican Party removed from power Restoration of the monarchy of Spain
Belligerents
Cantonalists Internationalists	Spanish Republic
Commanders and leaders
Juan Contreras y Román [es] Antonio Gálvez Arce [es]	Nicolás Salmerón Arsenio Martínez Campos Manuel Pavía

The Cantonal Revolution (Spanish: Revolución cantonal)^[a] was an attempt to establish a revolutionary federal republic, based on a decentralised system of cantons, in Spain in 1873.

Following the Glorious Revolution of 1868, Spain was thrown into political instability which culminated in the establishment of the First Spanish Republic. The Federal Democratic Republican Party (PRDF), led by Francesc Pi i Margall, was elected to reconstitute the country as a federal republic, but internal divisions within the party led to further conflict. Left-wing "intransigent" republicans advocated for the formation of the federal republic from the bottom-up, rather than the top-down constitution proposed by the Pi i Margall government.

On 17 July 1873, intransigents in Cartagena established the Canton of Cartagena, aiming to transform the country into a federal republic based on the model of the cantons of Switzerland. Cantons were established throughout southern and eastern Spain, where government forces had little presence due to the ongoing Carlist War in the north. The Pi i Margall government collapsed and was replaced by the political moderate Nicolás Salmerón, who sought to put down the uprising. Members of the International Workingmen's Association (IWA) also joined the uprising, with the aim of escalating the political revolution into a social revolution. By the following year, the rebellion was suppressed by the forces of Manuel Pavía and Arsenio Martínez Campos.

The repression of the Cantonal Revolution resulted in the strengthening of the political influence of the Spanish Army, which carried out a coup d'état against the Republic, established a military government and eventually restored the monarchy. The experience radicalised many federal republicans towards anarchism, which progressively grew in influence over the course of the late 19th century.
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