Page 6 - Garda Journal Summer 2019

On May 13, 2019, Felipe VI of Spain and Queen Letizia of Spain presided over events at Madrid Royal Palace, held on the occasion of the 175th anniversary of establishment of the Civil Guard. The Civil Guard (Spanish Guardia Civil) is the national military force of Spain.
- https://www.newmyroyals.com/2019/05/king-felipe-and-queen-letizia-attended.html
The first recruits came during the summer of 1844, their numbers soaring past the amount of places available. The task of developing and organising the institution was given to Field Marshal Mr. Francisco Javier Girón y Ezpeleta, 2nd Duke of Ahumada, on the 1st September 1844. The Duke of Ahumada was appointed as Inspector General of the Civil Guard, and it was officially presented to the authorities with a military parade that filled the streets of Spain. Force members proudly wore their crisp new uniforms and donned the signature tricorne hat that has become emblematic of both the Guardia Civil and Spain. On the 10th October 1844, the Guardia Civil carried out its first service as it escorted Queen Elizabeth II from the Palace to the Cortes.
The corps did not carry out its first international mission until 1847 when a civil-war- torn Portugal requested the help of both Spain and the United Kingdom in appeasing its northern regions. Later, in 1848, Spain was drawn into the Spring of Nations, a wave of political uprisings that manifested across Europe. Although no revolutions occurred in the country itself, the Guardia Civil worked to maintain the social order and uphold the legitimacy of the Spanish governing institutions. It also embraced its role as a humanitarian service agency, aiding in the event of catastrophes or accidents. With the strengthening presence of the corps, banditry and public threats eventually declined. In 1853, the corps began to
It was officially founded on the 13th May 1844, under the reign of Queen Isabel II and with the approval of various political forces throughout Spain. The Guardia Civil was born out of necessity. After the War of Independence against France, the country was left in a state of insecurity and weakness. These were the perfect conditions for banditry to take over of the roads and seriously threaten public safety. Spain’s only line of defence was its National Militia, and the government of Luís González Bravo (President of the Government of Spain, 1843-1844, 1868) abolished it in 1844. The need for an independent, national law enforcement agency became strikingly apparent as social order suffered at the hands of the fluctuating Spanish government. And so began the Guardia Civil’s now 175 year journey.
organise education and protection children of the corps and orphans and sought to groom potential new guards. These efforts would evolve into the School of Youth Guards Duque De Ahumada that trains new generations of Guardia Civil officers today.
Although Spain initially escaped the revolutionary wave in 1848, the ripples caught up to it twenty years later. After the Glorious Revolution in September 1968, which resulted in the overthrow of Queen Isabel after her destabilising oscillation between the liberal and republican parties of Spain, the country entered a period known as “Sexenio Revolucionario.” Lasting until 1874, this time period was fraught with political instability as three elections, seven governments, involvement in multiple wars, and more revolutions
6 GARDA JOURNAL
FEATURE | Guardia Civil 175th Anniversary