Next Monday will be the second of May, a very important day in the Contemporary History of Madrid, not only because of the Napoleonic Invasion of Spain and beginning of “The Independence War” in 1808, but also it meant the first attempt popular rebellion against the powerful French Empire.

It is originated that in 1812, in San Fernando (Cádiz), the Parliament should be convened and was written the first Liberal and Democratic Constitution in the South of Europe. It was written in 1812 and was called colloquially as "The Pepa", being the third “Magna Carta” after the American one and French one.
The 1812 Constitution established the principals of universal suffrage, national sovereignty, constitutional monarchy, freedom of the press, and supported land reform and free enterprise.

Do you think that it was a milestone in Spain’s and Madrid’s history?

Absolutely!!!

I love Cadiz and somewhere have photos of the building where 2nd of May is immortalized. Can you remember the name of that building (the entire portico is reference the Magna Carta) or do I need to go digging for my photographs to cme up with the name?

Dear Puna,

The oath of the Constitution of 1812 was in the Church of San Philip of Neri in Cádiz, but work and meetings took place in the Lion Island (St. Mary's College) in San Ferdinand.

Greetings

Thank you!! The building I was thinking of was San Philip of Neri

Can you share some insights into how 2nd of May is celebrated in Spain? I've not been there first week of May and people feedback is soooo much more interesting than online research.

Dear Puna,
As in the United States of America to celebrate the fourth of July, the second of May is a significant festival in Madrid and the rest of Spain because it was the popular uprising against the mighty Napoleon Bonaparte. At last, after all, the Madrid’s people rose up spontaneously when Napoleonic Invasion was very evident, namely, on the second of May, 1808, the Madridian rebelled against the occupation of the city by French troops, provoking a brutal repression by the French Imperial Forces and triggering the Peninsular War.
The Royal Capital had been under the occupation of Napoleon’s Army since 23 March of the same year. The King Charles IV of Bourbon had been forced to abdicate in favor of his son the Prince Ferdinand VII of Bourbon, and at the time of the uprising both were in the French city of Bayonne at the persistence of Emperor ambitious Corsican origin. An attempt by the French general Joachim Murat to move the daughter and youngest son of Charles IV to Bayonne led to a popular rebellion that was harshly suppressed by French troops after hours of fierce street fighting. The uprising in Madrid, together with the subsequent proclamation as King of Napoleon's brother Joseph, provoked resistance across Spain to French rule.
The spark that provoked the rebellion was the move by the French Marshal in command of Madrid, Joaquim Murat, to send the daughter of Charles IV and the Infante Don Francisco de Paula to the French city of Bayonne. Murat was the brother-in-law of Napoleon, and would later become King of Naples. Initially the governing council of the city refused the request from Murat, but eventually gave way after receiving a message from Ferdinand VII who was also in Bayonne at this time.
On Second of May a crowd began to gather in front of the madrilian Royal Palace (The East Palace). Those gathered entered the palace grounds in an attempt to prevent the removal of Francisco de Paula. Marshal Murat sent a battalion of grenadiers from the Imperial Guard to the palace along with Artillery Detachments. The latter opened fire on the assembled crowd, and the rebellion began to spread to other parts of the city. The Madrid’s people rose up in arms.
What followed was street fighting in different areas of Madrid as the poorly armed population confronted the French Troops. Murat had quickly moved the majority of his Troops into the city and there was heavy fighting around the “The Sun Gate (La Puerta del Sol)” and the (The Toledo’s Gate La Puerta de Toledo)”. Marshal Murat imposed martial law and curfew in the city and seized power of the administration. Little by little the French regained full control of the city, and many hundreds of people died in the fighting. The painting by the Spanish artist Francisco de Goya, “The Charge of the Malelukes (La Carga de los Mamelucos)”, portrays the street fighting that took place.
There were Spanish troops stationed in the city, but they remained confined to barracks. The only Spanish troops to disobey orders were from the artillery units at the barracks of Monteleón, who joined the uprising. Two officers of these troops, Luis Daoíz de Torres and Pedro Velarde y Santillán are still commemorated as heroes of the rebellion. Both died during the French assault of the barracks, as the rebels were reduced by vastly superior numbers.
On the same Second of May, in the nearby town of Móstoles, the arrival of the news of the repression prompted Juan Pérez Villamil, who was secretary of the Admiralty and prosecutor of the Supreme War Council, to encourage the mayors of the town, Andrés Torrejón and Simón Hernández, to sign a “Declaration of War” calling all the Spaniards against the French Invaders. The name of this declaration was “The Mayors’ Group of Móstoles (El Bando de Los Alcaldes de Móstoles)” or “The Independence Group (El Bando de La Independencia)”.
On the Second of May, was chosen as a public holiday in “The Community of Madrid (La Comunidad de Madrid)”. The place where the artillery barracks of Monteleón was located is now a square called “The Second of May Square (Plaza del 2 de Mayo)”, and the district surrounding the square is known as Malasaña or Maravillas (Wonderlands) in memory of the heroes Luis Daoíz de Torres and Pedro Velarde. Besides and the same area, there is a street that is named after other popular heroines of the struggle: Manuela Malasaña, who was a teenager that was executed by French Troops in the aftermath of the revolt.
Several memorials to the madridian heroes are located over the city, including “The Monument to The Fallen For Spain (El Monumento a Los Caídos Por España)” and is located in the “The Loyalty Square (La Plaza De La Lealtad)”, between “The Madrid Stock Exchange (La Bolsa De Valores De Madrid)” and “The Ritz Hotel (El Hotel Ritz)”, more next to “The Prado Avenue (El Paseo Del Prado)”. The monument is built on the place where General Joachim Murat ordered the execution of numerous Spaniards after the Second of May Uprising of 1808. After various attempts to create a memorial as homage to the participants of the uprising, the inauguration of the monument took place on May 2, 1840, the anniversary of the event. On November 22, 1985, King Juan Carlos I Of Bourbon re-inaugurated the monument as a memorial to all those who gave their life for Spain, including those that died in conflicts other than the Independence War. Since then, a flame fuelled by gas has been constantly burning on the front of the monument. This parallels other war memorials around the world of national symbolic importance, frequently known as “The Tomb Of The Unknown Soldier (La Tumba Al Soldado Desconocido)”.

Greetings

Great day indeed for Spain, and great constitution, that ended quickly too.
There are statues around Plaza de Oriente too, and Retiro. Even a plaza name after it. Enjoy the holiday in Madrid.
Napoleon failed in many parts including Mexico lol!

and we had the king Fernando Vll,the most useless of spain history

What do you think this face?....

Dear Jazz,

I don’t think Ferdinand VII was the most useless King. That role belongs to his father Charles IV who was completely dominated by his wife the Queen Mary Louise of Parma and his favorite Manuel Godoy, the Prince of the Peace. As you know, the King delegated to Godoy the government leading of the country to sign the "Treaty of Fontainebleau” of 1807 with Napoleon. It stipulated a French-Spanish joint military invasion of Portugal, (that had joined England), and allowed the first step of the French troops on Spanish soil, making it the subsequent history of French invasion of the Iberian Peninsula and War of Independence.
But Ferdinand VII went down in history as the "Wanted" after the end of the war. The Spanish people and the political class expected him to respect the Constitution of 1812. He did so until you call the "Holy Alliance" established in the “Congress of Vienna” in 1815 and crushed the "Liberal Triennium" and established the "Old Regime". This is the epoch of the executions of Empecinado and Mariana Pineda among many others. Therefore Ferdinand VII was not the most useless but the most despotic of the recent history of Spain.

Greetings.

Dear Losaustrias.
" De tal palo tal astilla"
don´t forget, by this king was guilty of the first carlist war