SPAIN

Anonymous, “Absolutismo” (Absolutism), La Carcajada no. 19, June 15, 1872

A liberal successor to La Flaca (1869-1871), published in Barcelona, La Carcajada was an outspoken critic of the reactionary Carlist movement and the Bourbon pretender Carlos, Duke of Madrid (1848-1909), who fought for control of Spain between 1872 and 1876. Here an ineffectual looking Carlos, whose claim to “Divine Right” is supported by “Intolerance,” “Fanaticism,” “Hypocrisy” and “Ignorance,” is defended by heavily armed clerics, who torture a female allegory of Liberty. Burning books, an executioner’s block and gallows point to the repressive apparatus that supports the unprepossessing claimant to the throne.

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