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By August 1814, six years after news of the fall of the Spanish monarchy reached Central America and touched off a massive political crisis throughout the empire, the Kingdom of Guatemala found itself at peace again. As if by magic, the status quo ante bellum reigned once more as Ferdinand VII proceeded to obliterate all signs of the constitutional experiments undertaken during his absence from Spain. For the ¤rst time since taking command of the colony, Captain General Bustamante governed under the system of Bourbon absolutism that had so profoundly shaped his character and his early career as an of¤cer and administrator. Of course, neither the edicts of the king nor the actions of the captain general could erase the fact that the kingdom had experienced signi ¤cant political and social upheavals during the constitutional period. Certain elite groups within colonial society had bene¤ted greatly from the liberal reforms—or at least recognized the inherent potential of the reforms—while some among the population were permanently radicalized . During the last four years of Bustamante’s administration, however , the vast majority of the people of Central America, including the creole elite, expressed no concern that the Constitution of 1812 had been repudiated in favor of the old absolutist order.1 For all intents and purposes , the kingdom had overcome the spasms of unrest and autonomist sentiment that threatened Spanish rule during the Napoleonic wars and 7 The Restoration of Absolutism, 1815–1818 was fully prepared to embrace the restored king and what remained of his empire. Despite the potential for reconciliation resulting from the successful preservation of the Kingdom of Guatemala for the crown, the last years of Bustamante’s tenure as captain general were marked by continued struggles between the governor and the creole oligarchy. Some historians have characterized this period as a Central American “terror” during which Bustamante reimposed the absolutist order with an iron ¤st and created, in effect, a military dictatorship designed to sti®e all signs of colonial dissent. Others, emphasizing the personal nature of the con-®ict between the captain general and the creoles, have argued that Bustamante ’s actions at the time were not particularly systematic but, instead , resulted from his obsessive need for revenge against those who challenged his authority in the past. Both interpretations ¤nd substantiation for their claims in the series of events that dominated colonial politics in the years between 1815 and 1818: Bustamante’s unforgiving attack on the signers of the 1810 Instrucciones; the deteriorating relationship between the captain general and the audiencia; two unfortunate deaths that resulted from the administration’s continued efforts to combat subversion; the economic persecution of the Houses of Aycinena and Beltranena; and the confusion that surrounded the 1817 decision by the crown to repudiate Bustamante’s policies and recall him to Spain. However, one does not need to resort to well-worn stereotypes of Spanish oppression to understand the motivations and behavior of the captain general at this stage in his administration. While absolutism undoubtedly ¤t best with Bustamante’s style of governance, he did not need to terrorize the population of Central America into accepting a political tradition that most understood better than liberal constitutionalism . Operating with the full backing of the crown for the ¤rst time, Bustamante attempted to ensure the future stability of the Kingdom of Guatemala by disempowering the creole oligarchy, which he long considered to be the most dangerous and destabilizing group in the colony. Personal animosity undoubtedly played a role in determining the nature of this campaign, but so did a rational assessment of the leading threat to continued Spanish rule. Unfortunately for Bustamante, the segment of society that he targeted was vocal, well connected, and well Restoration of Absolutism 181 represented at court. Once the crown decided that its interests were best served by maintaining a close relationship with the Guatemalan creole oligarchy, the captain general found himself expendable. Bustamante’s negative associations with the creole elite were reinforced at the outset of the restoration period. A few days after publishing the 4 May royal decree, the captain general learned that a letter written by the Guatemalan diputación provincial to the Cortes, charging him with numerous infractions of the constitution, had been published in a March edition of the Universal de Madrid and was later picked up by a Cuban newspaper.2 In keeping with the liberal sentiment still dominant at the time, the editorial commentary surrounding this letter ascribed Bustamante’s actions...

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