1-150-691 - The Cartoon Collector/Heritage-Images

'The True Hidalgo', 1873. King Amadeus remarks to the crowd A Gentleman, and a Son of Savoy, will not Reign on Sufferance! King Amadeus of Spain is seen throwing his crown to the mob. In February 1873, the King renounced his claim to the Spanish throne for himself, his sons and his heirs. He had taken the throne only two years earlier, but his efforts to govern had been thwarted by infighting amongst various factions. Nor had his life been made any easier by the social ostracism imposed upon him and his family by the families of the highest rank in Spain. 'Hidalgo' simply means Spanish gentleman. His abdication was accepted and, on 12th February, the Spanish Assembly elected a government of Republicans under Senor Figueras. From Punch, or the London Charivari, February 22, 1873.