Madrid

• Capital of the Liberal State[edit]

• 1861 map of the Ensanche de Madrid
• The city was invaded on 24 May 1823 by a French army—the so-called Hundred
Thousand Sons of Saint Louis—called to intervene to restore the absolutism of
Ferdinand that the latter had been deprived from during the 1820–1823 trienio
liberal.[59] Unlike other European capitals, during the first half of the 19th century the
only noticeable bourgeois elements in Madrid (that experienced a delay in its industrial
development up to that point) were merchants. [60] The University of Alcalá de Henares
was relocated to Madrid in 1836, becoming the Central University.[61]
• The economy of the city further modernized during the second half of the 19th
century, consolidating its status as a service and financial centre. New industries were
mostly focused in book publishing, construction and low-tech sectors.[62] The
introduction of railway transport greatly helped Madrid's economic prowess, and led to
changes in consumption patterns (such as the substitution of salted fish for fresh fish
from the Spanish coasts) as well as further strengthening the city's role as a logistics
node in the country's distribution network.[63] Electric lightning in the streets was
introduced in the 1890s.[63]
• During the first third of the 20th century the population nearly doubled, reaching more
than 850,000 inhabitants. New suburbs such as Las Ventas, Tetuán and El Carmen
became the homes of the influx of workers, while Ensanche became a middle-class
neighbourhood of
• Capital of Spain[edit]
• Madrid is the capital of Spain. The King of Spain, the country's head of
state, has his official residence in the Zarzuela Palace. As the seat of
the Government of Spain, Madrid also houses the official residence of
the President of the Government (Prime Minister) and regular
meeting place of the Council of Ministers, the Moncloa Palace, as well
as the headquarters of the ministerial departments. Both the
residences of the head of state and government are located at the
northwest of the city. Additionally, the seats of the Lower and Upper
Chambers of the Spanish Parliament, the Cortes Generales
(respectively, the Palacio de las Cortes and the Palacio del Senado),
also lie on Madrid.