La pieza de Diciembre

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In the December “Piece of the Month,” the month in which we commemorate our Constitution, we present a copy of the 1812 Constitution, popularly known as La Pepa. This text marked a decisive milestone in Spanish constitutional history, enshrining national sovereignty, individual rights, and the separation of powers. For the Library Service, it is a pleasure to offer the university community the opportunity to engage with this emblematic piece of Spanish bibliographic and historical heritage, while also honoring those who, in 1812, worked to build a Rule of Law and laid the foundations for a constitutional order.

During the prolonged siege of Cádiz and San Fernando—begun in February 1810 and lifted in August 1812—the city became a refuge for the government and the setting where the Cortes Generales drafted this decisive Constitution, while resisting the encirclement imposed by French troops. It was promulgated on March 19, 1812. 

The displayed copy recalls that collective effort to provide Spain with a political framework based on liberty and justice, in one of the most significant episodes of our contemporary history. The Constitution text comprises 384 articles introducing principles that were revolutionary for their time: national sovereignty, a unicameral Cortes, executive power subject to the law, recognition of rights such as individual liberty and freedom of the press, inviolability of the home, equality before the law, and compulsory public education, while maintaining Catholicism as the sole official religion. The Cádiz edition represented a decisive step toward political modernity and had a transatlantic impact, inspiring reprints in American cities such as Havana and Lima.

The edition printed at the Royal Printing House of Cádiz, with 134 pages in a reduced format, was designed to facilitate distribution among deputies, authorities, and citizens. The Cádiz press, inheritor of the Royal Printing House of Madrid evacuated due to the French invasion, was the principal typographic organ serving the Cortes. Under the direction of skilled printers and with official support, it printed decrees, session journals, and finally the approved constitutional text. This edition stands out for its clear and sober typography, without ornamentation, faithfully reflecting its practical purpose and documentary value. It symbolizes the role played by the press in consolidating a new constitutional and political order during a period of profound transformation for Spain and the Americas. The copy preserved in the Library of the Pontifical Comillas University features a careful 20th-century binding in leather, with marbled endpapers and the ex libris “Luis G. de Valdeavellano,” from the collection acquired in 1985.