Maria Christina of the Two Sicilies
The party was established in 1834 as the extreme liberal opposition, during the regency of queen mother Maria Christina of the Two Sicilies; Queen Isabel was only three years old. It was the party of the "exaltados", "veinteañistas" or "progresistas", heirs of the "Trienio Liberal" ("liberal triennium") of 1820–1823, whereas the Moderate Party represented the "doceañistas" who traced their roots to the Spanish Constitution of 1812. The Progressives were the party of the National Militia, the jury trial, a secular state, and of national sovereignty and the broadening of the franchise under census suffrage. On this last matter, their position was somewhat milder than popular sovereignty, in that it did not necessarily call for the universal franchise.