This article examines collective petitioning in metropolitan Spain during the Age of Revolution, focusing on the practices and discourses that framed petitioning as a meaningful form of action. There was a deeply rooted tradition of petitioning in old regime Spain, which was part of the ordinary bureaucratic workings of the crown and also provided a legitimizing framework for rioting in specific contexts. The collective experimentation in popular participation after the 1808 Napoleonic invasion transformed petitioning. Petitioning was first reconceptualized in accordance with the emerging language of rights and popular sovereignty. Activists and commentators had some awareness of the use of public petitioning in Britain, and once the representative Cortes met in Cadiz in 1810, public petition drives on public issues became part of the political culture. At the same time, the need to legitimate unconventional forms of action in the context of a crisis in the state converted petitioning into an all-embracing right. The right to petition, not only encompassed signed protest texts but also legitimated the old tradition of petitioning by riot and further was used to justify provincial rebellions, juntas, and military pronunciamientos. In comparative terms, this article highlights the elasticity of the language of petitioning during the Age of Revolution and cautions against narrowly associating it with one particular form of collective action or historical trajectory.

中文翻译：

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重新想象西班牙的请愿 (1808–1823)

本文考察了革命时代西班牙大都市的集体请愿，重点关注将请愿视为一种有意义的行动形式的实践和话语。在旧政权西班牙有一个根深蒂固的请愿传统，这是王室日常官僚运作的一部分，也为特定情况下的骚乱提供了合法化框架。1808 年拿破仑入侵后民众参与的集体实验改变了请愿。请愿首先根据权利和人民主权的新兴语言进行了重新概念化。活动家和评论员对在英国使用公开请愿有一定的认识，一旦代表科尔特斯于 1810 年在加的斯会面，针对公共问题的公众请愿活动成为政治文化的一部分。与此同时，在国家危机的背景下，需要使非常规的行动形式合法化，这将请愿变成了一种包罗万象的权利。请愿权不仅包括签署的抗议文本，还使通过暴动上访的旧传统合法化，并进一步被用来为省级叛乱、军政府和军事发音辩护。比较而言，本文强调了革命时期请愿语言的弹性，并告诫不要将其与一种特定形式的集体行动或历史轨迹狭隘地联系起来。在国家危机的背景下，需要使非常规形式的行动合法化，这将请愿变成了一项包罗万象的权利。请愿权不仅包括签署的抗议文本，还使通过暴动上访的旧传统合法化，并进一步被用来为省级叛乱、军政府和军事发音辩护。比较而言，本文强调了革命时期请愿语言的弹性，并告诫不要将其与一种特定形式的集体行动或历史轨迹狭隘地联系起来。在国家危机的背景下，需要使非常规形式的行动合法化，这将请愿变成了一项包罗万象的权利。请愿权不仅包括签署的抗议文本，还使通过暴动上访的旧传统合法化，并进一步被用来为省级叛乱、军政府和军事发音辩护。比较而言，本文强调了革命时期请愿语言的弹性，并告诫不要将其与一种特定形式的集体行动或历史轨迹狭隘地联系起来。