The reign of Fernando VII (1814-33) attempted to restore the absolute monarchy, which had been fatally wounded by the Cadiz constitution of 1812. In 1833, his three-year-old daughter Isabel II acceded to the throne, and María Cristina de Bourbon, the regent, sided with the liberals to counter the Carlists. Nevertheless, modernisation is rare in centralised states: the sales of confiscated church property were only of benefit to the powerful, and universal suffrage was not granted. The land-owning and financial bourgeoisie of Spain showed no interest in industry, and the Catalan bourgeoisie was not in a position to lead the process of reform.