Paris, and particularly London, where many liberals (many of them Freemasons) had fled on Ferdinand VII's return (1814). In London and Paris negotiations were opened respectively with Nathan Rothschild and James Rothschild. They bailed out the Spanish liberal regime, supported by Great Britain which consistently supported liberal movements in Europe and also had vested interest in securing the debt engaged in previous years. The 1823 intervention of a reactionary international alliance, the Sacred Alliance, restored Ferdinand VII on the Spanish throne, who repudiated the debts incurred by the 1820-1823 liberal rulers with the Rothschilds. For more than a decade, the unserviced liberal debt was a persistent sticking point with these financiers during talks for new loan requests. Against a backdrop of on-off bankruptcy and solvency issues, towards the end of his life, Ferdinand VII promulgated the Pragmatic Sanction of 1830 giving hopes to the liberals. Ferdinand VII of Spain had no male descendant, but two daughters, Isabella (later Isabella II) and Luisa Fernanda. The "Pragmatic Sanction" allowed Isabella to become Queen after his death. This overrode the rights of Carlos de Borbón, the king's brother, to the succession, He and his followers, such as Secretary of Justice Francisco Tadeo Calomarde, pressed Ferdinand to change his mind. But the agonizing Ferdinand kept to his decision and when he died on 29 September 1833, Isabella became queen. As she was only a child, a regent was needed, so her mother Queen Consort Maria Christina was appointed. A strong absolutist party feared that the regent Maria Christina would make liberal reforms, and sought another candidate for the throne. The natural choice, based on Salic Law, was Ferdinand's brother Carlos. The differing views on the influence of the army and the Church in governance, as well as the forthcoming administrative reforms paved the way for the expulsion of the Conservatives from the higher governmental circles. Cea Bermudez's centrist government (October 1832-January 1834) inaugurated the return to Spain of many exiles from London and Paris, e.g. Juan Álvarez Mendizabal (born Méndez). The rise of Cea Bermudez was followed by a closer collaboration and understanding with the Rothschilds, who in turn clearly encouraged the former's reforms and liberalization, i.e. the new liberal regime and the incorporation of Spain to the European financial system. However, with state coffers yet again empty, the impending war, and the Trienio Liberal loan issue with the Rothschilds still not settled, Cea