The Corts in Catalan have the same origin as courts in English (the sovereign's councillors or retinue) but instead meaning the legislature.

This series of decrees abolished the separate laws of the territories that supported his Habsburg rival to the throne, the Archduke Charles of Austria; this included all realms of the Crown of Aragon.

These acts were promulgated in Valencia and Aragon in 1707, and were extended in 1716 to the Principality of Catalonia and the Balearic Islands (with the exception of Menorca, a British possession at the time).

Thus, the Catalan Constitutions were effectively abolished by the King's authority after his military victory, rather than through any legislative process within Catalonia itself.

Carlos María de los Dolores finally departed for France, 27 February 1876, the same day that Alfonso XII of Spain entered Pamplona.