In that year he became Prime Minister for the first time, but was dominated by Francisco Calomarde, the real leader of the Cabinet.

On 1 October 1832, he was recalled to become Prime Minister again, in the turbulent years when Ferdinand VII of Spain died, and the Pragmatic Sanction of 1830 came into effect, leading to the First Carlist War.

After the Manifesto of Santarem, in which the prince Carlos María Isidro proclaimed himself king of Spain, the royalists opted to take up arms.

When the First Carlist War began, Cea's offers failed to attract the liberals, who insisted on constitutional modifications.

Finally, the latter, in their more moderate version, obtained the support of some courtiers (among them Miraflores), of captains general (Llauder, Quesada, Fernández de Córdova) and of the French and British embassies: Cea was replaced by the moderate liberal Francisco Martínez de la Rosa (January 15, 1834).