Between 1808 and 1814, the cities of Puebla and Valencia resisted invasion, established and participated in constitutional government and negotiated new forms of local and national identity forged during the wars. Clerics played central roles in both the warfare and political revolutions of the epoch, as priests spearheaded armed resistance and participated in the formation of new governments. Across the Spanish Monarchy, patriotic rhetoric and liberal notions of the sovereignty of the people spread from Enlightenment-era salons to political debates and to the pulpits of the Catholic church. Urban residents navigated and reinterpreted liberal ideals in a burgeoning public sphere. The combined efforts of local actors and municipal bodies established a revolutionary template upon which, by 1812, the Cortes of Cádiz had consolidated a new liberal regime. In sum, urban revolts in both hemispheres transformed the contours of government and national identity within a crucible of conflict.