Spain’s Carlist Wars: Liberalism, Absolutism & Foral Rights
The Carlist Wars and the Foral Question
The first steps of the liberal regime in Spain during the minority of Isabel II (1833-1843) coincided with a civil war, the First Carlist War, between government forces (supporters of Isabel II, known as *Isabelinos* or Cristinos) and supporters of absolutism, represented by Carlos María Isidro, uncle of the queen.
Causes of the Conflict
The conflict stemmed from the question of succession following the death of Fernando VII. One side supported the legitimacy of Isabel II to the throne and her mother, Queen María Cristina, to exercise the regency during her daughter’s minority. The other side, the Carlists, claimed that Carlos María Isidro, brother of Fernando VII, should be the king of Spain (as Carlos V) according to the Salic Law, which they did not regard as repealed. After Carlos’s death, his descendants continued to lead this faction. The Carlist cause survived well into the twentieth century.
Ideologically, the Carlists were enemies of liberalism and the changes it involved: economic freedoms, secularization, and territorial uniformity. Carlism’s ideology, summed up in their motto “Dios, Patria, Rey” (God, Country, and King), defended the Old Regime, traditional privileges, and the divine right of kings. They also demanded the maintenance of the *fueros* (regional charters) and traditional privileges against the centralizing policies of the liberal regime; this was the *foralista* position, which argued that regions should maintain their traditional governing institutions.
Support and Alliances
The Carlist faction gained the support of various conservative sectors of Spanish society, including smallholding farmers (especially in the North), traditionalist nobles, segments of the clergy, army officers, and even foreign powers like Austria, Prussia, and Naples. Internationally, the *Isabelino* regime received support from France, Portugal, and Great Britain, formalized in the Quadruple Alliance (1834).
The First Carlist War (1833-1840)
Surprise attacks and troop mobility brought the Carlists initial military success against the Queen’s forces, strengthening their insurgency in the Basque Country and Navarre. However, the strategic goal of Carlos V (the Carlist pretender) was Madrid. The Carlist leadership decided to besiege Bilbao, a key northern city, despite the opposition of their most capable general, Tomás de Zumalacárregui, who favoured launching a campaign towards Madrid. The siege ended in failure and claimed the life of Zumalacárregui, who found no worthy successor among the divided Carlist command. After the Battle of Luchana (1836), General Baldomero Espartero lifted the siege of Bilbao. This did not immediately end the war, as guerrilla groups continued to operate, and the Liberal army often fell into ambushes.
The fatigue of troops and civilians led the supreme commander of the Carlist troops, General Rafael Maroto, to negotiate an end to the war. The signing of the Convention of Vergara (1839) was symbolically sealed with an embrace between Espartero and Maroto. However, General Ramón Cabrera and his troops in the Maestrazgo region refused to accept the convention and continued fighting until defeated by Espartero in 1840.
The Convention of Vergara effectively ended the war. It included promises regarding the Basque and Navarrese *fueros* and the integration of Carlist officers into the national army, maintaining their ranks. However, the promise regarding the *fueros* was later modified (e.g., the Ley Paccionada of 1841 for Navarre), becoming a persistent source of conflict known as the “Foral Question”.
Carlism remained politically and sometimes militarily active, particularly advocating for the maintenance of the *fueros*, and leading to two further major conflicts.
The Second Carlist War (1846-1849)
Known also as the War of the *Matiners*, it developed mainly in Catalonia. It was partly sparked by the dynastic issue of the failed marriage arrangement between Isabel II and the Carlist claimant, Carlos VI (Count of Montemolín). Government troops faced difficulties, especially as republican groups also joined the revolt in some areas. Ultimately, the moderate government re-established its authority.
The Third Carlist War (1872-1876)
The Carlists rose against King Amadeo I and later fought against the First Spanish Republic and the early reign of Alfonso XII. The war primarily took place in Catalonia, Navarre, the Basque Country, and northern parts of Valencia and Aragon. The situation initially seemed favorable to Carlist interests: Isabel II was in exile, King Amadeo I lacked popularity, and the subsequent First Spanish Republic (with its federal republicanism) was perceived by many conservatives as a revolutionary threat. To broaden support, the Carlist pretender, Carlos VII, promised the restoration of the regional charters (*fueros*) abolished by Philip V to Catalans, Valencians, and Aragonese. The Carlists established a rudimentary state in the territories they controlled but were ultimately defeated.
The restoration of the Bourbon monarchy under Alfonso XII (son of Isabel II) in 1874 marked the definitive military decline of Carlism, as most monarchists coalesced around the Alfonsine branch. The end of the war in 1876 led to the abolition of most Basque *fueros*.