Carlist Wars

The Carlist Wars were a series of civil wars that took place in Spain during the 19th
century. The contenders fought to establish their claim to the throne, although some
political differences also existed. Indeed, several times during the period from 1833 to
1876 the Carlists — followers of Infante Carlos (later Carlos V) and his descendants —
rallied to the cry of "God, Country, and King" and fought for the cause of Spanish
tradition (Legitimism and Catholicism) against liberalism, and later the republicanism,
of the Spanish governments of the day. The Carlist Wars had a strong regional
component (Basque region, Catalonia, etc.), given that the new order called into
question region specific law arrangements and customs kept for centuries.

When Ferdinand VII of Spain died in 1833, his fourth wife Maria Cristina became
Queen Regent on behalf of their infant daughter Isabella II. This splintered the country
into two factions known as the Cristinos (or Isabelinos) and the Carlists. The Cristinos
were the supporters of the Queen Regent and her government, and were the party of the
Liberals. The Carlists were the supporters of Carlos V, a pretender to the throne and
brother of the deceased Ferdinand VII. Carlos denied the validity of the Pragmatic
Sanction of 1830 that abolished the semi Salic Law (he was born before 1830). They
wanted a return to autocratic monarchy.[1]

While some historians count three wars, other authors and popular usage refer to the
existence of two big engagements, the First and the Second, with the 1846–1849 events
being taken as a minor episode.

 The First Carlist War (1833–1840) lasted more than seven years and the
fighting spanned most of the country at one time or another, although the main
conflict centered on the Carlist homelands of the Basque Country and Aragon,
Catalonia and Valencia.
 The Second Carlist War (1846–1849) was a minor Catalan uprising. The rebels
tried to install Carlos VI on the throne. In Galicia, the uprising was on a smaller
scale and was put down by General Ramón María Narváez.[2]
 The Third Carlist War (1872–1876) began in the aftermath of the deposition of
one ruling monarch and abdication of another. Queen Isabella II was overthrown
by a conspiracy of liberal generals in 1868, and left Spain in some disgrace. The
Cortes (Parliament) replaced her with Amadeo, the Duke of Aosta (and second
son of King Victor Emmanuel of Italy). Then, when the Spanish elections of
1872 resulted in government violence against Carlist candidates and a swing
away from Carlism, the Carlist pretender, Carlos VII, decided that only force of
arms could win him the throne. The Third Carlist War began. It lasted until
1876.
 The Spanish Civil War (1936–1939) was considered by the Carlists as another
crusade against secularism. In spite of the victory of their side, General Franco
frustrated the pretensions of Carlist monarchism; he subsumed their militias into
the Nationalist army and their political party Comunión Tradicionalista into his
National Movement (Falange Tradicionalista y de las J.O.N.S.).
Isabel II Carlos de Borbón

Spanish Liberal infantry from the First Carlist War, 1833 - 1839.