The Traditionalist Communion ( es, Comunión Tradicionalista, CT) was one of the names adopted by the
Carlist movement as a political force since 1869.
History
In October 1931, Carlist claimant to the Spanish throne
Duke Jaime died. He was succeeded by the 82-year-old claimant
Alfonso Carlos de Borbón, reuniting under him the integrists led by
Olazábal and the "Mellists". They represented a region-based Spanish nationalism with an entrenched identification of Spain and Catholicism. The ensuing radicalized Carlist scene overshadowed the "Jaimists" with a Basque inclination. The Basque(-Navarrese) Statute failed to take off over disagreements on the centrality of Catholicism in 1932, with the new Carlist party ''Comunión Tradicionalista'' opting for an open confrontation with the Republic. The Republic established a secular approach of the regime, a division of Church and state, as well as freedom of cults, as France did in 1905, an approach traditionalists could not stand.
The ''Comunión Tradicionalista'' (1932) showed an ultra-Catholic, anti-secular position, and plotted for a military takeover, while adopting far-right apocalyptic views and talking of a final clash with an alliance of alleged anti-Christian forces.
The October 1934 Revolution cost the life of the Carlist deputy Marcelino Oreja Elósegui, with Manuel Fal Condé taking over from young Carlists clustering around the AET (Jaime del Burgo and Mario Ozcoidi) in their pursuit to overthrow the Republic. The Carlists started to prepare for an armed definite clash with the Republic and its different leftist groups. From the initial defensive Decurias of Navarre (deployed in party seats and churches), the Requeté grew into a well-trained and strongest offensive paramilitary group in Spain when Manuel Fal Condé took the reins. It numbered 30,000 red berets (8,000 in Navarre and 22,000 in Andalusia).
When the
Spanish Civil War
The Spanish Civil War ( es, Guerra Civil Española)) or The Revolution ( es, La Revolución, link=no) among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War ( es, Cuarta Guerra Carlista, link=no) among Carlists, and The Rebellion ( es, La Rebelión, lin ...
broke out in 1936 following the election of a coalition of socialist, communist, and anarchist parties, the Traditionalist Communion sided with the
Spanish Nationalists
Francoist Spain ( es, España franquista), or the Francoist dictatorship (), was the period of Spanish history between 1939 and 1975, when Francisco Franco ruled Spain after the Spanish Civil War with the title . After his death in 1975, Spai ...
, despite ideological differences with the
Falangists, out of shared Catholicism and repression under the Republic. Seeking to unify all Nationalist Forces, the General
Francisco Franco
Francisco Franco Bahamonde (; 4 December 1892 – 20 November 1975) was a Spanish general who led the Nationalist faction (Spanish Civil War), Nationalist forces in overthrowing the Second Spanish Republic during the Spanish Civil War ...
announced that all political parties, other than
FET y de las JONS
The Falange Española Tradicionalista y de las Juntas de Ofensiva Nacional Sindicalista (FET y de las JONS; ), frequently shortened to just "FET", was the sole legal party of the Francoist regime in Spain. It was created by General Francisco F ...
, were dissolved, and the Traditionalist Communion ceased to exist.
Carlism remained a scattered movement until the end of the dictatorship and creation of the
Carlist Party of Euskal Herria, but never regained its pre-war might.
Ideology
Carlism is a reactionary, monarchist, and extremely Catholic ideology. It developed after the King
Ferdinand VII
, house = Bourbon-Anjou
, father = Charles IV of Spain
, mother = Maria Luisa of Parma
, birth_date = 14 October 1784
, birth_place = El Escorial, Spain
, death_date =
, death_place = Madrid, Spain
, burial_plac ...
changed the succession laws, meaning
Don Carlos
''Don Carlos'' is a five-act grand opera composed by Giuseppe Verdi to a French-language libretto by Joseph Méry and Camille du Locle, based on the dramatic play '' Don Carlos, Infant von Spanien'' (''Don Carlos, Infante of Spain'') by Friedri ...
would no longer become the next king. Its main tenets are "God, Country, and King", and it spawned many other political parties, the most notable of which was the
Carlist Party of Euskal Herria, which was formed as an underground party during the fascist government and went on to run in the elections following the
democratization of Spain.
References
1869 establishments in Spain
1937 disestablishments in Spain
Carlism
Catholic political parties
Conservative parties in Spain
Defunct conservative parties
Defunct political parties in Spain
Monarchist parties in Spain
Political parties established in 1869
Political parties disestablished in 1937
Political parties of the Spanish Civil War
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