Third Carlist War

The Third Carlist War ( es, Tercera Guerra Carlista) (1872–1876) was the last Carlist War in Spain. It is sometimes referred to as the "Second Carlist War", as the earlier "Second" War (1847–1849) was smaller in scale and relatively trivial in political consequence.

Leading up to the war, Queen Isabella II abdicated the throne in 1868, and the unpopular Amadeo I, son of the King of Italy, was proclaimed King of Spain in 1870. In response, the Carlist pretender, Carlos VII, tried to earn the support of various Spanish regions by promising to reintroduce various area-specific customs and laws. The Carlists proclaimed the restoration of Catalan, Valencian and Aragonese fueros (charters) which had been abolished at the beginning of the 18th century by King Philip V in his unilateral Nueva Planta decrees.

The call for rebellion made by the Carlists was echoed in Catalonia and especially in the Basque region (Gipuzkoa, Álava, Biscay and Navarre), where the Carlists managed to design a temporary state. During the war, Carlist forces occupied several inland Spanish towns, the most important ones being La Seu d'Urgell and Estella in Navarre. They also laid siege to the cities of Bilbao and San Sebastián, but failed to seize them.

The Third Carlist War saw a series of regime changes in Spain, beginning with the declaration of the First Spanish Republic after the abdication of Amadeo I in February 1873. Over one year later, in December 1874, a military coup installed a new Bourbon monarch, Alfonso XII, marking the beginning of the Bourbon Restoration in Spain.

After four years of war, on 28 February 1876, Carlos VII was defeated, and went into exile in France. On the same day, King Alfonso XII of Spain entered Pamplona. After the end of the war, the Basque charters (''fueros/foruak'') were abolished, shifting the border customs from the Ebro River to the Spanish coast. In the chartered territories, home rule provisions, left over from the resolution of the First Carlist War, were abolished, and conscription of youth in the Spanish army became compulsory.

The war resulted in between 7,000 and 50,000 casualties.

Introduction

The Third Carlist War began in 1871, after the overthrow of Isabella II in the La Gloriosa revolution in 1868 and the subsequent coronation of Amadeo I of Savoy as King of Spain in 1870. The selection of Amadeo I as King instead of the Carlist pretender, Carlos VII, was considered a great insult to the Carlists who had strong support in northern Spain, especially in Catalonia, Navarre and the Basque Provinces ( Basque Country)

After some internal dissensions in 1870–1871, ending with the removal of Ramón Cabrera as the head of the Carlist party, the Carlists started a general uprising against Amadeo I's government and its Liberal supporters. The Third Carlist War became the final act of a long fight between Spanish progressives (centralists) and traditionalists which started after the Spanish Peninsular War (1808–1814) and the promulgation of the constitution of Cadiz in 1812 which ended the ''ancien regime'' in Spain. Mistrust and rivalry among members of the royal family also enlarged the conflict. The three Carlist wars were started for diverse reasons: the establishment of the '' Pragmatic Sanction'' of Ferdinand VII caused the First Carlist War, the inability to find a compromise led to the Second Carlist War, and the proclamation of a foreign king as Spanish monarch sparked the Third Carlist War.

Some contemporary authors described the Third Carlist War as deadly, especially for civilians on the sidelines of the conflict.

Opposing parties

Carlists

The Carlist party was formed in the last years of Ferdinand VII's (1784–1833) reign. Carlism is named after the infant Carlos Maria Isidro (1788–1855), count of Molina and Ferdinand's brother. The pragmatic sanction, published by Ferdinand in 1830, abolished the Salic Law, allowing women to be queens of Spain in their own right. This meant that Isabel, Ferdinand's daughter, became heir instead of Carlos, his brother.

Carlos almost instantly became a cause around which Spain's conservative groups could unite. The anti-liberalism of authors such as Fernando de Zeballos, Lorenzo Hervás y Panduro and Francisco Alvarado during the 1820s was a precursor to the Carlist movement. Another important aspect of the Carlist ideology was its defense of the Catholic Church and its institutions, including the Inquisition and the special tributary laws, against the comparatively more liberal crown. The Carlists identified themselves with Spanish military traditions, adopting the ''Burgundian cross'' of the 16th- and 17th-century tercios. This nostalgia for Spain's past was an important rallying point for Carlism. There was also a perceived support for the feudal system displaced by the French occupation, although this is disputed by historians. The Carlists summarized their beliefs in the motto: "For God, for the Fatherland and the King."

In the deeply religious and conservative atmosphere of 19th century Spain, Carlism attracted a large number of followers, particularly among sections of society which resented the growing liberalism of the Spanish state. Carlism found most of its supporters in rural areas, especially in places which had previously enjoyed special status before 1813, such as Catalonia and especially the Basque Country. In these parts of the country, Carlists enjoyed support from the Catholic peasantry and minor nobles, with occasional support from the major nobility.

Liberals

After Ferdinand VII's death in 1833 without a male heir, the succession was disputed, despite the abrogation of the Salic law in 1830. As the new queen Isabel was only a child, her mother, Maria Cristina, became regent until Isabel was ready to reign in her own right. Because conservatives backed Carlos, Maria Cristina was forced to side with the Liberals, who sympathized with the ideals of the French revolution. Liberals were well-represented in the high echelons of the army and among the large landowners, and drew some support from the middle classes.

The Liberals promoted industrialization and social modernization. Reforms included the sale of church lands and other institutions that supported the old regime, the establishment of elected parliaments, the construction of railways and the general expansion of industry throughout Spain. There was also a strong current of anti-clericalism among them.

Background

First and Second Carlist war

First Carlist War

After Ferdinand's death, the government undertook a division of Spain into provinces and "historic regions" with the 1833 territorial division of Spain

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