The Second Carlist War, or the War of the Matiners ( Catalan for "early-risers," so-called from the harassing action that took place at the earliest hours of the morning), was a

civil war A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

. Some historians consider it a direct Catalan revolt against Madrid, fought primarily in

Catalonia Catalonia is an autonomous community of Spain, designated as a ''nationalities and regions of Spain, nationality'' by its Statute of Autonomy of Catalonia of 2006, Statute of Autonomy. Most of its territory (except the Val d'Aran) is situate ...

by the

Carlists Carlism (; ; ; ) is a Traditionalist and Legitimist political movement in Spain aimed at establishing an alternative branch of the Bourbon dynasty, one descended from Don Carlos, Count of Molina (1788–1855), on the Spanish throne. The ...

under General Ramón Cabrera against the forces of the government of

Isabella II Isabella II (, María Isabel Luisa de Borbón y Borbón-Dos Sicilias; 10 October 1830 – 9 April 1904) was Queen of Spain from 1833 until her deposition in 1868. She is the only queen regnant in the history of unified Spain. Isabella wa ...

. The uprising began in September 1846 and continued until May 1849, spreading to Galicia. Theoretically, the war was fought to facilitate the marriage of Isabella II with the Carlist pretender, Carlos Luis de Borbón (or ''Carlos VI''), which was supported by some ''doctrinaire'' elements from the

moderate party The Moderate Party ( , , M), commonly referred to as the Moderates ( ), is a Liberal conservatism, liberal-conservative* * * * * List of political parties in Sweden, political party in Sweden. The party generally supports tax cuts, the free ma ...

and by the Carlists. The marriage never took place, as Isabella II was wed to Francisco de Borbón. The conflict was rather minor in the Basque Country in the Basque context, a central focus of Carlist uprisings, it was non-existent, so "Second Carlist War" invariably refers to the

Third Carlist War The Third Carlist War (), which occurred from 1872 to 1876, was the last Carlist War in Spain. It is sometimes referred to as the "Second Carlist War", as the earlier Second Carlist War, "Second" War (1847–1849) was smaller in scale and relative ...

. It coincided with the democratic

Revolutions of 1848 The revolutions of 1848, known in some countries as the springtime of the peoples or the springtime of nations, were a series of revolutions throughout Europe over the course of more than one year, from 1848 to 1849. It remains the most widespre ...

, when Maria Christina revoked the constitution of Ramón de Narváez. Narváez himself led the counterattack against the revolt in Galicia while Fernando de Córdova, captain-general of Catalonia, put down the isolated rebel cells in that region by early 1849. In June of that year, amnesty was granted to the Carlists and those who had fled returned. The war caused between 3,000 and 10,000 casualties.Nineteenth Century Death Tolls

References

Conflicts in 1846 Conflicts in 1847 Conflicts in 1848 Conflicts in 1849 1840s in Spain Wars involving Spain Military history of Catalonia Carlism {{catalonia-hist-stub