| Content from Wikipedia under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license ⇔ Maps from OpenStreetMap under the ODbL license |
Third Carlist War
| Third Carlist War | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of Carlist Wars | |||||||
.jpg) Cavalry charge at the Action of Piedrabuena. | |||||||
| |||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||
|
Kingdom of Spain (1872–1873) Spanish Republic (1873–1874) Kingdom of Spain (1874–1876) | Carlists | ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
|
| |||||||
The Third Carlist War was a civil war fought in Spain between 1872 and 1876, between the supporters of Carlos, Duke of Madrid, the Carlist pretender to the throne, and the governments of Amadeo I, of the First Republic and of Alfonso XII. It was formerly known in Spanish historiography as the "second civil war"[1] and some contemporary historians such as Jordi Canal call it the "second Carlist war",[2] denying this name to the War of the Matiners.
In March 1870, Ramón Cabrera resigned as political and military leader of Carlism because he believed that the "reasonable conditions for achieving victory by arms" were not present and he did not want to expose Spain to a new civil war. The pretender, who had spent months preparing the insurrection from exile, set April 21, 1872 as the date for the beginning of the uprising.
This civil war took place above all in the Basque Provinces, Navarre and Catalonia. In addition to the defense of order and Catholic unity, the restoration by the pretender in July 1872 of the fueros abolished by the Nueva Planta decrees of Philip V influenced the strength of the uprising in Catalonia and, to a lesser extent, in Valencia and Aragon. Some largely inactive bands also rose up in Andalusia, as well as in the rest of the peninsular territory, especially in mountainous areas, where they practiced banditry given their marginality and their poor effectiveness in establishing a bond with the people that would facilitate their guerrilla activity. Despite the qualitative as well as quantitative growth of the Carlist army, the Carlists once again saw their efforts frustrated.
The war caused between 7,000 and 50,000 casualties.[3]
Background
.jpg)
The last Carlist attempt to obtain real support, the War of the Matiners, had ended in 1849. Twenty years of relative peace then followed in the struggle between liberals and Carlists, threatened only by the pronunciamiento of Lucas Zabaleta in 1855 and the failed uprising of 1860 at San Carlos de la Rápita, in which Carlos VI, the Carlist pretender, was forced to renounce his rights. Despite this, the renunciation never took effect.
However, the sudden death of Carlos in 1861 opened a period of confusion among the Carlists, since his successor, his brother Juan, was an avowed liberal. The person who led the Carlist party during those years was the Princess of Beira, widow of Carlos V, the first Carlist pretender. Juan finally abdicated in 1868, without ever having held power among the royalists. The new pretender, Carlos VII to his followers, son of Juan and a man loyal to traditionalist ideas, saw a new opportunity for Carlism: the Revolution of 1868, which had forced Isabella II to leave Spain.
The revolutionary government established a democratic regime in Spain, and the liberal Amadeo of Savoy was later elected King. Many moderates opposed to this government believed in Don Carlos as an alternative to the separation of church and state, freedom of worship and secular, rationalist education, which the revolutionaries imposed and which worried Catholics. A good part of these conservatives went over to the Carlist side, which in 1871 became the third most-voted force in parliament. However, the liberal triumph showed that the democratic path was not enough, and only a new armed uprising would bring Don Carlos to the throne with a traditionalist, Catholic and anti-liberal regime.
The conflict
1872
Hostilities begin
The elections of April 1872 gave the Carlists an opportunity to rebel. Don Carlos's party had lost thirteen seats in the elections amid accusations of fraud. The indignation of the traditionalists was extreme. The coup was already prepared: first the garrisons of Catalan cities and of Pamplona would rise in favor of Carlos, and then Bilbao would rebel. Finally, a general insurrection in Catalonia, Navarre and the Basque Provinces would begin military operations. The day chosen to begin the process was April 21, once Don Carlos had managed to convince the conservative European governments of the necessity of war against a liberal Spain. By order of Don Carlos, the uprising was to be launched with the cry of "Down with the foreigner! Long live Spain!".[4]
Navarre and the Basque Provinces
In Navarre and the Basque Provinces, which still enjoyed a foral regime—albeit a reduced one—the Carlist uprising would succeed for the second time in 1872, mainly owing to the disorders and anticlericalism of the Sexenio Democrático. Although the Carlists vehemently defended the preservation of the fueros, this demand would not be the reason for the uprising's success. According to Angulo y Hormaza, the desire to preserve the fueros would even have been an impediment to going to war, to the point that, when the uprising took place, at a meeting in Zumárraga the Basque foral representatives went so far as to exclaim: "Let us save Religion even if the Fueros perish!".[5]
Numerous groups of young men rebelled in northern Spain, usually commanded by veterans of the first war. Everything went as planned: the pretender crossed the French border into Navarre on May 2, 1872 and placed himself at the head of the uprising, but on May 4 the government general Domingo Moriones made a surprise entry into the Carlist camp at Oroquieta, attacking the insurgents. The victory was crushing and the pretender had to cross the French border hastily, putting an end, momentarily, to the insurrection in the Basque Provinces and Navarre after the signing of the Agreement of Amorebieta on May 24 between the President of the government of Amadeo I, Francisco Serrano, and the Carlist leaders of Biscay. However, the agreement was poorly received by the Cortes, and Serrano had to resign. Nor was the agreement accepted on the Carlist side, and the pretender regarded the signatories as traitors.
After the failure of the first uprising in the Basque Provinces and Navarre, the pretender dismissed most of the military commanders and set December 18 as the date for the new uprising. This one did not achieve greater support among the population, but it was more solid. New bands were soon armed, among which that of the Priest Santa Cruz stood out.
Catalonia and Valencia
In Catalonia, the Carlist embers, kept alive by former combatants and some peasant families, rekindled the civil war from 1872. In the first place, the Catalan countryside was still far from having been pacified, especially in the mountainous areas. Any measure contrary to the country's tradition could provoke an insurrection. The anticlericalism of the Governments of the Revolution met with enormous opposition in the traditional mountain localities devoted to the clergy. Thus, leaders of the old Carlism and middling landowners drew adventurous elements into the struggle. Together they formed an army that was not very numerous but relatively disciplined, and which managed to prevail several times on the battlefield.[6]
The uprising took place even before the date the pretender had designated. Juan Castells, at the head of 70 men, rose up a few days earlier. The pretender appointed his brother Alfonso Carlos as Captain General of Catalonia, although he did not cross the border until the end of the year, and it was Rafael Tristany who temporarily assumed the post. In this area the insurrection was not extinguished after the defeat at Oroquieta. Although guerrilla bands were formed in almost all the Catalan comarcas, no common military structure was organized. The revitalization of the insurrection on the northern front and the arrival of Alfonso Carlos in December 1872 reactivated the Carlist bands in Catalonia, while the band of Pascual Cucala gained popular support in the Maestrazgo and others were formed, totaling some 3,000 men. In the Province of Valencia, the Carlists kept 2,000 armed men in various bands, and in the Province of Alicante some 850.
1873
Navarre and the Basque Provinces
.jpg)
The year began favorably for the Carlists. Divisions within the government allowed Carlism to consolidate its position. The proclamation of the republic in February 1873, together with the war in Cuba and the cantonalist insurrection, left the new republican government incapacitated.
The Carlists carried out a levy of men between 20 and 30 years of age. In addition, Generals Dorregaray and Elío recruited a multitude of soldiers on their march through Navarre. The new republican general, Manuel Pavía, offered peace and the preservation of the fueros, but the clergy encouraged the Carlists, who managed to defeat Pavía at Eraul. This victory, together with others such as those of Belabieta or Mañeru, gave wings to Carlism in the Basque Provinces. The republic then ordered the evacuation of a multitude of Basque and Navarrese localities, leaving this territory, as in 1835, entirely under Carlist control except for the capitals. Carlos VII crossed the border again on July 16, establishing the capital of the "Carlist state" in Estella. A stable government was established in that city, with ministerial portfolios: government, justice, education, provincial councils and general assemblies, press and war. There was also a Penal Code, a Supreme Court of Justice, customs, a postal service, and in 1874 a university was established in Oñate.
The second half of the year would be as profitable for the traditionalists as the first. Don Carlos made a tour of his territories, winning the favor of his "subjects". The capture of Éibar and its arsenal by the rebels was a new blow for the government, which at the end of the summer of that year carried out a series of offensives in order to recover some key points. This campaign ended with the Battle of Montejurra, in which the Carlists again defeated the government army.
Aragon, Catalonia and Valencia
General Marco de Bello had organized the Aragonese division and the civil and military administration of the region. Despite this organization, they had serious problems paying the soldiers and arming them, since they equipped themselves with what was taken from the enemy or purchased abroad. He organized several Carlist battalions and the companies of the Pilar, which were preferred soldiers within the Carlist Army of the Center. He lost some engagements, such as at Caspe, but was able to repel a republican attack on Cantavieja. The bands in the Maestrazgo kept growing and mixing with those of Aragon, Catalonia, Cuenca and Albacete. Thus, for example, the band of Cucala continually entered and left Catalonia.
In Catalonia the Carlist Colonel Cercós won the action of Albiol. Also fought were the battles of Campdevánol, by the Infante Don Alfonso Carlos; of San Quirico de Besora and of Alpens, by General Savalls, the liberal Cabrinetty dying in the latter. The Carlists managed to conquer Igualada and Berga, and the actions of Caserras and Oristá were fought, by Don Alfonso Carlos; that of Prades, won by General Tristany; as well as those of Sanahuja, that of Bañola, by General Auguet, and that of Prats de Llusanés, by General Savalls.[7]
In Valencia Brigadier Cucala won the action of Játiva, while Santés managed to enter Albacete and conquered Cuenca.[8]
1874
Navarre and the Basque Provinces
The year 1874 was the one that decided the course of the war. The republican government was plunged into chaos, but the coup d'état of General Pavía allowed Serrano to assume command of the republic dictatorially. This allowed the government forces to organize the army, being able to pacify the insurgent cantonalists, which allowed them to concentrate their troops on the fight against the Carlists. Despite this, Don Carlos believed himself superior, and so in February he ordered the capture of Bilbao. The siege of Bilbao, the last the city would suffer at Carlist hands, ended in an important republican victory.
In 1874 in the North, the conquest of Portugalete by General Dorregaray took place. The action of Ontón, by General Andéchaga, and, with Bilbao under siege, General Moriones was defeated by the Carlist Ollo at the Battle of Somorrostro, and General Serrano by Carlos VII himself at San Pedro Abanto. But the republican Concha managed to break the Carlist lines, defeating Elío at Las Muñecas and relieving Bilbao.[8]
The government then tried to end the war by conquering Estella, but was unable to, the liberals being defeated at Abárzuza, where the republican Concha died. This defeat was a hard blow for the republicans, as well as a new opportunity for Don Carlos, who again tried to take a major stronghold. The Carlists besieged Vitoria, Irún, San Sebastián and Pamplona. However, none of these cities fell, but this was not the real Carlist problem at the end of the year. Arsenio Martínez-Campos had proclaimed Alfonso XII, son of Isabella II, as King of Spain. This caused many moderate Carlists to go over to the Alfonsine side, greatly weakening the rebels.
That year the Carlists also won the action of Biurrun, by General Pérula; that of Urnieta, by Generals Egaña and Díaz de Mogrovejo; and that of Santa Marina, by Brigadier Ormaeche.[8]
Catalonia and Valencia
In 1874 the Infante Alfonso sent Vallés's men (Carlists of Tarragona) to reinforce the men of the Maestrazgo. The Carlists were able to create a mini-state centered on Cantavieja which, after being besieged, had to capitulate. Carlist mobilization in other areas was reduced to small isolated bands; notable were some 400 men in Extremadura and the bands of New Castile, especially in the Province of Ciudad Real, where at least ten bands, more or less controlled by General Regino Mergeliza y Vera,[9] kept the government troops in check, especially notable being those of Crisanto Gómez, Antonio Merendón Mondéjar and Amador Villar.[10]
In March of that year, the Carlist forces, led by Francisco Savalls, laid siege to Olot and, after conquering it, made it their capital. In July the Diputación of Catalonia was established in San Juan de las Abadesas, presided over by Tristany, which sought to give a political-administrative organization to the territories controlled by the Catalan Carlists.
The Carlists also obtained victories such as the conquest of Vich and the action of Cardona, won by General Tristany; the actions of Ribelots, of La Creu, of Castelfullit de la Roca, where the republican General Nouvilas was taken prisoner, and that of Castellón de Ampurias, all three won by Savalls, and that of Belmunt, won by General Moore.[8]
In Valencia, notable were the defense of Cantavieja by the Carlist Colonel Lacambra and the entry into Vinaroz by Brigadier Vallés; and [11]
New Castile
Also worth mentioning is the conquest of the city of Cuenca in 1874 by Carlist troops under the command of Alfonso Carlos and his wife María de las Nieves de Braganza. In New Castile the action of Retamosa was also fought, where the Carlist General Sabariegos died, and that of Piedrabuena, where the Carlist Colonel Díez de la Cortina died.[12]
1875
Navarre and the Basque Provinces
Cánovas del Castillo, the mastermind of the Restoration, tried to reach an agreement with Don Carlos at the beginning of the year. He proposed the marriage of King Alfonso to his daughter Elvira, in addition to allowing the preservation of the fueros. But Carlos VII refused to negotiate.
Given the impossibility of achieving peace through diplomacy, the Alfonsine army, which already numbered more than 70,000 combatants, launched a brutal offensive on Álava. The Carlists, who had barely 33,000 soldiers, stood no chance. The actions of this campaign were limited to the bombardment of some strongholds held by the Carlists, followed by breaking the encirclement of Vitoria. The Carlists then withdrew to Arlabán, having lost almost the entire province.
In Navarre, the situation was no better. By November the Carlists had already lost half the territory of that province, and Estella, the core of Carlism, was also threatened.
The Carlists obtained an important victory at the Battle of Lácar, in which Alfonso XII had to escape on horseback to avoid being taken prisoner.[12]
Other actions fought in the North that same year were those of Indamendi, won by General Egaña; that of Arbolacha, by General Berriz; that of Choritoquieta, by General Rodríguez Román; that of Villaverde de Trucios, by General Carasa; and that of Lumbier, by General Pérula, in which Duke Robert of Parma earned the military medal.[12]
Catalonia and Valencia
This would be the last year of fighting in Catalonia, since by November 1875 no stronghold in the east would remain loyal to the Carlist movement. In March 1875, Martínez-Campos occupied Olot and laid siege to Seo de Urgel. Its conquest by government troops in August led to the end of the fighting in Catalonia on November 19.
1876
The final struggle
After the end of the fighting in Catalonia, more than 120,000 soldiers prepared to end the war in the north. The Carlists who had not laid down their arms numbered four times fewer. The Alfonsines prepared two armies, one in the east, led by Martínez-Campos, and another in the west commanded by Quesada. It was only a matter of time; on February 5, 1876 Carlists and liberals clashed at the Action of Abadiano. It is the last significant action recorded in Biscay, when the war was already coming to an end.
The Carlist battalions of Carasa, Cavero and Ugarte were defeated by the liberal divisions commanded by Generals Loma, Goyeneche, Álvarez Maldonado and Villegas. The retreat was carried out over the pass of Elgueta toward Zumárraga.[13] The rebels were pushed toward the Pyrenees. At the end of February, Estella fell and Don Carlos fled toward France, crying "I will return", which he did not fulfill. The last stronghold loyal to Carlism, the castle of Lapoblación, succumbed on March 2. The war was over.
Carlist State
During the campaign, Carlos VII organized the Carlist State and, in certain respects, came to surpass that of his grandfather Carlos V during the first war. But there was no turnover of ministers. The first Secretariat of State to be created was that of War, which was entrusted to General Elío. And during certain periods when the holder could not attend to his office, he was replaced on an interim basis by General Plana at times, and by General Llavanera at others. Another ministry that was soon constituted was that of State, held by Vice Admiral Martínez de Viñalet. Later those of Political Government and of Finance were constituted, held by the Count of Pinar. Later still the ministry of Grace and Justice was constituted, held by the jurist Díaz del Río. The Secretariat of the Office of State having been abolished, a Directorate General of Foreign Relations was created, held by the writer Suárez Bravo, who belonged to the consular service; and there was also a Directorate General of Communications, held by the Count of Belascoaín. As in the first war, the Diputaciones or Juntas of the Basque Provinces, Navarre and Castile were constituted. But, in addition, Diputaciones were formed in Catalonia, Valencia and Aragon.[14]
Consequences
The Carlist soldiers who laid down their arms were able to join the government army, keeping all their ranks and decorations, but few did so. For the Basque Provinces and Navarre, the end of this war meant the definitive disappearance of part of the fueros, with the abolition law of July 21, 1876. This decision was unanimously accepted by all the provinces, including those affected, which could do nothing against the decision owing to the large military contingent that still remained in their territory. The end of foral government in the Basque Country led the government of Antonio Cánovas to agree to the so-called First Basque economic agreement, under which a certain economic freedom continued to be granted to this region, allowing the local authorities to collect taxes themselves. On the other hand, the defeat and subsequent suppression of the fueros increased Basque fuerista sentiment, leading years later to the creation of the Basque Nationalist Party in 1895 by Sabino Arana, which would defend the Catholic ideas of Carlism and, independently of this movement, which advocated regionalism, would go on to defend nationalism.
From the Alfonsine perspective, the victory further legitimized the government of the Restoration, which was strengthened by the promulgation of the Constitution of 1876. The sovereign granted his troops the civil war medals in operations and subsequently, even going so far as to grant, in very outstanding cases, the distinguished honor of "benemérito a la patria". However, he respected with honors all those decorated by the other side and confirmed as nobles of the realm all the nobles whom his rival had ennobled. The third civil war of the 19th century ended with an assimilation of the losing side without causing grievances to the vanquished.
Battles
- Battle of Oroquieta
- Battle of Eraul
- Siege of Irún
- Battle of San Marcos
- First Battle of Montejurra
- Siege of Bilbao
- First Battle of Somorrostro
- Battle of Monte Muru
- Siege of Pamplona
- Capture of Cuenca
- Battle of Lácar
- Battle of Oteiza
- Second Battle of Montejurra
- Battle of Vilabella-Salomò
- Action of San Pedro de Abanto
- Battle of Villafranca
Filmography
- José María Tuduri (director). Crónica de la guerra carlista (1872-1876) (feature film). Zulia Films, 1986. Accessed October 18, 2013.
- José María Tuduri (director). Santa Cruz, el cura guerrillero (feature film). Zulia Films, 1990. Accessed August 12, 2014.
References
- ↑ Enciclopedia universal ilustrada europeo-americana. Tomo 45 (in español). Espasa-Calpe. 1921. p. 1490.
- ↑ Canal, Jordi (2017). Guerras civiles: Una clave para entender la Europa de los siglos XIX y XX (in español). Casa de Velázquez. p. 32.
- ↑ 26. Spain, 3rd Carlist War (1872-76)
- ↑ Espasa (1928). Voz "Tradicionalismo" (in español). Vol. 63. p. 482. ISBN 84-239-4563-4.
{{cite book}}: ISBN / Date incompatibility (help);|work=ignored (help) - ↑ Angulo y Hormaza, José María (1886). La abolición de los fueros e instituciones vascongadas (in español). Bilbao: Tipografía de José de Astuy. p. 39.
- ↑ Vicens Vives, Jaume (1986). Los catalanes en el siglo XIX (in español). Alianza Editorial. p. 249.
- ↑ Ferrer 1958, pp. 62–63.
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 Ferrer 1958, p. 63.
- ↑ Rafael Villena Espinosa, El sexenio democrático en la provincia de Ciudad Real. Economía, política y sociedad (1868-1874) Univ de Castilla La Mancha, 1997, p. y ss
- ↑ Manuel Asensio, El carlismo en Castilla-la Mancha (1833-1875), 2011. https://books.google.es/books?id=T2q-SV8arS0C&dq=%22Feo+de+Cari%C3%B1o%22&hl=es&source=gbs_navlinks_s
- ↑ Ferrer 1958, pp. 63–64.
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 12.2 Ferrer 1958, p. 64.
- ↑ Acción de Abadiano
- ↑ Ferrer 1958, pp. 67–68.
Bibliography
- José Indalecio Caso. "La Cuestión Cabrera" Madrid. 1875
- Francisco Hernando. "La Campaña Carlista (1872 a 1876)" Paris. 1877
- Bruno Ramos Martínez: Memorias y Diario de Carlos VII, Madrid 1957
- Román Oyarzun Oyarzun. "Vida de Ramón Cabrera y las guerras carlistas", Barcelona 1961
- Ferrer, Melchor (1958). Breve historia del legitimismo español (in español). Madrid: Montejurra.
- José Extramiana: Historia de las guerras carlistas, San Sebastián 1978-1979
- Melchor Ferrer: Historia del tradicionalismo español, Seville, 30 vols. 1941-1979
- José María Jover (ed.): Historia de España XXXIV. La era isabelina y el Sexenio Democrático (1834-1874), Madrid 1988
- Joan Garrabou. "Gent Nostra. Cabrera", Barcelona 1989
- Conxa Rodríguez Vives. "Ramón Cabrera a l'exili". Abbey of Montserrat 1989
- Julio Montero: El Estado Carlista. Principios teóricos y práctica política (1872-1876), Madrid 1992
- Robert Vallverdú: El tercer carlisme a les comarques meridionals de Catalunya (1872-1876), Barcelona 1997
- Jordi Canal: El Carlismo, Madrid 2000
- Urcelay Alonso, Javier. "Cabrera. El Tigre del Maestrazgo". Barcelona, Ariel, 2006. ISBN 84-344-5205-7
- Comesaña Paz, Alfredo. "Hijos del Trueno. La Tercera Guerra Carlista en Galicia y el Norte de Portugal", Madrid, Schedas, 2016. ISBN 84-165-5825-6. ISBN 978-84-165-5825-4
External links
