Third Carlist War

The Third Carlist War was a civil war that took place in Spain from 1872 to 1876, between the supporters of Carlos, Duke of Madrid, Carlist claimant to the throne, and the governments of Amadeo I, of the First Republic and Alfonso XII. It was formerly known by Spanish historiography as the "second civil war" and some contemporary historians such as Jordi Canal call it the "second Carlist war", denying this name to the Matiners' war.

In March 1870, Ramón Cabrera resigned as political and military leader of Carlism because he believed that the "reasonable conditions to achieve victory by force" and not wanting to expose Spain to a new civil war. The claimant, who had been preparing the insurrection for months from exile, established April 21, 1872 as the date for the beginning of the uprising.

This civil war developed especially in the Basque Provinces, Navarra and Catalonia. In addition to the defense of order and Catholic unity, the restoration by the claimant in July 1872 of the privileges abolished by the decrees of Nueva Planta by Philip V, influenced the strength of the uprising in Catalonia and to a lesser extent in Valencia and Aragon. Some inactive groups also emerged in Andalusia, as well as the rest of the peninsular territory, especially in mountainous areas where they practiced banditry due to their marginality and lack of effectiveness in establishing a link with the people that would facilitate their guerrilla activity. Despite the qualitative and quantitative increase of the Carlist army, they once again saw their efforts frustrated.

The war caused between 7,000 and 50,000 casualties.

Background

The last Carlist attempt that obtained true support, the Matiners War, had ended in 1849. There were then twenty years of relative peace in the struggle between liberals and Carlists, which were only threatened by the pronouncement of Lucas Zabaleta in 1855 and the frustrated uprising of 1860 in San Carlos de la Rápita, in which Charles VI, a Carlist claimant, was forced to renounce his rights. Despite this, the resignation 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 one who headed the Carlist party in those years was the princess of Beira, widow of Charles V, the first Carlist claimant. Finally Juan abdicated in 1868, without ever having had power among the royalists. The new suitor, Charles VII for his followers, son of Juan and a man faithful to traditionalist ideas, saw a new opportunity for Carlism: the revolution of 1868, which had forced Isabel II to leave Spain. The revolutionary government established a democratic regime in Spain and later the liberal Amadeus of Savoy was 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 and rationalist education, which the revolutionaries imposed and which worried Catholics. A good part of these conservatives joined the Carlist side, which in 1871 became the third most voted force in parliament. However, the liberal triumph showed that the democratic route was not enough, and only a new armed uprising would put Don Carlos on the throne with a traditionalist, Catholic and illiberal 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 maximum. The coup was already prepared, first the garrisons of Catalan cities and Pamplona would rise up in favor of Charles, and then Bilbao would rebel. Finally, a general insurrection in Catalonia, Navarra 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 need for war against a liberal Spain. By order of Don Carlos, the uprising would be carried out with the cry of «Down with the foreigner! Long live Spain!».

Navarra and Basque Provinces

In Navarra and the Basque Provinces, which still enjoyed a provincial regime - albeit reduced - the Carlist uprising would triumph for the second time in 1872 due mainly to the disorders and anticlericalism of the Democratic Sexennium. Although the Carlists vehemently defended the maintenance of the privileges, this demand would not be the cause of the uprising's success. According to Angulo and Hormaza, the desire to preserve the privileges would have even been an impediment to going to war, to the point that, when the uprising occurred, at a meeting in Zumárraga the Basque provincial representatives went so far as to exclaim: «! Let's save the Religion even if the Fueros perish!».

Numerous groups of young people rebelled in northern Spain, usually led by veterans of the first war. Everything went according to plan, the claimant crossed the French border in Navarra on May 2, 1872 and led the uprising, but on May 4, the government general Domingo Moriones entered the Carlist camp of Oroquieta by surprise, attacking the insurgents. The victory was overwhelming and the claimant had to hastily cross the French border, putting an end, momentarily, to the insurrection in the Basque Provinces and Navarra after the signing of the Amorebieta Convention on May 24 between the president of the government of Amadeo I, Francisco Serrano, and the Carlist leaders of Vizcaya. However, the agreement was poorly received by the Cortes, and Serrano had to resign. The agreement was not accepted from the Carlist side either, and the suitor considered the signatories as traitors.

After the failure of the first uprising in the Basque Provinces and Navarra, the claimant dismissed the majority of the military leaders and established December 18 as the date for the new uprising. This did not achieve greater support among the population, but it was more solid. Soon new parties were formed, among which that of Cura Santa Cruz stood out.

Catalonia and Valencia

In Catalonia, the Carlist embers, maintained by former combatants and some peasant families, reignited the civil war since 1872. Firstly, the countryside of Catalonia was still far from having been pacified, especially in mountainous areas. Any measure contrary to the country's tradition could provoke an insurrection. The anticlericalism of the Governments of the Revolution found enormous opposition in the traditional mountain areas with followers of the clergy. Thus, leaders of the old Carlism and middle landowners dragged adventurous elements into the fight. Together they formed an army that was not too numerous but relatively disciplined, which managed to prevail several times on the battlefield.

The uprising was carried out even before the date that the suitor had designated. Juan Castells, leading 70 men, revolted a few days before. The suitor appointed his brother Alfonso Carlos as captain general of Catalonia, although until the end of the year he did not cross the border and it was Rafael Tristany who temporarily assumed the position. In this area the insurrection did not die down after the defeat in Oroquieta. Although guerrilla groups were formed in almost all Catalan regions, a common military structure was not organized. The revitalization of the insurrection on the northern front and the arrival of Alfonso Carlos in December 1872 reactivated the Carlist parties in Catalonia, while Pascual Cucala's party gained popular support in the Maestrazgo and others were formed until they totaled about 3,000 men.. In the province of Valencia, the Carlists maintained 2,000 armed men in various groups and in the province of Alicante about 850.

1873

Navarra and Basque Provinces

The year began favorably for the Carlists. Dissension in the government allowed Carlism to strengthen its position. The proclamation of the republic in February 1873, together with the war in Cuba, and the cantonal insurrection, left the new republican government impossible.

The Carlists carried out a levy of men between 20 and 30 years old. In addition, generals Dorregaray and Elío recruited a multitude of soldiers on their march through Navarra. The new republican general, Manuel Pavía, offered peace and the maintenance of the fueros, but the clergy encouraged the Carlists, who managed to defeat Pavía in Eraul. This victory, along with others such as that 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 towns, leaving this territory, as in 1835, all under Carlist power except the capitals. Charles 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, deputations and general meetings, press and war. There was also a Penal Code, Supreme Court of Justice, customs, postal service, and in 1874 a university was established in Oñate.

The second half of the year would be as profitable for traditionalists as the first. Don Carlos toured his territories, achieving 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 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 once 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 were equipped with what was taken from the enemy or purchased abroad. He organized several Carlist battalions and the Pilar companies that were preferred soldiers within the Carlist army of the Center. He lost some battles, such as in Caspe, but was able to repel an attack by the Republicans on Cantavieja. The games in the Maestrazgo increased and mixed with those in Aragón, Catalonia, Cuenca and Albacete. Thus, for example, Cucala's party entered and left Catalonia continuously.

In Catalonia the Carlist colonel Cercós won in the action of Albiol. The battles of Campdevánol were also fought, by the Infante Don Alfonso Carlos; of San Quirico de Besora and 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.

In Valencia, Brigadier Cucala won the action at Játiva; while Santés managed to enter Albacete and conquered Cuenca.

1874

Navarra and Basque Provinces

The year 1874 was the one that decided the course of the war. The republican government was plunged into chaos, but General Pavía's coup d'état allowed Serrano to assume command of the republic in a dictatorial manner. This made the government organize the army, being able to appease the insurgent cantonalists, a fact that allowed them to focus their troops on the fight against the Carlists. Despite this, Don Carlos believed himself superior, so in February he ordered the capture of Bilbao. The siege of Bilbao, the last that the city would suffer from Carlist hands, ended with 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 having laid siege to Bilbao, General Moriones was defeated by the Carlist Ollo in the battle of Somorrostro, and General Serrano, by Charles VII himself, in San Pedro Abanto. But the Republican Concha was able to break the Carlist lines, defeating Elío in Las Muñecas, liberating Bilbao.

The government then tried to end the war by conquering Estella, but was unable to do so, and the liberals were defeated in Abárzuza, in which the republican Concha died. This defeat was a hard blow for the Republicans, as well as a new opportunity for Don Carlos, who tried to take a great place again. 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 Isabel II, as king of Spain. This caused many moderate Carlists to go over to the Alfonsino side, greatly weakening the factionalists.

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.

Catalonia and Valencia

In 1874, Infante Alfonso sent the men of Vallés (Carlists from Tarragona) to reinforce the men of the Maestrazgo. The Carlists were able to create a mini-state centered in Cantavieja which, after being besieged, had to capitulate. The Carlist mobilization was reduced in other areas to small isolated parties; About 400 men stood out in Extremadura and the parties from Castilla la Nueva, especially in the province of Ciudad Real, where at least ten parties, more or less controlled by General Regino Mergeliza y Vera, kept the official troops in check, highlighting especially those of Crisanto Gómez, Antonio Merendón Mondéjar and Amador Villar.

In March of that year, the Carlist forces, led by Francisco Savalls, laid siege to Olot and, after conquering it, turned it into their capital. In July, the Provincial Council of Catalonia was established in San Juan de las Abadesses, chaired by Tristany, and which attempted to provide 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, Castelfullit de la Roca, where the Republican general Nouvilas was captured, and that of Castellón de Ampurias, all three won by Savalls, and that of Belmunt, won by General Moore.

In Valencia, the defense of Cantavieja by the Carlist colonel Lacambra and the enerada of Vinaroz by Brigadier Vallés stand out; and

New Castile

It is also worth highlighting 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.

1875

Once the Bourbon monarchy was restored, the new king Alfonso In the so-called "Peralta proclamation" of January 22, 1875 he said:

All of it, therefore, persuades me to a time when you are not far off on the day when you release from your hands the weapons that you now claim against the monarchical right you have sworn against the Church itself represented by her Prince and Prelates and against the Fatherland. Drop them and you will immediately return to enjoy the advantages all that for thirty years you enjoyed under the scepter of my Mother... Before I set up my flag in the battles, I would like to introduce myself to you with a bouquet of olive in your hands. Do not despise this friendly voice that is your legitimate King.

For its part, the liberal-conservative government of Antonio Cánovas del Castillo, formed after the triumph of the Sagunto pronouncement of December 29, 1874 that proclaimed Alfonso XII as king of Spain, attempted to eliminate the support that the Carlists received from the Catholic sectors and the ecclesiastical hierarchy reviewing the "anti-religious" measures adopted during the Democratic Sexennium - "Carlism will be defeated more than with weapons by taking away the flag," Manuel Duran y Bas told Cánovas -, and presenting in May 1875 a complaint to the Vatican for its lack of cooperation for "the termination of the civil war" and for its support of a clergy that "conspires and is in arms against the King." A political achievement of the government was to get the old Carlist general Ramón Cabrera, then resident in London, to recognize Alfonso XII as king and also to declare the fighting between Catholics sterile. The reaction of the Carlist claimant Carlos VII was to strip Cabrera of all the honors and jobs that he had granted him. According to Carlos Seco Serrano, the "conversion" of the old Carlist "leader" was due especially to the pleasant impression that Prince Alfonso made on him when he visited him at Sandhurst Academy. In exchange he would obtain recognition as captain general and the titles he used.

Navarra and Basque Provinces

Cánovas del Castillo, brain of the Restoration, tried to reach an agreement with Don Carlos at the beginning of the year. He proposed the marriage of King Alfonso with his daughter Elvira, in addition to allowing the maintenance of the fueros. But Charles VII refused to negotiate.^{[citation needed]}

Faced with the impossibility of achieving peace through diplomacy, the Alfonso army, which now numbered more than 70,000 combatants, launched a brutal offensive on Álava. The Carlists, who barely had 33,000 soldiers, had nothing to do. The actions of this campaign were limited to the bombing of some places in Carlist power, and then breaking the siege of Vitoria. The Carlists then retreated to Arlabán, having lost almost the entire province.

In Navarra, the situation was no better. In November the Carlists had already lost half of the territory of said province, also seeing Estella, the core of Carlism, threatened.

The Carlists obtained an important victory in the battle of Lácar, in which Alfonso XII had to escape on horseback to avoid being captured.

Other actions fought in the North in this 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 Roberto of Parma won a military medal.

Aragon, Catalonia and Valencia

On the night of July 6 to 7, 1875, the forces of General Martínez Campos prepared to take the fortified square of Cantavieja (Teruel) in the Maestrazgo region. In the combat, the 2nd Company of Arapiles volunteered for the assault column, an action in which the spender soldier D. Agustín Martínez Rodríguez perished, and he was awarded the Laureate Cross of San Fernando posthumously.

This would be the last year of struggle in Catalonia, since in November 1875 no place in the east would remain faithful to the Carlist movement. In March 1875, Martínez-Campos occupied Olot and laid siege to Seo de Urgel. The conquest of it by government troops in August caused the fighting in Catalonia to end on November 19.

1876

The final fight

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 surrendered their weapons amounted to four times less. The Alfonsinos 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 in the Abadiano action. It is the last important action recorded in Vizcaya when the war was coming to an end.

The Carlist battalions of Carasa, Cavero and Ugarte were defeated by the liberal divisions commanded by General Loma, Goyeneche, Álvarez Maldonado and Villegas. The retreat was made through the Elgueta hill in the direction of Zumárraga. The rebels were pushed towards the Pyrenees. At the end of February, Estella fell and Don Carlos fled to France, shouting "I'll be back", which he did not comply with. The last stronghold faithful to Carlism, the castle of Lapoblación, succumbed on March 2. The war was over.

In the proclamation to the Army on the occasion of the end of the war, Alfonso last city on the same day, February 28, that Charles VII left Spain)— said the following:

Soldiers: I feel sorry for getting rid of you. I will never forget your deeds; do not you forget, instead, that you will always find me willing to leave the Palace of my elders to occupy a tent in your camps; to put me in front of you and to run in the service of the homeland, if necessary, mixed with yours, the blood of your King.

In the "Somorrostro proclamation" of March 3, a call was made for reconciliation: "no one should be humiliated by their defeat; "That in the end, the brother of the victor is the vanquished." When Alfonso

Carlist State

During the campaign, Charles VII organized the Carlist State and, in certain aspects, surpassed that of his grandfather Charles V during the first war. But there was no transfer of ministers. The first Secretariat of State to be created was that of War, which was headed by General Elío. And during certain periods of time when the head could not take charge of his office, he was temporarily replaced by General Plana, sometimes, and General Llavanera, other times. Another ministry that was soon established was that of State, held by Vice Admiral Martínez de Viñalet. Later, the Political Government and Treasury were established, carried out by the Count of Pinar. Later, the Ministry of Grace and Justice was established, led by the jurist Díaz del Río. Having suppressed the Office Secretariat of State, a General Directorate of Foreign Relations was created, which was occupied by the writer Suárez Bravo, who belonged to the consular career and, in addition, there was a General Directorate of Communications, which was carried out by the Count of Belascoáin. As in the first war, the Provincial Councils or Juntas of the Vascongadas, Navarra and Castilla were established. But, in addition, Provincial Councils were formed in Catalonia, Valencia and Aragon.

Consequences

The Carlist soldiers who laid down their arms were able to join the government army with the maintenance of all ranks and decorations, but few did so. For the Basque provinces and Navarra, the end of this war meant the definitive disappearance of part of the jurisdictions, with the abolition law of July 21, 1876. This decision was unanimously accepted by all the provinces, including the affected ones, which could not do nothing against the decision due to the large military contingent that still remained in its territory. The end of the provincial government in the Basque Country led the government of Antonio Cánovas to agree on the so-called first Basque economic agreement, in which some economic freedom was still given to this region, allowing local authorities to collect taxes themselves. On the other hand, the defeat and subsequent suppression of the fueros increased the Basque fueros sentiment, giving rise years later to the creation of the Basque Nationalist Party in 1895 by Sabino Arana, who would defend the Catholic ideas of Carlism and, independently of this movement, who advocated regionalism, would go on to defend nationalism.

From the Alfonso perspective, the victory further legitimized the Restoration government, which was reinforced with the promulgation of the Constitution of 1876. The sovereign awarded his troops the medals of the civil war in operations and later, arriving even to grant in very notable cases the outstanding distinction of merit to the country. However, he respected with honors all those decorated by the other side and established all the nobles that his rival had ennobled as nobles of the kingdom. The third civil war of the 19th century ended with an assimilation of the losing side without doing wrongs to the defeated.

Battles

• Battle of Oroquieta
• Eraul Battle
• Irún Site
• Battle of San Marcos
• First Battle of Montejurra
• Website of Bilbao
• First Battle of Somorrostro
• Battle of Monte Muru
• Pamplona site
• Toma de Cuenca
• Battle of Lacar
• Battle of Oteiza
• Second Battle of Montejurra
• Battle of Vilabella-Salomò
• Action by Saint Peter of Abanto
• Battle of Villafranca

Filmography

• José María Tuduri (director) (1986). Chronicle of the Carlist War (1872-1876) (Largometraje). Zulia Films. Consultation on 18 October 2013.
• José María Tuduri (director) (1990). Santa Cruz, the guerrilla priest (Largometraje). Zulia Films. Consultation on 12 August 2014.