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First Carlist War

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179-396: [REDACTED] Carlists [REDACTED] Liberals 500,000 mobilized throughout the war 5% of the Spanish population died, with half this number being military deaths The First Carlist War was a civil war in Spain from 1833 to 1840, the first of three Carlist Wars . It was fought between two factions over the succession to the throne and the nature of the Spanish monarchy :

358-549: A Varangian Guard " to ensure his power. In 1833, Spain's forces comprised 100,000 Royalist Volunteers, 50,000 regulars, and 652 generals. The progressives of the Trienio had managed to secure loans from British financiers, which Ferdinand then defaulted on. This made securing further loans even harder for the fledgling Spanish economy. Some historians argue that the Pragmatic Sanction was encouraged in order to please

537-696: A 40-day supply. Extensive magazines were strategically set up in towns and cities across Poland and East Prussia, while the Vistula river valley was developed into a vital supply base in 1811–1812. Intendant / Quartermaster General Dumas organized five supply lines from the Rhine to the Vistula, establishing administrative headquarters in three arrondissements in French-controlled Germany and Poland. This logistical preparation served as

716-507: A Franco-Spanish union was a political non-starter. Although the Spanish government made several attempts to revert to the traditional order, as in the Decree of 1789 by Charles IV (see below), the succession question became pressing only when, by 1830, Ferdinand VII found himself ailing, without any issue, but with a pregnant wife. He decided in 1830 to promulgate the 1789 decree, securing

895-477: A Navarrese Carlist figure at the head of the Requetés , offering the participation of 8,400 voluntaries to support the uprising, turned into a counter-revolutionary reaction. The principles divide between Manuel Fal Conde and Mola (basically a Falangist ) almost broke the understanding for a Carlist allegiance to the coup on 4 July 1936. However, rebellious cooperation against the legitimate Republican government

1074-677: A bad supply situation worse. Some 50,000 stragglers and deserters became a lawless mob warring with the local peasantry in all-out guerrilla war , which further hindered supplies reaching the Grande Armée. Central to the problem were the expanding distances to supply magazines and the fact that no supply wagon could keep up with a forced marched infantry column. A Lieutenant Mertens—a Württemberger serving with Ney's III Corps—reported in his diary that oppressive heat followed by cold nights and rain left them with dead horses and camping in swamp-like conditions with dysentery and fever raging through

1253-453: A bottle of beer": as soon as that cork was removed, all the troubles of Spain would explode into the open. In addition, as part of his police state Ferdinand revived the inquisition and expanded it to have "agents in every single village in the realm." The divide between liberals and conservatives, both unhappy with Ferdinand's reign, was further strengthened by his publication in March, 1830 of

1432-540: A clause that transferred Western Galicia from Austria and annexing it to the Grand Duchy of Warsaw . This move was seen unfavorably by Russia, perceiving the territory's annexation as a potential threat for a French invasion point. Russia's foreign Minister Nikolay Rumyantsev advocated for a closer alliance with France in response. In an attempt to secure greater cooperation from Russia, Napoleon initially pursued an alliance by proposing marriage to Anna Pavlovna ,

1611-661: A direct aftermath of the French Revolution . Napoleon, rising to power in 1799 and assuming autocratic rule over France, orchestrated numerous military campaigns that led to the establishment of the first French empire . Starting in 1803, the Napoleonic Wars served as a testament to Napoleon's military prowess. He secured victories in the War of the Third Coalition (1803–1806, leading to the dissolution of

1790-623: A focal point in military history , recognized as among the most devastating military endeavors globally . In a span of fewer than six months, the campaign exacted a staggering toll, claiming the lives of nearly a million soldiers and civilians. On 24 June 1812 and subsequent days, the initial wave of the multinational Grande Armée crossed the Neman River, marking the entry from the Duchy of Warsaw into Russia. Employing extensive forced marches, Napoleon rapidly advanced his army of nearly half

1969-476: A grandson through the female line of Carlos VII. A fringe movement of Carlists supported Alfonso XIII , the exiled constitutional king of Spain, who was the senior male-line descendant of King Charles IV , through his third son Francisco de Paula (whose eldest son Francisco de Asís had married his cousin Isabella II). The majority of Carlists, however, considered Alfonso disqualified because he did not share

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2148-539: A hostile foreign power, as the scenario of such a union could impinge profoundly on questions of national importance (particularly among states that preferred to maintain their distance from policy positions occupied by the Franco-Spanish consensus, of which the Holy Roman Empire was one). Some disagreement on this topic was evident for a number of years, even after it became clear that any question of

2327-603: A leftist Titoist , workers' self-management socialist movement. In 1979 he accepted Spanish citizenship from King Juan Carlos I and in 1980 he renounced his membership in the Partido Carlista, which he had created. Carlos Hugo had the support of a minority of Carlists including the Partido Carlista. He also excluded the Luxembourger branch of the family from Carlist succession due to unequal marriages by princes of that branch that were recognized as dynastic by

2506-411: A manifesto from Javier condemning Carlos Hugo. Several days later Carlos Hugo's supporters published a manifesto from Javier recognising Carlos Hugo as his heir. Carlos Hugo, Duke of Parma (8 April 1930 – 18 August 2010), was the elder son of Xavier. He was a Carlist claimant from 1977 until his death. After alienating many Carlists by his attempts to approach Franco (1965–1967), Carlos Hugo switched to

2685-561: A military expedition . The decade that followed the end of the Trienio became known as the Ominous Decade , in which Ferdinand suppressed his enemies, the press, and the institutional reforms of the liberals. He also established a militia called the Voluntarios Realistas ("Royalist Volunteers") which peaked at 284,000 men in 1832 in order to facilitate this suppression, led by an inspector general who answered only to

2864-404: A million individuals through Western Russia , encompassing present-day Belarus , in a bid to dismantle the disparate Russian forces led by Barclay de Tolly and Pyotr Bagration totaling approximately 180,000–220,000 soldiers at that juncture. Despite losing half of his men within six weeks due to extreme weather conditions, diseases and scarcity of provisions, Napoleon emerged victorious in

3043-602: A modern mass party, centered around the local assemblies (called "Círculos", of which several hundred existed throughout Spain in 1936) and their social action programmes, and in active opposition to the political system of the Restoration (participating even in broad coalitions, such as 1907's "Solidaritat Catalana", with regionalists and republicans). During electoral campaigns the Carlists, except Navarre , achieved little success. From 1893 to 1918, Juan Vázquez de Mella

3222-462: A month before Isabella's third birthday, his reign considered one of the worst in Spanish history, and so the kingdom fell into a regency led first by her mother Maria Christina of the Two Sicilies . A strong absolutist party feared that the regent Maria Christina would make liberal reforms, and sought another candidate for the throne. This was due to her owing her choice as Ferdinand's wife to

3401-494: A peace proposal that never materialized. Due to favorable weather conditions, Napoleon delayed his retreat and, hoping to secure supplies, began a different route westward than the one the army had devastated on the way there. However, after losing the Battle of Maloyaroslavets , he was compelled to retrace his initial path. As early November arrived, snowfall and frost complicated the retreat. Shortages of food and winter attire for

3580-566: A period of accelerated population growth meant that the Basque region "faced a bottleneck of impoverished and underemployed men of military age who had little [to] lose by joining Carlist insurrections". It is important to note that Basque support for Carlism was "far more conditional than [historian] traditionalists, neo-traditionalists, and even Liberals believed." As Mark Lawrence writes, "it would be superficial to explain Basque Carlism as

3759-402: A political movement. It arose under the protection of a dynastic flag that proclaimed itself "legitimist", and that rose to the death of Ferdinand VII , in the year 1833, with enough echo and popular roots, ... they distinguish in it three cardinal bases that define it: a) A dynastic flag: that of legitimacy. b) A historical continuity: that of Las Españas. c) And a legal-political doctrine:

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3938-554: A precursor to the idea of the two Spains that would surface during the Spanish Civil War a century later. Before the start of the Carlist Wars, Spain was in a deep social, economic, and political crisis as a result of mismanagement by Charles IV and Ferdinand VII , and had stagnated from the reforms and successes of Charles III of Spain . Spain had only slightly more than 20 inhabitants per square kilometer in

4117-521: A secondary factor at the outbreak of the first Carlist war, this anti-uniformist localism, exemplified in the defence of the fueros , would become in time one of the more important banners of Carlism. This won Carlism support in the Basque territories ( Navarre , Gipuzkoa , Biscay and Araba ), as well as the old realms of the Crown of Aragon ( Aragon , Catalonia and Valencia ), as those areas resented

4296-407: A significant trial of Napoleon's administrative and logistical acumen, with his focus in the first half of 1812 dedicated mainly to provisioning his invading army. Napoleon's study of Russian geography and history, including Charles XII's invasion of 1708–1709 , reinforced his understanding of the imperative to transport as many supplies as possible. The French Army's prior experience operating in

4475-648: A strategic maneuver, he deployed the Old Guard against Miloradovich , who obstructed the primary road to Krasny, effectively isolating him from the main army. Davout successfully broke through, Eugene de Beauharnais and Michel Ney were forced to take a detour. Despite the consolidation of several retreating French corps with the main army, by the time they reached the Berezina , Napoleon commanded only around 49,000 troops alongside 40,000 stragglers of little military significance. On 5 December, Napoleon departed from

4654-488: A sword-wielding general Castaños , and tellingly the San Sebastián council representatives took the oath to the 1812 Constitution with the smell of smoke still wafting and surrounded by rubble . This Constitution abolished Basque home rule, and in the following years the contrafueros (literally "against fueros") removed provisions such as fiscal sovereignty and specificity of military draft . The resentment against

4833-811: A term for the German invasion of the Soviet Union during the Second World War . The " Patriotic War of 1812 " is also occasionally referred to as simply the " War of 1812 ", a term which should not be confused with the conflict between Great Britain and the United States, also known as the War of 1812 . In Russian literature written before the Russian revolution, the war was occasionally described as "the invasion of twelve languages" ( Russian : нашествие двенадцати языков ). Napoleon termed this war

5012-532: A third in just the first eight weeks of the campaign, before the major battle was fought. This loss in strength was in part due to diseases such as diphtheria , dysentery and typhus and the need for garrison supply centres. There are eyewitness reports of cannibalism in November 1812. Nine pontoon companies, three pontoon trains with 100 pontoons each, two companies of marines, nine sapper companies, six miner companies and an engineer park were deployed for

5191-541: A war in defence of the fueros" but also states that "Basque Carlism is also impossible to understand without them, not least because their most outspoken defenders were to be found in Carlist ranks and their most outspoken critics amongst the Cristino Liberals." The people of the western Basque provinces (ambiguously called "Biscay" up to that point) and Navarre sided with Carlos because ideologically Carlos

5370-621: 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 movement was founded as a consequence of an early 19th-century dispute over the succession of the Spanish monarchy and widespread dissatisfaction with the Alfonsine line of

5549-518: The Battle of Smolensk . However, the Russian Army, now commanded by Mikhail Kutuzov , opted for a strategic retreat, employing attrition warfare against Napoleon compelling the invaders to rely on an inadequate supply system, incapable of sustaining their vast army in the field. The fierce Battle of Borodino , located 110 kilometres (70 mi) west of Moscow, concluded as a narrow victory for

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5728-610: The Continental System , a blockade aimed at the United Kingdom. However, the treaty imposed significant economic strain on Russia, prompting Tsar Alexander to break away from the Continental blockade on December 31, 1810. This decision left Napoleon without his primary foreign policy tool against the United Kingdom. The Treaty of Schönbrunn , concluding the 1809 conflict between Austria and France included

5907-648: 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). The Carlist militia, the Requetés , had been receiving military training during the Second Spanish Republic but had significant ideological differences with many of the conspiring generals. With

6086-435: The 1789 succession discussions which Ferdinand ratified in his Sanction. By September of 1832, it was clear that King Ferdinand would soon die. To avert a civil war, Maria Christina sent Antonio de Saavedra y Jofré to ask Carlos to serve as principal advisor during the regency and arrange a marriage between Isabella and Carlos' son Carlos Luis . Carlos refused on religious grounds. He warned her that God would punish him in

6265-549: The Allies , but was living under house arrest in Austria, at Schloss Frohsdorf , with almost no communication with the political leadership in Spain. As the war ended and Don Jaime could again freely communicate with Spain, a crisis erupted, and Vázquez de Mella and others had to leave the party's leadership (the so-called " Mellists "). In 1920, Carlism helped to found the " Sindicatos Libres " (Catholic Labour Unions) to counter

6444-669: The Baltic ports Stettin and Danzig. During this period, Napoleon's physical and mental condition underwent changes. He experienced weight gain and increasing susceptibility to various health issues. In May 1812 he left his palace in Saint-Cloud ; one month later he arrived in Toruń . Committed to Catherine the Great's expansion policy, Alexander I issued an ultimatum in April 1812, demanding

6623-473: The Bourbons . Although the high nobility accepted this change, the Spanish people did not and soon a bloody guerilla war erupted . This war lasted until 1814, and during those years Spain would be ravaged by the estimated deaths of over a million civilians out of the twelve that populated Spain at the time. Furthermore, French troops heavily looted the country, especially as the focus of the army shifted towards

6802-764: The Crown of Aragon and included Catalonia, Aragon, Valencia, and the Balearic Islands had been abolished in the Nueva Planta decrees of 1717, the Basques managed to maintain a relative autonomy to the rest of the Spanish Kingdom in thanks to their support of Philip V of Spain in the War of the Spanish Succession . The centralisers in the Spanish government supported some of the great powers against Basque merchants from at least since

6981-654: The French Basque districts . Despite difficulties, on-off trade continued during the period of uncertainty prevailing under the French Convention, the War of the Pyrenees (1793-1795) , Manuel Godoy 's tenure in office, and the Peninsular War. Eventually, Napoleonic defeat left cross-border commercial activity struggling to take off after 1813 . Overseas commerce was badly affected by the end of

7160-685: The French invasion of Russia . In the 19th century, Spain was heavily in debt and in a dire situation economically. Various conflicts with the British and especially the Battle of Trafalgar had left the Spanish without the naval strength to maintain healthy maritime trade with the Americas and the Philippines, leading to historically low overseas revenue and ability to control the colonies. The de facto independence of many of these colonies during

7339-741: The Guipuzcoan Company of Caracas (1785), the French-Spanish defeat at the Battle of Trafalgar (1805), independence movements in Latin America (started 1808), the destruction of San Sebastián (1813), and the eventual breakup of the Royal Philippine Company (1814) . By 1826 all the grand Spanish (including the Basque) fleet of the late 18th century with its renowned Basque navigators was gone, and with it,

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7518-518: The Philippines , Cuba , Guam , and Puerto Rico to the United States. Carlism continued to play a notable role in the 20th century as part of the Nationalist faction in the Spanish Civil War and the subsequently triumphant Francoist regime until the Spanish transition to democracy in 1975. Carlism continues to survive as a minor party : Objectively considered, Carlism appears as

7697-737: The Russian campaign ( French : Campagne de Russie ), the Second Polish War , and in Russia as the Patriotic War of 1812 ( Russian : Оте́чественная война́ 1812 го́да , romanized :  Otéchestvennaya voyná 1812 góda ), was initiated by Napoleon with the aim of compelling the Russian Empire to comply with the continental blockade of the United Kingdom . Widely studied, Napoleon's incursion into Russia stands as

7876-488: The Suwałki Gap . Several corps, except X Corps , passed Marijampolė before arriving at the river Neman. On 23 June Napoleon arrived at Naugardiškė near Kaunas . After two days of preparation, the invasion commenced on Wednesday, 24 June  [ O.S. 12 June] 1812 with Napoleon's army crossing the border. The army was split up into five columns: Napoleon initially met little resistance and moved quickly into

8055-505: The endorsement of the Basques as long as he respected the Basque institutional and legal framework. Most foreign observers, including Charles F. Henningsen , Michael B. Honan, or Edward B. Stephens, English writers and first-hand witnesses of the First Carlist War, spent time in the Basque districts were highly sympathetic to the Carlists, which they regarded as representing the cause of Basque home rule. A notable exception

8234-651: The regency of her mother, Maria Christina of Bourbon-Two Sicilies . If only to get rid of Don Carlos, the Liberals accepted the new Princess of Asturias . Moreover, the first years of the 1830s were influenced by the failure of the French Restoration , which meant the end of Bourbon rule in France, and the civil war in Portugal between both legitimist and liberal parties. Besides this political evolution,

8413-550: The "Second Polish War" in an attempt to gain increased support from Polish nationalists and patriots. Though the stated goal of the war was the resurrection of the Polish state on the territories of the former Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth (modern territories of Poland , Lithuania , Latvia , Estonia , Belarus and Ukraine ), in fact, this issue was of no real concern to Napoleon. From 1792 onwards, France found itself frequently embroiled in conflicts with major European powers,

8592-485: The "last great European conflict of the pre-industrial age". The conflict was responsible for the deaths of 5% of the 1833 Spanish population—with military casualties alone amounting to half this number. It was mostly fought in the Southern Basque Country , Maestrazgo , and Catalonia and characterized by endless raids and reprisals against both armies and civilians. Importantly, it is also considered

8771-505: The (mostly deeply Catholic ) Spanish people, especially in rural areas. The only institution abolished in the "Liberal Triennium" that was not restored by Ferdinand VII was the Inquisition . One of the demands of the radical absolutist party was its reinstitution. Liberals had been, while in power, quite doctrinaire, pursuing centralization and uniform administration. Besides the Basque Country, in many regions of Spain there were intense particularist feelings, which were thus hurt. While only

8950-406: The 1979 UPN namesake party leader ) and other Jaimist young members organized arms smuggling from Eibar to distribute them among "defence" parties called Decurias , counting on the financing of wealthy personalities (big landowners, etc.). In 1932, the first coup d'état attempt took place against the Republic in the Sanjurjada , with a Carlist inspiration. The October 1934 Revolution cost

9129-505: The 21st century, there are three political organizations which claim the Carlist identity: The regnal numbers are those used by their supporters. While they were not proclaimed kings, they made use of some titles associated with the Spanish throne. At the death of Alfonso Carlos in 1936 most Carlists supported Prince Xavier of Bourbon-Parma whom Alfonso Carlos had named as regent of the Carlist Communion. A minority of Carlists supported Archduke Karl Pius of Austria, Prince of Tuscany ,

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9308-524: The Americas and the Philippines, leading to historically low overseas revenue. Between 1792 and 1827, Spanish foreign imports decreased from 714.9 million reals to 226.2 and exports decreased from 397 million to 221.2. This economic weakness would prove crucial at restraining Spain's ability to climb out of the woes of the next decades and leading up to the Carlist wars. While Spain had been an ally of Napoleon , this changed in 1808 after France occupied Spain and installed Joseph Bonaparte as King in place of

9487-417: The Atlantic vocation of the Enlightened Spain. Notwithstanding the ideology of Basque liberals, overall supportive of home rule, the Basques and their industries were getting choked by the above circumstances and customs on the Ebro , on account of the high levies enforced on them by the successive Spanish governments after 1776. Many Basque merchants advocated in turn for the relocation of the Ebro customs to

9666-410: The Basque nationalists. Many crossed the front line to make themselves safe in the rebel zone, and added to the Carlist regiments in Álava and Navarre. Pamplona became the rebel launching point for the War in the North . On 8 December 1936, Fal Conde had to leave temporarily for Portugal after a major clash with Franco. On 19 April 1937 the Carlist political bloc was " unified " with the Falange under

9845-402: The Basques. The British interest was to destroy, for as long as possible, Spanish commercial routes and power, which were mainly sustained by the Basque ports and merchant fleet. The Constitution of 1812 was written without Basque input, but they agreed to it due to the ongoing war against the French. As one example, the 1812 Constitution was signed by Gipuzkoan representatives under the watch of

10024-451: The Belgian army, where he had served during World War I . He was demobilized and joined the French maquis . He was taken prisoner by the Nazis and sent to Natzweiler and Dachau concentration camp , where American troops liberated him in 1945. In 1952, Javier was proclaimed King of Spain, asserting Carlist legitimacy. Since the death of Alfonso Carlos, his successor by right of agnatic primogeniture had yet to be determined. To do so, it

10203-451: The Carlist cause was the tremendous influence of the Basque clergy whose number per capita was double that of other regions. Basque clergy still addressed the public in their own language, Basque , unlike school and administration, institutions where Spanish had been imposed by then. The Basque pro- fueros liberal class under the influence of the Enlightenment and ready for independence from Spain (and initially at least allegiance to France)

10382-458: The Carlist cause. For a time, even beyond the start of the third war (1872), it became the most important, and best organized, "right-wing" opposition group to the revolutionary regime, with some 90 members of parliament in 1871. After the defeat, a group (led by Alejandro Pidal) left Carlism to form a moderate, non-dynastic Catholic party in Spain, which later merged with the conservatives of Antonio Cánovas del Castillo . In 1879 Cándido Nocedal

10561-410: The Carlist cause. In fact, the fueros grew in importance only when military victory seemed impossible in the wake of the failed Royal Expedition, and as Carlist peace feelers voiced a growing willingness to abandon Don Carlos who, since 1834, had been the fueros’ champion. and further notes that "the powers of the fueros themselves were increasingly curtailed by the Carlist Royal Government in the name of

10740-560: The Carlist forces gave Carlos time to consolidate his forces and hold out for almost seven years in the northern and eastern provinces. As Paul Johnson has written, "both royalists and liberals began to develop strong local followings, which were to perpetuate and transmute themselves, through many open commotions and deceptively tranquil intervals, until they exploded in the merciless civil war of 1936-39." Carlism Defunct Carlism ( Basque : Karlismo ; Catalan : Carlisme ; Galician : Carlismo ; Spanish: Carlismo )

10919-429: The Carlist ideals (and, importantly, because Spanish law excluded from succession the descendants of those who commit treason against the king, as Carlists deem Alfonso's male-line ancestors to have done once Francisco de Paula recognized the reign of Isabella II). Many also regarded his descent as illegitimate, believing that Alfonso XII 's biological father was a lover of Queen Isabella's rather than her husband. Most of

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11098-409: The Carlists' goal was the return to a traditional monarchy , while the Liberals sought to defend the constitutional monarchy . It was the largest and most deadly civil war in nineteenth-century Europe and fought by more men than the Spanish War of Independence . It might have been the largest counter-revolutionary movement in 19th-century Europe depending on the figures. Furthermore, it is considered

11277-408: The FET, seven seats were occupied by Carlists. Carlists continued to clash with Falangists, notably in an incident at Bilbao 's Basilica of Begoña on 16 August 1942. Accounts of the violence vary, but a Carlist rally (where some allegedly shouted anti-Franco slogans) was targeted by two grenades hurled by Falangists. While alleged fatalities and the number of those injured have long been disputed,

11456-516: The French although Napoleon was not able to beat the Russian army and Kutuzov could not stop the French. At the Council at Fili Kutuzov made the critical decision not to defend the city but to orchestrate a general withdrawal, prioritizing the preservation of the Russian army. On 14 September, Napoleon and his roughly 100,000-strong army took control of Moscow , only to discover it deserted, and set ablaze by its military governor Fyodor Rostopchin . Remaining in Moscow for five weeks, Napoleon awaited

11635-650: The Grand Duke. Prince Carlos, Duke of Parma (born 27 January 1970), is the elder son of Carlos Hugo. He inherited the Carlist claim on his father's death in 2010. Carlos has the support of a minority of Carlists including the Partido Carlista. French invasion of Russia Russian victory [REDACTED] French Empire [REDACTED] Duchy of Warsaw [REDACTED] Italy [REDACTED] Naples [REDACTED] Switzerland [REDACTED]   Spain 450,000 – 685,000 total: 508,000 – 723,000 total: 434,000 – 500,000 410,000 The French invasion of Russia , also known as

11814-448: The House of Bourbon, and subsequently found itself becoming a notable element of Spanish conservatism in its 19th-century struggle against liberalism, which repeatedly broke out into military conflicts known as the Carlist Wars . It was at its strongest in the 1830s but experienced a revival following Spain's defeat in the Spanish–American War in 1898, when the Spanish Empire lost its last remaining significant overseas territories of

11993-406: The July 1936 revolt and the ensuing Spanish Civil War, the Carlists fell naturally if uneasily on the side of the Nationalist rebels. General Mola , known for his openness on his no-holds-barred, criminal approach, had just been relocated away to Pamplona by the Republican authorities, ironically to the very heart of the far-right rebellion. In May 1936, the General met with Ignacio Baleztena ,

12172-413: The King himself and funded independently by permanent tax revenues. They were recruited exclusively from conservatives and declared its aim the protection of the royals against liberal attacks. This decade was plagued by political instability, with a large ultra-conservative revolt breaking out in 1827 and an unsuccessful British-backed liberal Pronunciamiento in 1831 . Ferdinand was unable to control

12351-482: The Napoleonic Empire left a large supply of experienced guerrilla fighters and an oversized military officialdom—for the most part, staunch Liberals. The perceived success of the uprising of 1808 against Napoleon left also a broad, if unconscious, belief in the validity of the right of rebellion , with long-lasting effects on the politics of Spain and Spanish America , extending through the 19th century and beyond. The reign of Ferdinand VII proved unable to overcome

12530-433: The Napoleonic Wars and had only managed to fight as a junior partner under British leadership, financed and even clothed by British subsidies. Nonetheless, the Spanish government would be overburdened with costs needed to establish control over the country over the following decades—88% of taxes collected in February 1822 went to fund the military—which increased when Ferdinand maintained a French garrison between 1824-1828 "as

12709-431: The Napoleonic Wars and later wars of independence further strained the royal coffers. Between 1824 and 1833 the average annual income was "barely more than half" the pre-wars' level. Additionally, the political instability further constrained Spain's ability to collect taxes—the Riego revolt meant the government could only collect 12% of its projected revenue for the first half of 1820. Spain had been heavily looted during

12888-679: The Neman, a number of soldiers began to develop high fevers and a red rash on their bodies. Typhus had made its appearance. On 29/30 June, a violent thunderstorm struck Lithuania during the night and continued for several hours or a day. The results were most disastrous to the French forces. The movement of troops was impeded or absolutely checked and the vast troop and supply trains on the Vilnius-Kaunas Road became disorganized. The existing roads became little better than quagmires causing

13067-686: The Pragmatic Sanction , which replaced the Salic system with a mixed succession system that would allow his daughters to inherit the throne (he had no male heir). This replaced his brother Charles as next-in-succession with his first daughter Isabella, who would be born later that year in October. It was at this point that the Royalist Volunteers and police, which had become politicized towards conservatism, threatened Ferdinand's court as they might support Carlos instead of his heir. Ferdinand died

13246-409: The Pyrenees, and the encouragement of a Spanish market. However, a majority of Basque consumers benefited from their ability to buy foreign goods without paying Spanish tariffs and participation in the contraband trade. On Ferdinand VII's death in 1833, the minor Isabella II was proclaimed queen, with Maria Christina acting as regent. In November, a new Spanish institutional arrangement was designed by

13425-548: 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 most extreme proponent of these views

13604-481: The Royalist Volunteers (which were directly collected by them) and removed the political requirements for joining them. On 15 October, Maria Cristina issued a political amnesty for many exiles and liberals (except for those that had voted in favor of the King's removal and those that had led armed forces against him). A few weeks later, these former political criminals became eligible to hold office again and consequently

13783-840: The Russians had failed to destroy or empty, and Moscow itself was filled with food. Twenty train battalions provided most of the transportation, with a combined load of 8,390 tons. Twelve of these battalions had a total of 3,024 heavy wagons drawn by four horses each, four had 2,424 one-horse light wagons and four had 2,400 wagons drawn by oxen . Auxiliary supply convoys were formed on Napoleon's orders in early June 1812, using vehicles requisitioned in East Prussia. Marshal Nicolas Oudinot 's II Corps alone took 600 carts formed into six companies. The wagon trains were supposed to carry enough bread, flour and medical supplies for 300,000 men for two months. The standard heavy wagons, well-suited for

13962-438: The Spanish people favored a return to a kind of absolute monarchy that they felt would protect their individual freedoms (fueros), their regional individuality and their religious conservatism. This opportunistic view of Carlism is further supported by the fact that "Carlism" was first mentioned in official correspondence in 1824, both after the restoration of absolutism to Spain by the French expedition and more than 35 years after

14141-424: The Spanish throne. The privileges of the Basque provinces are odious to the Spanish nation, of which Charles is so well aware, that if he was king of Spain next year, he would quickly find excuses for infringing them, if not their total abolition. A representative government will endeavour to raise Spain to a level with the Basque provinces, – a despot, to whom the very name of freedom is odious, would strive to reduce

14320-410: The Spanish throne. In the French royal house, Salic law applied, which did not permit female succession. Accordingly, the traditional Spanish order of succession had to give way to a semi-Salic system, which excluded women from the crown unless all males in the agnatic descent from Philip, in any branch, became extinct. It is not implausible that this change might have been enacted at the insistence of

14499-538: The abolition of their ancient self-government privileges by issuance of the Nueva Planta Decrees . The history of Carlism can be usefully divided into four different stages, whose dates are only approximate (thus the overlap is intentional): The period of the Carlist Wars , during which the party tried to attain power mainly through military means, is both classical Carlism, because the wars – or

14678-454: The absence of meticulous records, estimations varied and often included exaggerated counts, overlooking auxiliary troops. Napoleon's initial force upon entering Russia exceeded 450,000 men, accompanied by over 150,000 horses, approximately 25,000 wagons and nearly 1,400 artillery pieces. However, the surviving count dwindled to a mere 120,000 men (excluding early deserters); signifying a staggering loss of approximately 380,000 lives throughout

14857-586: The absolutists (or royalists), known as the Apostólicos , looked upon the heir presumptive, Don Carlos , as its natural head, as he was profoundly devout and, especially after 1820, staunchly anti-liberal. In 1827, Catalonia was shaken by the rebellion of the Agreujats or Agraviados ("the Aggrieved") , an ultra-absolutist movement, which, for a time, controlled large parts of the region. The infante

15036-501: The afterlife for giving away a throne that was rightfully his. On September 18, at the urging of Maria Christina who was outnumbered in Court by Carlists, Ferdinand revoked the Pragmatic Sanction. Soon afterwards, however, he regained his health and was no longer in immediate danger of dying (though by that point rumours had been widely published abroad that he had died). This episode spurred the liberals to enact extensive personnel changes in

15215-522: The ancient region specific institutions and laws established under historical rights. Navarre and the rest of the Basque provinces held their customs on the Ebro river. Trade had been strong with France (especially in Navarre) and overseas up to the Peninsular War (up to 1813), but getting sluggish thereafter. Another important reason for the massive mobilisation of the western Basque provinces and Navarre for

15394-527: The appearance of the extremely gifted guerrilla leader, Tomás de Zumalacárregui. Other parts of Spain may have had one, or some of these factors, but not all four. In this context the additional importance of the loss of the colonies arises. The basques had traditionally emigrated to the New World in order to get better jobs and deal with their rising population in a highly mountainous region which could not support large populations. The end of this option during

15573-456: The army at Smorgonie in a sled and returned to Paris. Within a few days, an additional 20,000 people succombed to the bitter cold and diseases carried by lice . Murat and Ney assumed command, pressing forward but leaving over 20,000 men in the hospitals of Vilnius . The remnants of the principal armies, disheartened, crossed the frozen Neman and the Bug . While exact figures remain elusive due to

15752-412: The army had to rely solely on its own resources. Danzig contained enough provisions to feed 400,000 men for 50 days. Breslau, Plock and Wyszogród were turned into grain depots, milling vast quantities of flour for delivery to Thorn, where 60,000 biscuits were produced every day. A large bakery was established at Villenberg ( Braniewo County ). 50,000 cattle were collected to follow the army. After

15931-415: The bivouacs; the downpour lasted all the next day. The heavy losses to disease, hunger and desertion in the early months of the campaign were in large part due to the inability to transport provisions quickly enough to the troops. The Intendance administration failed to distribute with sufficient rigor the supplies that were built up or captured. By that, despite all these preparations, the Grande Armée

16110-539: The brain and the root of the intolerance and the hard line" of the Spanish Catholic Church. On the other side, the liberals and moderates united to defend the new order represented by María Cristina and her three-year-old daughter, Isabella. They controlled the institutions, almost the whole army, and the cities; the Carlist movement was stronger in rural areas. The liberals had the crucial support of United Kingdom , France and Portugal , support that

16289-750: The campaign, half of which resulted from diseases. This catastrophic outcome shattered Napoleon's once-untarnished reputation of invincibility. The French invasion is known as the Russian campaign, the Second Polish War, the Second Polish campaign, the Patriotic War of 1812, or the War of 1812. It should not be confused with the Great Patriotic War ( Великая Отечественная война , Velikaya Otechestvennaya Voyna ),

16468-466: The captain-general's office; the former chief of police; 7 employees of the treasury office; 1 artillery captain; and 3 post office employees. Cea Bermudez 's centrist government (1 October 1832 - January 1834) inaugurated the return to Spain of many exiles from London and Paris, e.g. Juan Álvarez Mendizabal (born Méndez). The rise of Cea Bermudez was followed by a closer collaboration and understanding with Spain's debtors, who in turn clearly encouraged

16647-476: The city took over. In a few days, just about all of Navarre was occupied by the military and the Requetés . There was no front. Immediately the rebels, with a direct participation of the Requetés and the clergy (the Carlist core in Navarre), engaged in a brutal repression to stamp out dissent that affected all inconvenient, mildly progressive, or Basque nationalist inhabitants and personalities. The killing in

16826-458: The conservative and devolutionist supporters of the late king's brother, Carlos de Borbón (or Carlos V ), became known as Carlists ( carlistas ), while the progressive and centralist supporters of the regent , Maria Christina , acting for Isabella II of Spain , were called Liberals ( liberales ), cristinos or isabelinos . Aside from being a war of succession about the question who the rightful successor to King Ferdinand VII of Spain was,

17005-406: The crown for the unborn child even if female. The law placed the child, Princess Isabel , ahead of Ferdinand's brother Infante Carlos , who until then had been heir presumptive . Many contemporaries (starting with the King's brother and the cadet Bourbon branches) saw the changed succession as illegal on various counts. They formed the basis for the dynastic Carlist party, which only recognized

17184-399: The dense and partially paved road networks of Germany and France, proved too cumbersome for the sparse and primitive Russian dirt tracks, further damaged by the unstable weather. Many horses also died during the march towards Vilnius through forests which lacked the necessary fodder, slowing even further the transport of supplies for Napoleon's troops. The supply route from Smolensk to Moscow

17363-596: The early 19th century, much less than other European countries. At the start of the Carlist War, the population was approximately 12.3 million people. While the Spanish American wars of independence began in 1808, more than two decades before the death of Ferdinand VII, the social, economic and political effects of the American conflicts still were of great significance in the peninsula. In fact, not until

17542-407: The enemy's territory in spite of the transport of more than 1,100 cannons, being opposed by the Russian armies with more than 900 cannons. But the roads in this area of Lithuania were actually small dirt tracks through areas of birched woodland and marshes. At the beginning of the war supply lines already simply could not keep up with the forced marches of the corps and rear formations always suffered

17721-743: The evacuation of French troops from Prussia and the Grand Duchy of Warsaw. When Napoleon chose war over retreat, between June 8 and 20, the troops remained in constant motion, enduring arduous marches amid intense heat. Napoleon's primary objective was to defeat the Imperial Russian Army and compel Czar Alexander I to rejoin to the Continental System. From 21–22 June 1812, Bonaparte stayed at Vilkaviškis Manor (in Polish: Wilkowiszky). There Napoleon announced

17900-562: The following events happened under the regime of Francisco Franco , who skillfully played each faction off against the others. Prince Xavier of Bourbon-Parma (25 May 1889 – 7 May 1977), known in Spain as Don Javier de Borbón , had been named regent of the Carlist Communion by Alfonso Carlos in 1936 as the nearest member of the House of Bourbon who shared the Carlist ideals. During the Second World War , Prince Xavier returned to

18079-533: The following proclamation: Soldiers, the second Polish war is begun. The first terminated at Friedland, and at Tilsit, Russia vowed an eternal alliance with France, and war with the English. She now breaks her vows and refuses to give any explanation of her strange conduct until the French eagles have repassed the Rhine, and left our allies at her mercy. Russia is hurried away by a fatality: her destinies will be fulfilled. Does she think us degenerated? Are we no more

18258-502: The former's reforms and liberalization, i.e. the new liberal regime and the incorporation of Spain to the European financial system. After its formation, Maria Isabella published a manifesto threatening those that would seek any change in the government system (namely, "pure unadulterated monarchy under [...] King Ferdinand VII"). Coverdale suggests this manifesto was inspired by Bermudez's philosophy of enlightened despotism . Nonetheless,

18437-426: The government, army, bureaucracy, police, and Royalist Volunteers in order to drive out the royalists who had been so close to realizing Carlos's claim to the throne. For example, in one dispatch the captain-general of Extremadura proposed the removal of 12 governors, king's lieutenants, and garrison adjutants ; 1 colonel; 5 field officers of the Royalist Volunteers; 3 employees of the military treasury; 5 employees of

18616-490: The growing intervention of Madrid (e.g. attempts to take over Biscayan mines in 1826) and the loss of autonomy was considerably strong. However, King Ferdinand VII found an important support base in the Basque Country. The 1812 Constitution of Cádiz had suppressed Basque home rule, and was couched in terms of a unified Spanish nation which rejected the existence of the Basque nation, so the new Spanish king garnered

18795-650: The horse had been killed. Other accounts describe eating the flesh of horses still walking, too cold to react in pain; drinking blood and preparing black pudding was popular. The French simply were unable to feed their army. Starvation led to a general loss of cohesion. Constant harassment of the French Army by Cossacks added to the losses during the retreat. Though starvation caused horrendous casualties in Napoleon's army, losses arose from other sources as well. The main body of Napoleon's Grande Armée diminished by

18974-505: The horses to break down under the additional strain. The delay and frequent loss of these supply trains caused both troops and horses to suffer. Napoleon's forces traditionally were well supplied by his transportation corps, but they proved inadequate during the invasion. The foraging in Lithuania proved hard as the land was mostly barren and forested. The supplies of forage were less than that of Poland, and two days of forced marching made

19153-672: The horses; as usual there is no order or administration; the Army must live by the sword, and even on Prussian territory and with their allies, the troops pillage atrociously, as if they were in an enemy’s country. During the campaign, the widespread death and depletion of horses emerged as a significant issue. Forced marches often forced troops to go without essential supplies, as supply wagons struggled to keep pace; The scarcity of roads, frequently turned to mud by rainstorms ( rasputitsa ), further impeded horse-drawn wagons and artillery. In thinly populated and agriculturally sparse regions,

19332-515: The incident led to a shakeup of the Franco cabinet and the judicial conviction of six Falangists (one, Juan José Domínguez, was executed for the crime). In 1955, Fal Conde resigned as Jefe Delegado of the movement and was replaced by José María Valiente , who formally assumed the title in 1960. The change marked a shift from opposition to collaboration with Francoism, and the rapprochement ended in 1968 when Valiente left office. Franco recognized both

19511-538: The incoming government in Madrid, homogenising Spanish administration according to provinces and conspicuously overruling Basque institutions. The early attempts of the Viceroy of Navarra to recruit villagers into Cristino ranks failed miserably, even when service wages were offered of double, then treble, what the Carlist insurgents promised. Coverdale summarised four factors as to why this was so: (1) traditional society

19690-485: The increased influence of leftist trade unions over the working class, clinging to a difficult balance between labour claims and the interests of the upper-class, to whom Carlism was so attached. Miguel Primo de Rivera 's dictatorship (1923–1930) was opposed but ambiguously viewed by Carlism, which, like most parties, entered a period of slumber, only to be awakened by the coming of the Second Republic in 1931. In

19869-565: The incredibly valuable market to sell their goods to as well as the Mint without the metal crucial to make coins. In order to protect the local industry, Spain established protectionist policies, which served to greatly encourage a black market. In fact, Great Britain was exporting three times as many products into Gibraltar than into the rest of Spain despite the dramatic discrepancy in population size. Moreover, Spain's agricultural production had greatly stalled during Ferdinand's reign, partly due to

20048-462: The integralists 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

20227-521: The invasion began, large magazines were constructed at Kovno ( Kaunas ), Vilna ( Vilnius ), and Minsk , with the Vilna base having enough rations to feed 100,000 men for 40 days. It also contained 27,000 muskets, 30,000 pairs of shoes along with brandy and wine. Medium-sized depots were established at Vitebsk , Orsha , and Smolensk , and several small ones throughout the Russian interior. The French also captured numerous intact Russian supply dumps, which

20406-575: The invasion force. Large-scale military hospitals were created at Breslau , Warsaw, Thorn, Marienburg, Elbing and Danzig, while hospitals in East Prussia ( Königsberg ), had beds for 28,000. The main hospital was in Vilnius, another was set up in Hlybokaye . A significant arsenal was established in Warsaw, forming a crucial part of the logistical infrastructure. The distribution of artillery

20585-433: The lack of food and water led to casualties among troops and their mounts, exposing them to waterborne diseases from drinking contaminated water and consuming spoiled food and forage. While the foremost sections of the army received whatever provisions could be supplied, formations behind them suffered from starvation. During the attack phase, Vilna stood as the most advanced magazine in the operational area. Beyond that point,

20764-499: The lack of food. In 1817 one finds the first reference to Spanish omelette as "…two to three eggs in tortilla for 5 or 6 [people] as our women do know how to make it big and thick with fewer eggs, mixing potatoes, breadcrumbs or whatever." Ferdinand's governmental gridlock only further exacerbated the economic situation, as they were unable to create significant economic policies to tackle the issues or encourage internal demand. In fact, Ferdinand clashed with burghers as to how to manage

20943-399: The land was concentrated on the hands of wealthy nobles and the church who had no incentive to increase production, "vast tracks [of land] lay totally uncultivated". Areas like the Basque Country were privileged exceptions to a Spain where "the majority of the population was made up of landless workers who eked out a miserable existence. One obstacle to increasing the productive use of land were

21122-415: The land, which proved successful in the densely populated and agriculturally prosperous regions of central Europe, characterized by a well-connected network of roads. Swift forced marches had disoriented the traditional Austrian and Prussian armies, relying extensively on foraging for sustenance. Colonel Pion documented the logistical challenges that this strategy imposed on the army: There is no fodder for

21301-461: The liberal faction of the court and Princess Luisa Carlotta of the Two Sicilies , wife of Ferdinand's brother Francisco and court rival of Infanta Maria Francisca of Portugal , wife of Carlos. The natural choice, based on Salic Law, was Ferdinand's brother Carlos . The differing views on the influence of the army and the Church in governance, as well as the forthcoming administrative reforms paved

21480-606: The liberals mobilized around the Queen. Historically, the loyalty of the Basque regions to the kings of Spain and, until the French Revolution, France depended on their upholding of traditional laws, customs, and special privileges. Their representative assemblies go back to the Middle Ages, yet their privileges had been consistently and progressively devalued by both monarchies. While the fueros that formerly made up

21659-470: 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),

21838-541: The movement everywhere else in Spain. Especially in Navarre, Asturias, and parts of the Basque Provinces Carlism remained a significant political force until the late 1960s. The loss of prestige and subsequent fall of Isabel II in 1868, plus the staunch support of Carlism by Pope Pius IX , led a sizable number of former Isabelline conservative Catholics (e.g., Francisco Navarro Villoslada , Antonio Aparisi , Cándido Nocedal , Alejandro Pidal ) to join

22017-567: The old and new versions of Carlism brawled. Two Hugo supporters were killed by far-right militants, among whom was Stefano Delle Chiaie . The Carlist Party accused Hugo's younger brother, Don Sixto Enrique de Borbón-Parma , of aiding the militants, which collaboration the Traditionalist Communion denies. In the first democratic elections on 15 June 1977, only one Carlist senator was elected, journalist and writer Fidel Carazo from Soria , who ran as an independent candidate. In

22196-677: The one's political enemies or the war. In 1823, the Spanish Government during the Trienio Liberal had re-instated the Spanish Constitution of 1812 , which had abolished the fueros and established a parliamentary monarchy , among other changes. Ferdinand VII repealed it later in the year after he appealed to European powers of the Congress of Vienna in order to restore his absolute powers and France sent

22375-605: The parliamentary elections of 1979, rightist Carlists integrated in the far-right coalition Unión Nacional , which won a seat in the Cortes for Madrid; but the elected candidate was not himself a Carlist. The Carlists have since remained extra-parliamentary, obtaining only town council seats. In 2002, Carlos Hugo donated the House's archives to the Archivo Histórico Nacional , which was protested by his brother Don Sixto Enrique and by all Carlist factions. Into

22554-410: The pivotal role of logistics in military strategy , particularly in situations where the available terrain cannot sustain the large number of deployed troops. Napoleon meticulously prepared for supplying his army, significantly surpassing the logistical efforts of previous campaigns. To sustain the Grande Armée and its operations, twenty train battalions with 7,848 vehicles, were mobilized to provide

22733-433: The political divide or to create stable institutions. The so-called Liberal Triennium (1820–1823) re-instated the 1812 constitution after a military "pronunciamiento" , but was followed by the Ominous Decade (1823–1833), ten years of absolute rule by the king, that left bitter memories of persecution in both parties. While in power, both groups had divided themselves into moderate and radical branches. The radical branch of

22912-419: The political situation in Spain was too fragmented for a moderate government like Bermudez's to gain and maintain public support and most of its activity was restrained to controling potential rebelions from both the Carlists and the liberals. On 6 October, Ferdinand named Maria Cristina interim governor and allowed her to publish decrees in his name on both urgent and day-to-day affairs. She quickly re-opened

23091-493: The politically-active liberal financiers, and in fact it was in the interest of loan repayment that the British and French protected the cristinos during the war. However, the former statement can be explained by the growing influence of Maria Cristina in the courts. Furthermore, Spain was undergoing a deflationary spiral caused by both the Napoleonic War and the loss of the colonies, which left Spanish producers without

23270-492: The pro-Franco, umbrella nationalist party, Falange Española Tradicionalista de las Juntas de Ofensiva Nacional Sindicalista or FET de las JONS . Unwilling to leave the Nationalist movement, but unhappy with the merger, the new Carlist claimant Javier, prince de Borbón-Parma , condemned those Carlists who joined the new party. He was expelled from the country, while Fal Conde was not allowed to return to Spain until after

23449-467: The provinces to the same low level with the rest. Modern historian Mark Lawrence agrees: The Pretender’s foralism was not proactive but purely in reaction to the fact that the rest of Spain (which had long been stripped of its fueros) had failed to rally to his cause. He was forced to rely on the fueros because no other wing of the Fernandine state, neither the army nor (mostly) the Church, defected to

23628-418: The ranks with hundreds in a field hospital that had to be set up for the purpose. He reported the times, dates and places of events, reporting new thunderstorms on 6 July and men dying of sunstroke a few days later. Rapid forced marches quickly caused desertion, suicide and starvation, and exposed the troops to filthy water and disease, while the logistics trains lost horses by the thousands, further exacerbating

23807-455: The rearguard took a direct death toll (extrajudicial executions) ranging from 2,857 to 3,000 to c.  4,000 . A bleak scene of social humiliation and submission ensued for those surviving. The Carlists' prospects in Gipuzkoa and Biscay were not auspicious. The military coup failed, and Carlist units were overwhelmed by forces loyal to the Republic, i.e. different leftist forces and

23986-419: The result of a planned uprising. The first war was noteworthy for being, on both sides, extremely brutal. The Liberal army mistreated the population, most of whom it suspected of being Carlist sympathizers, to the point of, sometimes, attempted extermination; Carlists, very often, treated Liberals no better than they had treated Napoleonic soldiers and agents, to such an extent that the international powers forced

24165-757: The road to Sudervė , with Oudinot marching on the other side of the Viliya river . Since the end of April, the Russian headquarters was centred in Vilna but on June 24 couriers rushed news about the crossing of the Neman to Barclay de Tolley. Before the night had passed, orders were sent out to Bagration and Platov, who commanded the Cossacks, to take the offensive. Alexander left Vilna on June 26 and Barclay assumed overall command. Napoleon reached Vilna on 28 June with only light skirmishing but leaving more than 5,000 dead horses in his wake. These horses were vital to bringing up further supplies to an army in desperate need; he

24344-460: The run-up to the proclamation of the Republic, the Carlists got together with the re-founded Basque Nationalist Party within the pro- charters Coalición Católico Fuerista in the core areas of Carlism, the Basque region , thus providing the springboard for the draft Basque Statute. 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

24523-452: The rural areas which were now extremely sparsely populated, to the shock of international observers. The sparseness of population as well as the general predicaments of Spanish labourers resulted in gross mismanagement of arable landand inability of Spain to significantly restart industrial and commercial activity after the Napoleonic War. The economic troubles were portrayed at the time as a result of moral faults in society, introduced by either

24702-457: The semi-Salic succession law that gave Infante Carlos precedence over Ferdinand's daughter, the future Isabella II . As in many European countries, after the Napoleonic occupation, the Spanish political class was split between the "absolutists", supporters of the ancien régime , and the Liberals, influenced by the ideas of the French Revolution . The long war for Spain's independence from

24881-445: The situation and cycled through ministers, being described by Friedrich von Gentz in 1814: "The king himself enters the houses of his prime ministers, arrests them, and hands them over to their cruel enemies;" and in 14 January 1815: "the king has so debased himself that he has become no more than the leading police agent and prison warden of his country." This assessment seems accurate, as the king himself described himself as "a cork in

25060-402: The soldiers and provision for the horses, combined with guerilla warfare from Russian peasants and Cossacks , resulted in significant losses. More than half of the soldiers perished from exhaustion, typhus , and the unforgiving continental climate . During the Battle of Krasnoi , Napoleon faced a critical scarcity of cavalry and artillery due to severe snowfall and icy conditions. Employing

25239-548: The soldiers who fought at Austerlitz? She places us between dishonour and war—our choice cannot be difficult. Let us then march forward; let us cross the Neman and carry the war into her country. This second Polish war will be as glorious for the French arms as the first has been, but the peace we shall conclude shall carry with it its own guarantee, and will terminate the fatal influence which Russia for fifty years past has exercised in Europe. The invasion of Russia starkly highlights

25418-472: The sparsely populated and underdeveloped regions of Poland and East Prussia during the War of the Fourth Coalition (1806–1807) also informed their approach. However, nothing was to go as planned, because Napoleon had failed to take into account conditions that were totally different from what he had known so far. Napoleon and the Grande Armée were accustomed to utilizing the method of living off

25597-453: The start of the Carlist conflict did Spain abandon all plans of military reconquest. Between 1792 and 1827 the value in millions of reales of imports of goods, imports of money, and exports from the Americas had decreased by a factor of 3.80, 28.0, and 10.3 respectively. Furthermore, various conflicts with the British and especially the Battle of Trafalgar had left the Spanish without the naval strength to maintain healthy maritime trade with

25776-410: The sun which would bake the deep ruts into canyons of concrete, where horses would break their legs and wagons their wheels. Jean-François Boulart reported: Then on June 29th came a fresh and awful and extraordinary storm; such a terrible tempest had not been known in the memory of man.Thunder and lightning burst forth from every side of the horizon; soldiers were struck dead; torrents of rain flooded

25955-664: The thousand-year-old Holy Roman Empire ), the War of the Fourth Coalition (1806–1807), and the War of the Fifth Coalition (1809). In 1807, following a French triumph at Friedland Napoleon and Alexander I of Russia signed the Treaty of Tilsit along the Neman River. These treaties progressively solidified Russia's alignment with France, allowing Napoleon to exert dominance over neighboring states. The accord rendered Russia an ally of France, leading to their adoption of

26134-399: The threat of them – placed Carlism on the centre stage of Spain's political history, and formative, as Carlism evolved the cultural and sociological form it would retain for well over a hundred years. Historical highlights of this era are the: All three wars share a common development pattern: At the beginning of each war, no regular army unit was on the Carlist side, and only the third was

26313-791: The time of the abolition of the Jesuit order and the Godoy regime. First they sided with the French Bourbons to suppress the Jesuits, following the formidable changes in North America after the victory of the United States in the American Revolutionary War . Then Godoy sided with the British against the Basques in the War of the Pyrenees of 1793, and immediately afterwards with the French of Napoleon , also against

26492-611: The titles of nobility conceded by the Carlist claimants and those of the Isabelline branch. At his death, the movement was badly split, and unable to get wide public attention again. In 1971, Don Carlos Hugo, prince de Borbón-Parma founded the new Carlist Party based on the confederalist vision for Las Españas ("the Spains") and socialist autogestion (then promoted in Yugoslavia ). At Montejurra , on 9 May 1976, adherents of

26671-441: The traditionalist. Traditionally, all but one of the Spanish kingdoms allowed the succession of daughters in the absence of sons and of sisters in the absence of brothers ( male-preference primogeniture ). The one exception, Aragon , tended to favour semi-Salicism . The most elaborate rules formed the "Seven-part code" ( Siete partidas ) of the late 13th century. On 1 November 1700 a French Bourbon prince, Philip V , acceded to

26850-412: The univerisities (which had been closed as centers of liberal agitation) and removed many captains-generals and garrison town military commanders as well as General Nazario Eguía from their positions. These included Vicente González Moreno , José O'Donnell , and Santos Ladrón de Cegama , all of whom would later join the Carlists in the civil war. Additionally, the Queen suppressed the tax raised to fund

27029-539: The viability of many small farms, whose residents were accustomed to rely on the common pasture lands to feed, at little or no cost, their mules and oxen. Widespread poverty followed, as did the closure of most hospitals, schools and other charities. An important factor was the religious question. The radical liberals ( progresistas ) after 1820 had grown more and more anticlerical , strongly opposing religious institutes . They were suspected of being adherents of Freemasonry . This policy alienated them from many sectors of

27208-424: The views of some in the Carlist movement polarized Javier's supporters between his two sons, Carlos Hugo and Sixto Enrique (and many more endorsing neither) in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Carlos Hugo turned organized Carlism into a socialist movement, while his brother Sixto Enrique (supported by his mother Madeleine de Bourbon-Busset ) followed a far rightist course. In 1977, Sixto Enrique's supporters published

27387-399: The war effort." The interests of the Basque liberals were divided. On the one side, fluent cross-Pyrenean trade with other Basque districts and France was highly valued, as well as unrestricted overseas transactions. The former had been strong up to the French Revolution, especially in Navarre, but the new French national arrangement (1790) had abolished the separate legal and fiscal status of

27566-458: The war. Low-level Carlists, with the notable exception of those in Navarre, generally distanced themselves from the workings of the new party and in many cases never joined at all. Henceforth, the mainstream kept an uncomfortable minority position inside the regime, more often than not at odds with its official policy, although the Ministry of Justice was thrice given to a loyal "Carlist" (who

27745-484: The warring parties to recognize some rules of war , namely the " Lord Eliot Convention ". Brutality did not disappear completely, and giving no quarter to one's enemy was not uncommon. The areas over which Carlism could establish some sort of territorial authority during the first war (Navarre, Rioja , the rural Basque Country, inner Catalonia, and northern Valencia) would remain the main bulwarks of Carlism throughout its history, although there were active supporters of

27924-477: The wars but also importantly due to a lack of improvements in practices and technology. The effects of poor harvests in 1803-1804 and the most "serious shortages of food in a century and a half" that resulted were exacerbated by the Peninsular War. Still, agriculture accounted for 85% of the Spanish GDP . While output had recovered to pre-war levels, the prices remained unattainable for many peasants. As most of

28103-466: The way for the expulsion of the Conservatives from the higher governmental circles. At the same time, moderate royalists and constitutionalist liberals coalesced around their support of the Pragmatic Sanction and against Carlos. As written by one historian: The first Carlist war was fought not so much on the basis of the legal claim of Don Carlos, but because a passionate, dedicated section of

28282-471: The wide limits on noble, ecclesiastical, and town-owned lands' sale. These lands could be very profitable, such as in the case in mid-1700s Castile and León where land owned by the Church accounted for one-fourth of rent collected. All in all, unsellable land accounted for more than half of Spain's farmland, thus hiking the price of land and making it impossible for small farmers to acquire land. In fact, many Spanish foods were invented in those times to combat

28461-644: The worst privations. On the 25th of June Murat's reserve cavalry provided the vanguard with Napoleon, the Imperial guard and Davout's 1st Corps following behind. Napoleon spent the night and the next day in Kaunas, allowing only his guards, not even the generals to enter the city. The next day he rushed towards the capital Vilna, pushing the infantry forward in columns that suffered from stifling heat, heavy rain and more heat. The central group marched 110 kilometres (70 mi) in two days. Ney's III Corps marched down

28640-531: The years before the Carlist wars were marked by a deep economic crisis in Spain, partly spurred by the loss of the continental American provinces, and by the bankruptcy of the state. The last triggered enhanced tax pressures which further fueled social unrest. Certain economic measures proposed by the Liberals (such as the Desamortización , i.e. the takeover, division and sale of the commons and Church property, initiated in 1821) were directly threatening

28819-506: The youngest sister of Alexander. However, he ultimately married Marie Louise , the daughter of the Austrian emperor. Subsequently, France and Austria solidified their relationship by signing an alliance treaty on 14 March 1812. In March 1811, Marshal Davout received orders to clandestinely prepare for a demonstration of military strength aimed at impressing Russia. This plan involved deploying (Dutch) troops to Magdeburg and occupying

28998-510: Was Juan Vazquez de Mella , who argued that Jewish capital had financed the liberal revolution and was now behind the Communist revolution in order, in union with the "Muslim hordes" (even the native tribesmen of the Rif fighting for their freedom), to destroy Christian civilization and impose a "Jewish tyranny on the world". At the time, a Rothschild - Marx link and a bridgehead laid over Spain

29177-482: Was John Francis Bacon, a diplomat residing in Bilbao during the Carlist siege of (1835), who, while praising Basque governance, could not hide his hostility towards the Carlists, whom he regarded as "savages." He went on to contest his compatriots' approach, denied a connection between the Carlist cause and the defense of the Basque liberties , and speculated that Carlos V would be quick to erode or suppress them if he took

29356-548: Was accordingly expelled from the Traditionalist Communion). This time was also marred by the problem of succession and internal strife over Francoism. Carlist ministers in Franco's August 1939 cabinet included General José Enrique Varela at army, and Esteban Bilbao at justice. At the same time, two of nine seats in the Junta Política were given to Carlists. Of the hundred-member National Council of

29535-459: Was being cited in the far-right circles to found these claims. In Navarre, the main Carlist stronghold, the movement revolved around the newspaper El Pensamiento Navarro , read almost exclusively by the clergy and second in circulation to El Diario de Navarra , another ultra-Conservative daily with an anti- Basque streak. The dormant paramilitary Requeté of the early 20th century was activated. As early as May 1931, Jaime del Burgo (father of

29714-588: Was charged with the reorganization of the party. His main weapon was a very aggressive press (in 1883 Pope Leo XIII published the encyclical Cum multa , trying to moderate it). His stance was an uncompromising adherence to the Carlists' political and, especially, religious principles (hence the term " integrist "). This tendency became so radical that in 1888, Carlos VII had to expel the group centred around Ramón Nocedal , Cándido's son, which thus gave rise to another small, but in clerical circles influential, Integrist Party . Meanwhile, Marquis de Cerralbo built up

29893-466: Was close to them and more importantly because he was willing to uphold Basque institutions and laws. Some historians claim that the Carlist cause in the Basque Country was a pro- fueros cause, but others ( Stanley G. Payne ) contend that no connection to the emergence of Basque nationalism can be postulated. Many supporters of the Carlists cause believed a traditionalist rule would better respect

30072-548: Was concentrated across strategic locations at Magdeburg , Küstrin , Stettin , Danzig and Glogau . Modlin Fortress near Warsaw, Thorn and Malbork (Marienburg) served as vital ammunition and supply depots. Troops gathered in Thorn, Königsberg , Znamensk , Insterburg , and Gumbinnen , where Napoleon arrived on 18 June. Meanwhile, Davout had ordered his I corps to pillage the town. The corps coming from Warsaw used

30251-419: Was for the first time then hailed as king. He denied any involvement. The last years of King Ferdinand saw a political realignment due to the troubles surrounding his succession. In October 1832, the King formed a moderate royalist government under Francisco Cea Bermúdez , which almost succeeded in curbing the Apostolic party and, through an amnesty, in gaining liberal support for Isabella's right to succeed under

30430-443: Was forced to leave up to 100 guns and up to 500 artillery wagons. Napoleon had supposed that Alexander would sue for peace at this point and was to be disappointed; it would not be his last disappointment. Balashov demanded that the French return across the Neman before negotiations. Barclay continued to retreat to Drissa, deciding that the concentration of the 1st and 2nd armies was his first priority. Several days after crossing

30609-426: Was its most important parliamentary leader and ideologue, seconded by Víctor Pradera , who had wide influence on Spanish conservative thinking beyond the party. World War I had a special influence on Carlism. As the Carlist claimant, then Jaime, Duke of Madrid , had close ties to the Russian Imperial Family , had been mistreated by Austrian Emperor Franz Josef , and was also Head of the House of Bourbon, he favoured

30788-399: Was necessary to trace the patriline of Philip V to his seniormost descendant who was not excluded from the throne by law (for treason, morganatic marriage , birth out-of-wedlock and other reasons legally established in the Novísima Recopilación of 1805, in force at the time of the First Carlist War). In 1952, when all lines senior to the House of Bourbon-Parma were deemed excluded, the claim

30967-429: Was not self-sufficient logistically and still depended on foraging to a significant extent. Inadequate supplies played a key role in the losses suffered by the army as well. Davidov and other Russian campaign participants record wholesale surrenders of starving members of the Grande Armée even before the onset of the frosts. Caulaincourt describes men swarming over and cutting up horses that slipped and fell, even before

31146-432: Was put down by the Spanish authorities at the end of the War of the Pyrenees ( San Sebastián , Pamplona , etc.). As of then, the strongest partisans of the region specific laws were the rural based clergy, nobility and lower class—opposing new liberal ideas largely imported from France. Salvador de Madariaga , in his book Memories of a Federalist (Buenos Aires, 1967), accused the Basque clergy of being "the heart,

31325-409: Was restored by the intervention of Tomás Domínguez Arévalo , count of Rodezno. The highest Carlist authority, Duke Alfonso Carlos, did not approve of the pact, but all the same, by then Mola was negotiating directly with the Carlist Navarre Council ( Junta Navarra ), one that opted for the support of the uprising. On 19 July, the state of war was declared in Pamplona and the Carlist corps ( tercio ) in

31504-401: Was shown in the important credits to Cristina's treasury and the military help from the British (British Legion or Westminster Legion under General de Lacy Evans ), the French (the French Foreign Legion ), and the Portuguese (a Regular Army Division under General Count of Antas ). The Liberals were strong enough to win the war in two months, but an inefficient government and the dispersion of

31683-470: Was still economically viable for most of population, hence liberalism was seen a threat; (2) natural leadership strata (clergy, landowners) lived cheek by jowl with peasants and supported the Carlist cause; (3) the terrain was sufficiently abrupt and broken to prevent the use of cavalry and to facilitate small bands to escape (to change their shirts and fight another day), whilst the landscape was densely populated enough to allow regular food and supplies; and (4)

31862-412: Was taken up by Don Javier (descended from Philip, Duke of Parma , third son of Philip V). Even though he was raised in the Carlist camp and named regent of the Carlist Communion in 1936, his proclamation as king later in 1956 was, it was asserted, not a political move based on ideology, but the consequence of dynastic legitimacy. He remained the Carlist claimant until his renunciation in 1975. Changes in

32041-681: Was therefore entirely dependent on light wagons with small loads. Central to the problem were the expanding distances to supply magazines and the fact that no supply wagon could keep up with a forced marched infantry column. The weather itself became an issue, where, according to historian Richard K. Riehn: The thunderstorms of the 29th [of June] turned into other downpours, turning the tracks—some diarists claim there were no roads in Lithuania—into bottomless mires. Wagons sank up to their hubs; horses dropped from exhaustion; men lost their boots. Stalled wagons became obstacles that forced men around them and stopped supply wagons and artillery columns. Then came

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