The Carlist Wars and the Liberal Transition in Spain

1.1. The Causes of Conflict: The Foral Question

The Carlist conflict stemmed from a complex mix of succession disputes, ideological confrontation, and broad social support. The groups supporting the Carlist cause were driven by various motives:

• Peasants: Feared becoming laborers or tenants of large landowners.
• Lower Nobility: Felt threatened by the disappearance of primogeniture and tax exemptions in northern Spain.
• Conservative Clergy: Opposed measures of disentailment and the suppression of religious orders.
• Artisans: Feared the disappearance of the guilds.
• Army Officers: Dissatisfied with the country's evolution or their professional status.
• Rural Inhabitants: Deeply rooted in protection and patronage relations.
• Regionalists: Residents of the Basque Country, Navarra, Catalonia, and northern areas of the eastern peninsula and Castile sought to preserve their customs, privileges, and traditions.

The First Carlist War (1833–1840)

1. Formation of the Basque-Navarrese focus of insurrection (1833–1835).
2. National expeditions (1836–1837).
3. The Elizabethan initiative and the Convention of Vergara (1837–1839).
4. The end of the war in Maestrazgo (1839–1840).

Carlism After 1840

The Second Carlist War occurred between 1846 and 1849. Carlism was revitalized militarily following the overthrow of Isabella II after the Revolution of 1868, which prompted the Third Carlist War (1872–1876).

Isabella II: Organizing the Liberal Regime

The reign of Isabella II is divided into two stages: the first (1833–1843) and the second (1843–1868).

The Minority of Isabella II (1833–1843)

Liberal governments gradually dismantled the Old Regime through two distinct phases:

The Transition (1833–1835)

The transition from the absolutist state of Ferdinand VII to the liberal state of Isabella II featured:

• Monarchist reformers as the primary actors.
• The Estatuto Real (April 1834) as the basic legal text.

Reforms and Rupture (1835–1840)

Governments led a definitive break with the Ancien Régime:

• Mendizábal: The most representative political figure.
• Progressive Consolidation: The farm uprising became final for the progressives.
• Disentailment: Measures were resumed from the Liberal Triennium.
• Economic Liberalization: Additional measures were implemented.

The Regency of Espartero (1840–1843)

Espartero replaced Queen Maria Cristina as regent. His progressive policies, including an attempt to sign a free-trade agreement with the UK, created two new enemies: France and the Catalan textile industry.