The Evolution of Carlism and the Cuban Independence Movement

The Transformation of Carlism

After the defeat of 1876, the Carlist pretender, Charles de Bourbon, was banned from staying in Spain. Consequently, some leading members of Carlism accepted King Alfonso XII as legitimate, causing a crisis within the party.

Cándido Nocedal and Juan Vázquez de Mella promoted the renewal of the party, spreading Carlist circles throughout Spain and suggesting a program tailored to the new situation: the Acta de Loredan. This program maintained:

• The defense of Catholicism
• The fuerismo
• The authority of the Carlist pretender
• Opposition to democracy

While it did not favor the former regime, it did accept capitalism. However, internal religious disputes emerged, with some members accusing party leaders of prioritizing the Catholic dynasty issue over other concerns. The leader of this current was Ramón Nocedal, who founded the Catholic Nationalist Party, which ceased to recognize the Carlist pretender and became a fundamentalist Catholic party. Notable figures included the Catalans Salvador Casañas (Bishop of Urgell) and Félix Sardá y Salvany (a cleric from Sabadell).

Since 1890, Carlism was reconstructed as a mass party organized by local assemblies and circles under the name of Comunión Tradicionalista, becoming an active opposition group.

Cuba: The Pearl of the Antilles

After the Peace of Zanjón (1878), Cubans expected Spanish representation in the courts, the right to access government on the island, freedom of trade, and the abolition of slavery. None of these requests were implemented due to strong pressure from large landowners, slaveholders, and peninsular merchants.

In Cuba, two major parties were created:

• Constitutional Union Party: Composed of mainland Spaniards installed in Cuba.
• Autonomist Party: Composed of Cubans calling for the island's autonomy and major political and economic reforms. It managed to gain significant representation in the Spanish parliament.

The Liberal Party was keen to introduce these improvements and proposed a reform of the island's status, but only succeeded in the abolition of slavery due to strong pressure from Spanish groups with interests on the island. The inefficiency in introducing reforms stimulated an increase in separatism.

José Martí founded the Cuban Revolutionary Party, which won recognition abroad—especially in the United States—and the support of leaders such as Máximo Gómez and Antonio Maceo. The rise in tariffs for products imported to the island from the Peninsula disturbed the Cuban economy, particularly its first customer, the United States. U.S. President William McKinley threatened to close the doors of the Cuban domestic market if the Spanish government did not change its policy, ensuring that Cuban insurgents could count on American support.