Spanish Regenerationism and the Evolution of Carlism
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The Failure of the First Regenerationist Government
In 1899, the regent Maria Cristina gave her confidence to the Conservative leader Francisco Silvela. This government promoted a reformist policy and provided input to political outsiders from the previous government, including Camilo Polavieja and the conservative Catalan Manuel Duran i Bas. They proposed a draft for administrative decentralization and a new budget policy to increase taxes on staples to defray the debts of the Cuban War.
The Tancament de Caixes and Catalan Protests
The new tax burdens imposed by Villaverde led to a strong protest in Catalonia in September 1899. Barcelona traders refused to pay the quarterly contribution, a protest known as the Tancament de Caixes (Closure of Boxes). The government tried to seize debtors, but the Mayor of Barcelona, Dr. Bartomeu Robert, refused to sign the embargoes and resigned. This gave rise to a general strike of traders that spread throughout Catalonia. Finally, the government's response to imprisoning debtors was to suspend constitutional guarantees in Catalonia and declare a state of war.
The closure of banks signified the break between the Catalan elites and the dynastic parties. Catalanism consolidated as an alternative to the deplorable policy of the Restoration. This spirit of regeneration ended after lasting just over a year; in 1901, the dynastic parties returned to power.
Carlism and Traditionalism in 20th Century Spain
Charles de Bourbon (Charles VII) died in 1909. His son James, Duke of Madrid, became the new pretender to the crown.
Disputes within the Carlist party (initiated with the separation of the Fundamentalists) followed World War I, where a sector of Carlism manifested in favor of the Germans. One of the party leaders, Juan Vázquez de Mella, left and in 1919 founded the Catholic Traditionalist Party.
The social bases of Traditionalism, Carlism, and Fundamentalism were concentrated in Navarra, the Basque Country, Catalonia, and Andalusia.
In 1907, the Requetés were founded to restrain republican paramilitary organizations and the working class. With the advent of the Republic in 1931, Carlists, Fundamentalists, and traditionalists joined together to form the Traditionalist Communion.