Carlists

Carlists, partisans of Don Carlos (1788–1855) and his successors, who claimed the Spanish throne under the Salic law of succession, introduced (1713) by Philip V. The law (forced on Philip by the War of the Spanish Succession to avoid a union of the French and Spanish crowns) was abrogated by Ferdinand VII in favor of his daughter, who succeeded him (1833) as Isabella II. Ferdinand's brother, Don Carlos, refused to recognize Isabella and claimed the throne. A civil war followed (First Carlist War, 1833–40), and in the hope of autonomy, most of the Basque Provs. and much of Catalonia supported Carlos. The Carlists' conservative and clericalist tendencies gave the dynastic conflict a political character, since the upper middle classes profited from the sale of church lands and supported Isabella. The Carlists enjoyed many early successes, especially under their great general, Tomas Zumalacarregui. After he was killed (1835) in battle, the greater strength of the Isabelline forces gradually made itself felt. In 1839 the Carlist commander Rafael Maroto yielded, but in Catalonia the Carlists under Ramón Cabrera continued the struggle until 1840. Don Carlos's son, Don Carlos, conde de Montemolín (1818–61), made an unsuccessful attempt at a new uprising in 1860. Montemolín's claims were revived by his nephew, Don Carlos, duque de Madrid (1848–1909), after the deposition (1868) of Isabella. Two insurrections (1869, 1872) failed, but after the abdication (1873) of King Amadeus and the proclamation of the first republic, the Carlists seized most of the Basque Provs. and parts of Catalonia, Aragón, and Valencia. The ensuing chaos and brutal warfare of this Second Carlist War ended in 1876, over a year after Alfonso XII, son of Isabella, was proclaimed king. Don Carlos escaped to France. In the next half century many defected from Carlist ranks, and several rival groups formed. Pressure against the church by the second republic (1931–39) helped revive Carlism, and the Carlists embraced the Nationalist cause in the Spanish civil war (1936–39). Under the Franco regime Carlism was for many years an obstacle to plans for restoring the main branch of the Bourbon dynasty, but in 1969, Franco overrode Carlist objections and named the Bourbon prince Juan Carlos as his successor.

Bibliography

See E. Holt, Carlist Wars in Spain (1967).

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Carlists 

representatives of the absolutist, clerical political current in Spain that relies on the reactionary clergy, the titled aristocracy, and the top army officers.

The movement received its name from the pretender to the Spanish throne, Don Carlos the Elder. In the 1830’s and 1870’s the Cariists unleashed major rebellions in Spain, known as the Carlist Wars. Later on, as the traditionalist movement, the Cariists supported the most reactionary forces in the country. Cariists were active in the military fascist rebellion of July 18-19, 1936, and collaborated with the Franco regime. Many of them supported Juan Carlos, who was confirmed in 1969 at Franco’s direction as the future king of Spain after Franco’s death. Many Cariists opposed several aspects of Franco’s policies from an absolutist and clerical viewpoint.