Concept in Definition ABC

Carlism is one of the most visible and stark forms in which what has come to be called "the two Spains" has been shown.

Carlism is a conservative and Catholic monarchical political doctrine, born after the Napoleonic wars, and which opposed the openness of liberalism.

Historically, it was born with the death of King Fernando VII, heir to Carlos IV, who had managed to change the law of succession to be able to crown his daughter, Isabel, to the detriment of his brother, Carlos María Isidro (from whose name, Carlos, Carlism inherits his name).

Carlos María Isidro himself and his followers were in charge of protesting and conspiring against the future queen already before the death of Fernando VII, as he modified the law of succession while he was still alive.

However, the confrontation hid roots a little deeper.

We can read the Carlism-conservatism conflict (political, social and religious) versus liberalism (political, social, and with social desacralization, not even partially) as one of the effects of the French Revolution from 1789.

This, and despite Napoleon's coup and the monarchical restoration that came after the defeat of the emperor, left deep marks on the society of all European countries, and even extending its influence to much of the world, especially the continent American.

As part of this influence is the desire for greater freedom on the part of the citizenship, until the French popular uprising, still dragging the remains of feudal society (and that in some countries would lengthen, as in Russia until the revolution of 1917).

In Spain, the French occupation is taken advantage of by the Liberals, who led the resistance, promulgating a Constitution (the one in Cádiz in 1812) of a liberal court.

This liberal advance was cut in the bud by Ferdinand VII upon his return, although this did not dampen the desire to achieve greater social freedom.

That is why the period of monarchical restoration in Spain after the Napoleonic wars is seen as a time of great political-social tensions due to the two opposing views: conservatism and liberalism.

The Carlists, led by the brother of King Ferdinand, consider illegal the pragmatic sanction that allows the king's daughter to reign.

This legitimizes them, in their view, to rebel against the new monarch (Carlos María Isidro himself refused to take an oath of allegiance to the queen).

This rebellion materialized, throughout the 19th century, in three civil wars, the so-called “Carlist wars”.

The first, bloodiest and longest (1833-1840) of these three wars occurred almost immediately after the death of Ferdinand VII.

The supporters of Carlos María Isidro proclaimed him the legitimate king under the name of Carlos V, and uprisings broke out throughout the country.

Although the Carlists ended up being defeated, their movement achieved triumphs, support and an important echo in the northeast of the country, especially in the regions of the Basque Country, Navarra (which would eventually become one of the fiefdoms of the movement), Catalonia and Valencia.

The Second Carlist War (1846-1849) was fought mainly in Catalonia, and had a much lesser impact than the preceding conflict.

Carlism demonstrated with this confrontation that it was alive and deeply rooted in a part of the population, although it had lost some bellows.

In parallel, and despite the defeats and having to go into exile (he died in Trieste in 1855), Carlos María Isidro, claiming his throne as Carlos V, had started a new line of succession, a new branch of the family Bourbon that extends to the present day.

The third Carlist War (1872-1876) again affected the northeast of the country, as in the first, although with less armed incidence.

It was not the swan song of the Carlist armed initiative, but it did mean the last time that the Carlists stood up on their own feet.

Despite the military defeats, Carlism continued to live politically, with various parties that collected its heritage. The long history of Carlism also provokes internal divisions such as, for example, its alliance in Catalonia with political Catalanism, which grants a federalist or confederalist court to the movement in this region.

The last armed conflict in which Carlism actively participated was the Spanish Civil War (1936-1939).

In this confrontation, the Carlists are part of the rebel side, contrary to the Republic and the ideals it represents. His ideologyHowever, it was "decaffeinated" in the organization politics resulting from the Unification Decree of 1937, which suppressed the Falange and the Carlist Traditionalist Communion as independent parties, and merged them into a new organization.

In 1936, in addition, the last direct descendant of Carlos María Isidro (Alfonso Carlos de Borbón y Austria-Este, Alfonso Carlos I) without descendants, being elected as regent Francisco Javier de Bourbon-Parma.

During the Franco regime, Carlism took steps to place its suitor, Carlos Hugo de Borbón-Parma and Bourbon-Busset (Carlos Hugo I) as successor of the dictator, although finally Juan Carlos I (heir to the Bourbon branch that had already reigned in the country until 1934) would be the successor chosen one.

Carlism is still alive today, although it has greatly diminished. The majority political conservatism today has put aside many of the basic postulates of traditional Carlism, for what the militants of this last movement have progressively gone to other conservative formations but more moderate.

Photo: Fotolia - Archivist

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