page_title: Third Carlist War
section_title: Spain's political situation before the war
hierarchical_section_title: Third Carlist War / Background / Spain's political situation before the war
caption_attribution_description: Juan Álvarez Mendizabal (1790–1853).
context_page_description: The Third Carlist War was the last Carlist War in Spain. It is sometimes referred to as the "Second Carlist War", as the earlier "Second" War was smaller in scale and relatively trivial in political consequence.
  Leading up to the war, Queen Isabella II abdicated the throne in 1868, and the unpopular Amadeo I, son of the King of Italy, was proclaimed King of Spain in 1870. In response, the Carlist pretender, Carlos VII, tried to earn the support of various Spanish regions by promising to reintroduce various area-specific customs and laws. The Carlists proclaimed the restoration of Catalan, Valencian and Aragonese fueros which had been abolished at the beginning of the 18th century by King Philip V in his unilateral Nueva Planta decrees.
  The call for rebellion made by the Carlists was echoed in Catalonia and especially in the Basque region, where the Carlists managed to design a temporary state. During the war, Carlist forces occupied several inland Spanish towns, the most important ones being La Seu d'Urgell and Estella in Navarre. They also laid siege to the cities of Bilbao and San Sebastián, but failed to seize them.
context_section_description: Amidst opposing political ideals in Spain, the growing Industrial revolution and constant conflict in Spanish politics, the Third Carlist War was a culmination of a long political process. The political appearance of the conflict, exemplified by the struggle for the Spanish crown, masked a more crude reality. The growth of liberal ideals after Napoleon Bonaparte's occupation of Spain and Spain's subsequent fight for independence alarmed Spain's traditional groups, who decided to fight for their beliefs. Tumultuous reigns of monarchs Ferdinand VII, Isabel II and Amadeo I exemplified the political unrest present in Spain, and resulted in the loss of traditionalist predominance, especially during the reign of Isabel II.
  Political reforms, carried out between 1833 and 1872 by moderate liberals such as De la Rosa, Cea Bermudez and Baldomero Espartero, as well as the government formed after "La Gloriosa", left Carlists and other traditional circles in a weakened position. The expropriations of ecclesiastic property carried out by Mendizabal (1836), followed by those of Espartero (1841) and Pascual Madoz (1855), were considered an attack on the Catholic Church and the nobility. Many nobles and Church lost real estate, which in turn was sold to high-ranking Liberals, contributing to unrest among those two important parts of Spanish society. However, the Church and the nobility were not the only important groups to feel threatened by the advance of new bourgeois liberalism—in both its economic and political forms. The drive for Spanish centralization (a rising Spanish nationalism) collided with long-running sources of authority other than the Spanish centralist constitution based in Madrid.
  Institutions specific to certain territories, such as the fueros of the Basque Country, were removed by the liberal 1812 Constitution proclaimed in Cádiz, but were largely restored on the installation of Ferdinand VII of Spain to the Spanish throne in 1814. The conflict over home rule in the Basque Country (Basque Provinces and Navarre) was an important point of confrontation. Catalonia and Aragon had lost their specific institutions and laws during and after the War of the Spanish Succession due to the Nueva Planta decrees of 1707-1716, and wanted to win them back. Carlists upheld these former institutions during the two major Carlist wars, resulting in Catalonia and the Basque Country becoming the epicentres of fighting.
  Finally, the constant political unrest during the reign of Isabel II, caused by numerous changes in government and the discontent of army officers sent to fight the unsuccessful Hispano-Moroccan War, convinced many traditionalists to favor an armed uprising to restore their lost privileges. After Isabel II was overthrown in 1868 by the generals Prim, Topete and Serrano, the resulting search for a new king resulted in the coronation of the Italian prince Amadeo I, who was supported by the moderate liberals. However, this decision was not welcomed by the Carlists, who elevated their leader Carlos VII to the position of claimant to replace the foreign king. Once again, Spain appeared to be on the brink of another fight for the crown between two declared enemies, but was actually hiding a more complex array of political goals and tensions.
caption: Juan Álvarez Mendizabal
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