The Carlist Revolution
It did not take long for revolts to rise up in the North East following Isabella’s succession in September 1833. The regent Maria Cristina faced strong opposition from regionalists, traditionalists and the church as they were largely in favour of Carlos. This forced Maria Cristina into an unhappy alliance with the liberals which in turn further fuelled anti-Isabella resentment.
However the government acted quickly as the rebels were largely destroyed within a couple of months leaving just a few hundred diehards to survive in the Pyrenees. Carlos himself was sent into exile (travelling first to London and later to Paris where he gained support from the Legitimists). It seemed Carlos’ play for the Spanish crown would be over before it had even begun.
Then on October 29th the Carlist cause found its salvation in the form of Tomás de Zumalacárregui. The Basque General and veteran of the Peninsular had initially been very sympathetic to the Carlist cause but had decided not to join up straight away, believing that the politicians should have a chance to solve the conflict before military men. However the government placed him under house arrest in Pamplona. On October 29th he escaped and soon joined the rag tag band of Carlist militia in the mountains. Within a few months he had transformed this militia into a regular army.
Zumalacárregui proved himself to be as brilliant a commander as he was an organizer. Fighting using guerilla warfare when he could and pitched battles when he had to, time and time again he defeat the government military. By July, when Carlos returned to Spain from France, all of Navarre and the Basque Country outside of several large fortresses and the coastline belonged to the Carlists.
As time wore on the Carlist cause grew in strength as all of Spain North of the Ebro began to fall into the hands of the pretender. This worried the increasingly liberal government’s friends in Britain and France so much that the two powers decided to give significant aid to the government. Loans were granted and guns sold at a cheap price whilst the Royal Navy helped keep the Basque ports in government hands. Both countries also sent troops as the French Foreign Legion and British Auxiliary Legion were dispatched to Spain to help the government. Whilst the government was supported by thousands of foreigners it is estimated that at no point during the Revolution did the Carlist force of foreign volunteers exceed 300.
Over the course of the next year following Carlos’ arrival Zumalacárregui continued to secure greater victories and more territory for the Carlists. However Carlos himself was extremely jealous of his General’s popularity and feared that he may attempt to seize power for himself rather than grant it to the rightful King. Nether the less the uneasy relationship between the two greatest powers of the Carlist movement did not prevent them from securing military success on the field of battle. In April 1835 Zumalacárregui secured his most famous victory as he led a small army of 5,000 men to victory against 22,000 government soldiers at the Battle of Artaza.
By this stage the Carlists could field 30,000 men of a much higher standard than their government counterparts. Yet the Carlists had a key problem – they lacked supplies and money the first of which they had to pillage from the government soldiers and the latter of which they had to rely upon donations for. In the Summer of 1835 Zumalacárregui and Carlos went head to head against each other as they argued over what strategy they should take now that they were in such a strong position.
Zumalacárregui believed that the Carlists should group all their strength together and strike directly at Madrid. However Carlos knew that if this bold move was unsuccessful his rebellion would be over and he favored the more conservative strategy of striking at Bilbao and taking an important port for the Carlists. It was hoped that if this prestigious port was secured the banks of Russia, Prussia and Austria may start to provide loans to the Carlists and their government may start to provide arms. In the end the pretender King won the argument and the Carlists launched an assault on Bilbao – a city protected by the Royal Navy and a substantial government garrison.
The Carlist army brought the port under siege in the Summer of 1835. However on June 14th Zumalacárregui was shot by a musket, he died on the 21st of June leaving the Carlists without their greatest asset. The city fell shortly later but Zumalacárregui had been lost at the worst possible time. On July 16th 24,000 Carlists faced 36,000 government soldiers at the Battle of Medigorria in Navarre.
The Battle of Medigorria was the largest engagement of the entire conflict. The Carlists had little wish to do battle against such odds but the liberals had them pinned between their own army and the Arga River. Therefore they risked utter destruction. The fighting was harsh and thousands were killed but the Carlists were able to break through the government lines and reach the Bridge of Larraga allowing them to make their escape. Carlos himself, present at the battle, was almost captured. Despite failing to destroy the Carlist army the government could have easily ended the war following Medigorria but instead they simply settled for containing the Carlists. This allowed the Carlists to regroup themselves and strike again the following year.
The Carlist Revolution was notoriously brutal and both sides frequently killed prisoners of war whilst the government was known for harassing civilians believed to be supporters of the Carlists. After Medigorria the Carlists had entered a stage of the conflict in which they were simply running out of manpower. Around this time they began to give all captured soldiers two choices: join the Carlist army or be executed.
In November 1836 the Carlist launched a brief campaign to try and gain control of Andalusia where they had cultivated significant support. An army was created in the South and soon it looked to threaten government control over the region.
Sadly for the Carlists their ambitions in Andalusia were dashed at the Battle of Majaceite in which a small government cavalry force (70 horsemen) pinned the much larger Carlist army in place until government infantry could arrive to destroy the Carlist army.
With their ambitions in the South coming to naught and their control in the North weakening Carlos realised that unless something drastic and bold was done the war would be lost. So he decided to emulate the idea of his former General, Zumalacárregui, and strike directly at the heart of the government – directly at Madrid. In September 1837 Carlos gathered all the strength he could muster (some 18,000 soldiers) and left his heartland in the North to march on Castile and Madrid. Carlos had hoped to avoid battle and he was indeed able to reach the outskirts of Madrid itself before it became clear that the city would not fall without a pitched battle. On September 24th 1837 the Carlist cause made its last grasp for victory at the Battle of Madrid as 18,000 Carlists faced around 32,000 government soldiers.
Incredibly the Carlists won. Despite coming under heavy attack from the government artillery and almost breaking in the face of the government’s relentless infantry attacks the Carlist lines held. Then the famed Basque cavalry commander Manu Mariano launched a great cavalry charge that broke the government lines. By the end of the day much of the government army had been captured whilst the rest had either fled or been destroyed. The following day Carlos marched triumphantly into Madrid.
Following the fall of Madrid many regional governors began to recognise the Carlist government in Madrid as the rightful government of Spain. Major victories included Valencia which declared for Carlos in October, Galica which recognised Carlos’ government in the same month and Cuba which accepted Carlist rule in December (becoming the first colony to do so). The liberal government was forced to flee into an ever shrinking pocket in Andalusia which was finally closed when the last liberal fortress fell on February 24th 1838. The Carlist Revolution was over.
On March 4th 1838 Don Carlos was crowned Carlos V of Spain. The Carlist era had begun.