Causes and consequences of the FIRST Carlist War

Throughout the History of Spain numerous civil wars have occurred, some of them wreaking great havoc on the nation's society and economy. One of the main civil wars was the first carlist war, which faced the supporters of Queen Elizabeth II and the supporters of her uncle Carlos María Isidro between the years 1833 and 1840, causing a tough confrontation for the crown. To know this conflict in this lesson from a Teacher we must talk about the causes and consequences of the first carlist war.

To begin the lesson we must talk about the main causes of this carlist war. It is very important to know the background facts to understand the reasons that led the Spanish to fight each other.

Succession problems

Few years before, in Spain Fernando VII ruled, a king characterized by his weakness and illnesses. In the last years of his life the king had been unable to have a child to be his descendant. And it is that, due to the laws that prevented a woman from being queen, the successor of the king should be his brother Carlos María Isidro.

Shortly before his death, Fernando VII signed the Pragmatic Sanction, which changed the law and allowed a woman she could be queen, being for that reason the daughter of Fernando, Isabel II, who obtained the throne after the death of the monarch. Carlos María did not agree with the change in the succession, so in the so-called Abrantes Manifestoshe turned against the new queen, initiating a civil war to regain the Spanish throne. Here we leave you the main ones differences between Carlists and Elizabethans.

The realists

But the issue of succession was not the only one of the causes of the First Carlist War, since for years the group of the royalists had lost power, since the king and his father had supported the liberals to a greater extent, these being the most benefited by the new reforms. Before Elizabeth will take the crown, the royalists had already allied with Carlos seeking his support when he had control of the Spanish kingdom, but the seizure of power by Isabel made the royalists have to look for another plan, which was start the war.

Church

On the other hand, the Carlist side, that of Carlos María Isidro, also had the help from ecclesiastics and ultrareligious, since the previous monarchs had eliminated the Inquisition and initiating ecclesiastical confiscations. The anger of the Church and her faithful with these reforms caused many of the believers to go to the Carlist side, seeking a better treatment of their religion.

Uprising of Basques and Navarrese

The other cause of the first Carlist war was the uprising of the Basques and Navarrese, who, fearing the end of the fueros that for decades had served them to have greater facilities than the rest of the Spaniards, they decided support the Carlist side and confront Isabel. The liberal idea of ​​the new Spanish government was based on unifying all the regions, being something that the Basques and Navarrese denied due to the need to maintain their privileges.

Image: Slideplayer

To conclude this lesson on causes and consequences of the First Carlist War, we must talk about the main consequences that brought the end of this warlike conflict. Being the first of the wars, we can say that its consequences were not total, but they were no less important for that. The main ones that affected Spain the most both in a short and long way were the following:

• The war created a huge demographic change, being very bloody and with many deaths, all of them of the Spanish population. The lack of population brought problems in all areas, for example in industry, since there was not enough workforce and therefore the economy suffered for it for years and years.
• Being a ideological confrontation it laid the foundations that decades later would produce other civil wars due to accumulated hatred. This accumulation of hatred was not only seen in the rest of the Carlist wars, but many consider that it was the beginning of decades of confrontation and resentment that exploded during the Civil war.
• The victory of the Elizabethans returned totally liberal, totally rejecting the realism of his opponents in the war. Although Isabel and her mother were not strong defenders of liberalism, the situation made them become, being the only way they could continue to rule as they were their defenders against the carlism.
• The fundamental role of military During the war he made these important figures in politics, being essential that they occupied important positions in the management of the nation and even occupying positions very close to the kings, being essential to keep them happy for possible attacks.
• The great war expenses they made the Spanish nation need money quickly, initiating reforms and especially confiscation. Spain went from an enormous economic evolution before the war to a collapse rarely seen in the Spanish nation.
• Basque Country and Navarra maintained their provincial rights, being a necessary measure so that both peoples did not take up arms again against the government of Isabel.
• Elizabeth remained queen and, although it continued to face the Carlists, it was able to rule in relative peace for years with liberal support.

Image: Slideplayer

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