Carlism

Carlism is a political and dynastic movement in Spain that emerged in the early 1830s in opposition to the liberal succession after the death of King Ferdinand VII. It supported Infante Carlos María Isidro de Borbón as the rightful king, arguing that the throne should be inherited along traditional male lines within a Catholic constitutional framework. The movement rejected the accession of Isabel II and sought to establish a separate line of Bourbon kings under a legitimist, traditionalist program rooted in Catholicism and regional rights.

Ideology centered on Traditionalist Catholicism: a defense of the Catholic Church and a social order based on monarchy, heredity, and regional liberties known as fueros in Navarre and parts of the Basque Country. Carlism favored decentralization and local rights against liberal centralization, and it stressed the legitimacy of its claimant's dynastic right and a Catholic, non-liberal political order.

From 1833 to 1839 the First Carlist War unfolded in the Basque Country, Navarre, and Catalonia, followed by the Second Carlist War (1846–1849) and the Third Carlist War (1872–1876). The Carlists organized regional militias and established cantonal structures in areas under their influence, but liberal forces gradually prevailed. The wars ended with the suppression of Carlist armed resistance and the decline of their traditional claim, though the movement persisted in cultural and political life.

The Carlist movement left a lasting imprint on Spanish politics and culture by providing sustained opposition to liberal centralism and promoting Catholic traditionalism. In the 20th century it survived as a traditionalist current within Catholic politics, with organizations such as the Comunión Tradicionalista and other Carlist groups operating mainly in Navarre and parts of the Basque Country. Today Carlism remains a minor but enduring strand in Spanish political history.