Third Carlist War

The Third Carlist War (Spanish: Tercera Guerra Carlista), which occurred from 1872 to 1876, was the last Carlist War in Spain. It is sometimes referred to as the "Second Carlist War", as the earlier "Second" War (1847–1849) 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 King Victor Emmanuel II 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 (charters) 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 (Gipuzkoa, Álava, Biscay and Navarre), where the Carlists managed to erect 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. The Third Carlist War saw a series of regime changes in Spain, beginning with the declaration of the First Spanish Republic after the abdication of Amadeo I in February 1873. Over one year later, in December 1874, a military coup installed a new Bourbon monarch, Alfonso XII, marking the beginning of the Bourbon Restoration in Spain. After four years of war, on 28 February 1876, Carlos VII was defeated, and went into exile in France. On the same day, King Alfonso XII of Spain entered Pamplona. After the end of the...