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| Traditionalist Communion (Carlist) | |
|---|---|
| Name | Traditionalist Communion (Carlist) |
| Native name | Comunión Tradicionalista |
| Founded | 1833 (origins); reconstituted variously in 1869, 1931, 1975 |
| Headquarters | Pamplona, San Sebastián, Madrid (historically) |
| Ideology | Traditionalism, Legitimism, Catholic integralism, Regionalism, Anti-liberalism |
| Position | Right-wing to far-right |
| Country | Spain |
Traditionalist Communion (Carlist) The Traditionalist Communion (Carlist) is a Spanish legitimist movement and political current rooted in a dynastic succession dispute and counter-revolutionary reaction to the regency of Maria Christina of the Two Sicilies and the reign of Isabella II of Spain. Emerging from the succession crisis triggered by the death of Ferdinand VII of Spain, the movement crystallized around the claims of Infante Carlos, Count of Molina and later heirs, engaging with institutions such as the Catholic Church, regional fueros in Navarre, and rural conservative elites across Biscay and Álava. Over the nineteenth and twentieth centuries the movement intersected with figures like Tomás de Zumalacárregui, María Cristina, Carlos María Isidro, Juan Vázquez de Mella, and José Antonio Primo de Rivera, while confronting events including the First Carlist War, the Second Carlist War, the Spanish Civil War, and the Francoist Spain period.
The origins trace to the succession crisis following Ferdinand VII of Spain's Pragmatic Sanction and the exclusion of the Salic Law, prompting supporters of Infante Carlos, Count of Molina to contest the accession of Isabella II of Spain and organise militias in regions like Navarre and the Basque Country. Early military and political episodes included the First Carlist War led by commanders such as Tomás de Zumalacárregui and political strategists like Vicomte de Cerralbo and Marqués de Villores, with concomitant legal disputes adjudicated in venues involving the Cortes Generales and debates around the Concordat of 1851. Recurrent uprisings—often termed the Second Carlist War and later uprisings in 1872–1876—interacted with restoration politics under Alfonso XII of Spain and efforts by dynasts including Carlos, Duke of Madrid and Jaime, Duke of Madrid to secure claims via alliances with traditional institutions such as the Sociedad de la Tradición and regional juntas in Navarre and Catalonia.
The movement espoused a blend of Legitimism anchored in the claim of dynasts descended from Infante Carlos, Count of Molina and a Catholic integralist doctrine embracing papal authority as interpreted by prelates like Calixto de la Torre and associations aligned with the Spanish episcopate. Ideological tenets included customary support for historic regional rights exemplified by the fueros of Navarre and the Basque charters of Vizcaya, advocacy for corporatist institutions resonant with proposals by theorists such as Juan Vázquez de Mella and Enrique Gil Robles, and rejection of liberal constitutions promoted by actors like Primo de Rivera and parliamentary currents in the Cortes Generales. Intellectual cross-currents involved exchanges with continental conservatives including defenders of Legitimism like Louis de Bonald and Spanish traditionalists like Ángel Herrera Oria.
Structurally the Communion evolved from local juntas and regional councils in cities like Pamplona, San Sebastián, Bilbao, and Barcelona into formal party organs including periodicals such as El Siglo Futuro, organs associated with leaders like Juan Vázquez de Mella, and later cadres who engaged with syndicates and municipal oligarchies in Seville and Valladolid. Notable leaders and claimants included Carlos María Isidro, Carlos VII, Jaime de Borbón-Parma, and intellectual guides like Tomás Domínguez Arévalo, Count of Rodezno, alongside military figures such as Tomás de Zumalacárregui and political operators like María Dasmariñas and Miguel de Unamuno in contested intersections. Organizational conflicts produced factions—integrists, mellistas, legitimists—often centered in institutions like the Junta Nacional and rival newspapers including La Tradición and Don Carlos.
Electoral participation fluctuated across regimes: during the Restoration parties in the Cortes Generales saw Carlist deputies elected from constituencies in Navarre and Álava, while the movement abstained or boycotted elections during periods of repression such as the Dictatorship of Primo de Rivera. Carlist candidates contested municipal and provincial elections in Pamplona, rural districts in La Rioja, and industrial towns in Bilbao and Santander, often using press organs like El Correo Español. Alliances and rivalries involved interactions with entities such as the Spanish Confederation of the Autonomous Right (CEDA) and emergent movements including Falange Española, producing mixed electoral returns and localized governance through town councils and diputaciones in Navarre and Guipúzcoa.
During the Spanish Civil War the Communion organized militias known as Requetés under commanders like Antonio Lizarza and coordinated with Nationalist forces led by Francisco Franco and generals such as Emilio Mola and José Enrique Varela. Tensions over postwar settlement led to conflict with Falange Española and negotiations culminating in the Unification Decree (1937) that merged several rightist currents into the FET y de las JONS, provoking resistance from claimants including Carlos Hugo de Borbón-Parma and legitimist leaders like Tomás Domínguez Arévalo. Under Francoist Spain, Carlist participation waxed and waned: some Carlists held ministerial posts and provincial offices, while others faced marginalization, internal purges, or co-optation, interacting with institutions like the Ministerio de la Gobernación and the Movimiento Nacional.
After the death of Francisco Franco and the transition to democracy led by figures such as Adolfo Suárez and the promulgation of the Spanish Constitution of 1978, Carlist currents fragmented: dynastic claimants like members of the House of Bourbon-Parma (including Carlos Hugo, Duke of Parma and Sixto Enrique de Borbón-Parma) advanced divergent strategies involving socialist and traditionalist platforms, spawning parties and associations such as the Partido Carlista and cultural organizations active in Navarre and Catalonia. Contemporary manifestations include monarchist leagues, regional cultural societies in Pamplona and San Sebastián, academic studies at universities like Complutense University of Madrid and University of Navarra, and political groups contesting municipal elections under varied labels, while archival collections and museums in Pamplona and Vitoria-Gasteiz preserve Carlist artifacts and documentary legacies.
Category:Political history of Spain