First Carlist War

First Carlist War
Part of the Carlist Wars
The Battle of Irún, 17 May 1837.
Date 29 September 1833 – 6 July 1840 (6 years, 9 months and 7 days) Location Spain Result Liberal victory Lord Eliot Convention Convention of Vergara
Belligerents
Carlists Supported by: Portugal (until 1834)	Liberals Supported by: France United Kingdom Portugal (from 1834)
Commanders and leaders
See list Carlos V Tomás Zumalacárregui Ramón Cabrera Rafael Maroto González Moreno Miguel Gómez Damas Sebestian Gabriel	See list Maria Christina Isabella II Genaro de Quesada José Ramón Rodil Francisco Espoz Luis Fernández Baldomero Espartero Isidro de Alaix Jerónimo Valdés Marcelino de Oraá Manuel O'Doyle De Lacy Evans Joseph Bernelle Count of Antas
Strength
Unknown	500,000 mobilized throughout the war[1] Over 18,000 French, British, Belgian, and Portuguese volunteers[2]
Casualties and losses
Carlists: 15,000–60,000[citation needed]	Liberals: 15,000–65,000 French: 7,700 British: 2,500 Portuguese: 50[citation needed]
5% of the Spanish population, with half this number being military deaths[3][4] 111,000-306,000 including civilians[5]

The First Carlist War was a civil war in Spain from 1833 to 1840, the first of three Carlist Wars. It was fought between two factions over the succession to the throne and the nature of the Spanish monarchy: the conservative and devolutionist supporters of the late king's brother, Carlos de Borbón (or Carlos V), became known as Carlists (carlistas), while the progressive and centralist supporters of the regent, Maria Christina, acting for Isabella II of Spain, were called Liberals (liberales), cristinos or isabelinos. Aside from being a war of succession about the question who the rightful successor to king Ferdinand VII of Spain was, the Carlists’ goal was the return to a traditional monarchy, while the Liberals sought to defend the constitutional monarchy.

It is the largest and most deadly civil war in nineteenth-century Europe and fought by more men than the Spanish War of Independence.^[1] It might have been the largest counter-revolutionary movement in 19th-century Europe depending on the figures.^[6] Furthermore, it is considered the "last great European conflict of the pre-industrial age". The conflict was responsible for the deaths of 5% of the 1833 Spanish population—with military casualties alone amounting to half this number.^[3][4] It was mostly fought in the Southern Basque Country, Maestrazgo, and Catalonia and characterized by endless raids and reprisals against both armies and civilians.

Importantly, it is also considered a precursor to the idea of the two Spains that would surface during the Spanish Civil War a century later.