The Miguelist risings against the Carta Constitucional (1826-1827)

Abstract

This study describes and analyses the Miguelist risings against the Carta Constitucional in 1826 and 1827. At the beginning these had only national resources, but later the Spanish state gave help which, although not secret, was at least discreet. As well as attempting to clarify a confusing period at the start of Iberian constitutionalism, the examination of armed confrontations of this time aims to help define one type of army intervention - the rising. Pereira Marques (according to Busquets) assigns the main role in a rising to militias and guerillas. Other authors such as Baquer define a rising as the support of militias to an earlier military «gesture», but do not consider the relative importance of the two entities. The study published here attempts to show that a classic rebellion and a rising differ neither in the prominence of the militias nor because there must have been an initial revolt. The difference is in the function of the militias. During a rebellion they perform secondary tasks such as supply, communications, and sometimes garrison duties. On the other hand, during a rising the militias have crucial roles because the weakness of the rebel soldiers makes them take the dispute out of the strictly professional area. In order to capture government territory and occupy it, rebel soldiers set up an alliance with the people, who, in theory at least, support them. Finally, in relation to the 1826-1827 dispute, a study is made of the rebels' and loyalists' respective strategic advantages and disadvantages, from unity of command to the quality of the troops and the tactical objectives of their course of action.