Tomas de Zumalacarregui and his role in the First Carlist War (1833-1840)

The article is dedicated to the biography of Tomas de Zumalacarregui (1788-1835), one of the leaders of the Carlist movement during the First Carlist War. His image was mythologized both by his followers and adversaries; the former perceived Zumalacarregui as a "saint" while the latter considered him "devil". The article collects some opinions by his contemporaries concerning the General's avtivities. The autor presenst Zumalacarregui's biography before the outbreak of the war of 1833-1840. The Carlist leader took part in the Peninsular War (1808-1814), in the "Liberal Triennium" (1820-1823), and in the expedition of "The Hundred Thousand Sons of Saint Louis" (1823). In the beginning of the First Carlist War in October 1833, Zumalacarregui was living retired in Pamplona. Soon after the start of the conflict, he joined the army of don Carlos, a pretender to the Spanish throne. From December 1833, he was the Commander-in-Chief of all Carlist forces in Navarre and in the Basque Country. The study shows a number of problems of the Carlist army in the North of Spain during the first period of the war: absence of artillery, lack of rifles and munition, and deficiency of qualified officers and military personnel. Zumalacarregui handled those problemes and created an efficient army that achieved a string of victories during the campaigns of 1834 and 1835. The siege of Bilbao in June 1835 was the decisive moment in the campaign. The wound and death of Zumalacarregui in the battle led to the defeat of the Carlist army. The retreat from Bilbao and the loss of one of the most talented generals became a crucial point in the First Carlist War that ended with the victory of supporters of the Queen Isabel II of Spain.