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escalated into a civil war, the first of a series
of ongoing struggles associated with the
cause of C ARLISM . Although the First Carlist
War came to an end in 1839, with the vic-
tory of the cristinos (as the supporters of the
regent Maria Christina were called), divi-
sions in Spanish society, both political and
social, would continue for generations.
Forced to leave the country in 1840, the
queen mother soon returned and contin-
ued to dominate Isabella II until a second
departure in 1854.
Unrestrained by her mother's presence,
the young queen spent the remainder of
her reign in pursuit of self-indulgence.
Estranged from her husband, Francisco de
Asís (who was her first cousin and bore the
title of king consort), she pursued a series of
romances, reputedly involving everyone
from a general to a pastry chef. The scan-
dalous nature of her conduct was paralleled
by a seemingly total indifference to the
duties of her office. Popular feeling passed
from disapproval to bitter resentment to
political opposition, resulting in a series of
plots and abortive coups between 1854 to
1868. When word of the latest rebellion's
victory over her few loyal supporters
reached the queen at a country residence
far removed from the center of conflict, she
reacted, according to one account, with an
indifferent shrug, as if her whole reign had
been a dream unconnected with reality.
Isabella departed for a comfortable exile in
Paris, where in 1870 she issued a formal
abdication in favor of her son A LFONSO XII.
She died there 34 years later, during the
reign of her grandson, A LFONSO XIII.
The reign of Isabella II was marked by a
succession of wars, frequent changes of
government and constitution, military sei-
zures of power, and loosening ties of
national unity. However, it was also a
period of economic growth and diversifica-
tion during which Spain became increas-
ingly modernized and introduced at least
the foundations of an industrial system as
well as networks of transportation and
communication. Historians may dispute
the degree of progress attained during the
period from 1833 to 1868 as compared to
what was achieved in other European
countries. What they cannot dispute is that
Isabella II passed through these 35 years in
a state of virtual trance, self-absorbed and
self-indulgent, having no real interest in
her country and therefore no real influence
upon its fate.
Isabella Clara Eugenia (Isabel
Clara Eugenia) (1566-1633)
Spanish princess and ruler of the Low
Countries, archduchess of Austria
Daughter of P HILIP II by his second wife, a
French princess, Isabella was her father's
favorite child and remained with him as his
constant companion and assistant until his
death (1598). Although her father had
sought several European thrones for her
(France by hereditary claims and England
by conquest), Isabella did not benefit from
any of his political projects. There had also
been several planned marriages that did not
materialize, evidently because the king
feared a lonely old age. In 1599, however,
she was wed to her cousin Archduke Albert
of Austria and journeyed with him to Brus-
sels to take up the joint sovereignty of the
Netherlands. This territory, which the Span-
iards referred to as “Flanders,” included the
present-day Belgium and part of the mod-
ern Netherlands. Philip II had created a
pseudo-independent country in the hope of
 
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