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Cantavieja

Capital of Carlism

Capital of Carlism

The Maestrazgo was configured as a war zone from the moment the Carlists decided to establish their center of operations in Cantavieja. It was the year 1836 and, since then, that small town of medieval airs located in the heart of Maestrazgo Teruel became a symbol of the legitimist challenge to the authority of the liberal government. In practice, it will operate as its institutional heart over time. Cantavieja will become the capital of Carlism in Maestrazgo in the two great Carlist wars, with forty years of difference in time, which gave it a great centrality in everything that happened in these lands throughout the nineteenth century.

© José Luis Cano

Ramón Cabrera (1806-1876)

The Cantavieja Newsletter

The sieges of Cantavieja

Heart of the military administration

Cabrera was a young seminarian from Tortosa who joined the ranks of the pretender Don Carlos in the first moments of the insurrection.

Cantavieja housed the first Carlist printing house in Maestrazgo. Cabrera’s first manifestos and orders were printed on it.

In spite of the imposing stamp that Cantavieja shows, in fact, its main defense is the difficulty to transport the troops there and to raise up to the surrounding heights the artillery pieces.

After making Cantavieja his capital, Cabrera organized everything necessary to control the territory of Maestrazgo.

Ramón Cabrera was the main Carlist leader in Maestrazgo during the First Carlist War.
Ramón Cabrera was the main Carlist leader in Maestrazgo during the First Carlist War.
The Boletín, which began to be published in Cantavieja, would continue to appear until 1840, shortly before the Carlists left the country.
The Boletín, which began to be published in Cantavieja, would continue to appear until 1840, shortly before the Carlists left the country.
General San Miguel temporarily regained Liberal control of Cantavieja in the autumn of 1836.
General San Miguel temporarily regained Liberal control of Cantavieja in the autumn of 1836.
Cantavieja's position in the centre of the Maestrazo made it a suitable place to establish the Carlist capital of Cabrera.
Cantavieja's position in the centre of the Maestrazo made it a suitable place to establish the Carlist capital of Cabrera.

Ramón Cabrera (1806-1876)

Cabrera was a young seminarian from Tortosa who joined the ranks of the pretender Don Carlos in the first moments of the insurrection.

Ramón Cabrera was the main Carlist leader in Maestrazgo during the First Carlist War.
Ramón Cabrera was the main Carlist leader in Maestrazgo during the First Carlist War.

The Cantavieja Newsletter

Cantavieja housed the first Carlist printing house in Maestrazgo. Cabrera’s first manifestos and orders were printed on it.

The Boletín, which began to be published in Cantavieja, would continue to appear until 1840, shortly before the Carlists left the country.
The Boletín, which began to be published in Cantavieja, would continue to appear until 1840, shortly before the Carlists left the country.

The sieges of Cantavieja

In spite of the imposing stamp that Cantavieja shows, in fact, its main defense is the difficulty to transport the troops there and to raise up to the surrounding heights the artillery pieces.

General San Miguel temporarily regained Liberal control of Cantavieja in the autumn of 1836.
General San Miguel temporarily regained Liberal control of Cantavieja in the autumn of 1836.

Heart of the military administration

After making Cantavieja his capital, Cabrera organized everything necessary to control the territory of Maestrazgo.

Cantavieja's position in the centre of the Maestrazo made it a suitable place to establish the Carlist capital of Cabrera.
Cantavieja's position in the centre of the Maestrazo made it a suitable place to establish the Carlist capital of Cabrera.