Fire, Sieges, and Ashes: The First Carlist War in Alpuente (1833–1840)

In the mid-19th century, Spain was shaken by a fratricidal conflict that transcended a mere dispute over the crown. The First Carlist War (1833-1840) was not a simple struggle of succession between the supporters of the young Isabel II and those of her uncle, the Infante Carlos VII; it represented a head-on clash between two models of society: traditional absolutism versus emerging liberalism.

In this scenario of national tension, the Valencian region of La Serranía and, most especially, the town of Alpuente, ended up becoming strategic bastions of bloody military operations that would leave a lasting mark on the destiny of their inhabitants.

From military occupation to the dramatic siege of 1840

The first stages of the conflict in the area were experienced in 1835, when Alpuente was militarily occupied by troops commanded by the Carlist general Ramón Cabrera. However, this first incursion was ephemeral, and the Carlists had to abandon the town after suffering a resounding defeat in the neighboring town of La Yesa.

As the conflict in the North drew to a close, the Carlist resistance in the Levante region regrouped into small but irreductible pockets of warfare. Led by legendary figures such as Cabrera himself, Padillos, Arnau, the guerrilla fighter Botas, and the military officer Arévalo, these contingents chose to maintain the fight at all costs. Arévalo entrenched himself in the most impregnable point of the municipality: the defensive mass of the Castillo and the Iglesia de Alpuente.

The scorched earth policy and social division

As the months passed, liberal troops advanced firmly in the province of Valencia, reducing the room for maneuver of their opponents. In this atmosphere of desperation, violence intensified:

• Ruthless tactics: Carlist guerrillas like Botas resorted to reprisals, robberies, and systematic executions against the population suspected of sympathizing with the enemy.

• Scorched earth: With the intention of hindering the liberal advance and depriving the adversary of shelter, Arévalo's Carlist command ordered the demolition and burning of farmhouses, churches, and fortifiable buildings in La Yesa, Arcos de las Salinas, and almost all of the villages of Alpuente.

• War of sympathies: Paradoxically, while the Carlists sowed destruction in their wake, the liberal troops knew how to fraternize with the local residents, winning their strategic and moral support.

April 24, 1840: The siege begins

The liberal general Azpiroz receives the official order to undertake the definitive siege on the Carlist bastion of Alpuente.

April 28, 1840: Fire in the church

Under the cover of night, the Carlists abandon the parish church, set fire to it to destroy it, and retreat to the upper enclosure of the Castillo.

April 30, 1840: The peasants' mine

Military engineers declare it impossible to mine the rock, but the local peasants themselves offer to dig a mine under the Torre del Homenaje. Despite a breach being opened, the demand for surrender is rejected.

May 2, 1840: Capture of the castle

At 11:00 in the morning, after blowing up a second mine and overcoming fierce resistance, the liberal flag flies over the conquered castle.

The siege reached its climax at the end of April 1840. After entrenching themselves in the castle and burning the church, the Carlist forces resisted the onslaught of the liberal army and the residents of Alpuente themselves, who worked side by side with the invading troops to dig mines under the very Torre del Homenaje. Although the Carlist garrison repaired the damage caused during the day at night, at 11:00 in the morning on May 2, 1840, the liberal flag flew victoriously over the fortress.

The aftermath of the war and the difficult reconstruction

The victory in Alpuente represented a tactical achievement of immense strategic value for the liberal side, but the human and material cost was devastating. The town and its surrounding villages were plunged into absolute misery, victims of years of fires and devastation promoted by the scorched earth tactic.

The end of the conflict did not bring immediate prosperity, but rather the beginning of a long and costly process of social and architectural heritage reconstruction. The mark of that period would remain forever etched in the collective memory of the municipality.