English Arms for Don Carlos: the incident of the Express Packet

Abstract

In the First Carlist War, the legitimist side was hampered by its lack of resources in its unequal struggle against the Isabelline state. One of the options to make good this shortage was to purchase arms from abroad. The failed operation of the British sloop Express Packet —the subject of this research—, is of unquestionable interest for several reasons. On the one hand, it gives us an insight into the intricacies of the arms trafficking to which Carlism had to resort in the context of the turbulent situation in Portugal, a country in the throes of a similar war to Spain, and where Don Carlos was residing in forced retirement. On the other hand, it reveals Carlist intentions to instigate a major guerrilla uprising in Galicia, from their position in Northern Portugal, facilitating the entry into Spain of the head of the Carlist dynasty. Using documents from the General Captaincy of Galicia and other institutions, this paper seeks to incorporate unpublished information and to probe into the details that led to the capture of the Express Packet and explore what Carlists hoped to achieve from this operation.