The First Carlist War broke out after the death of King Ferdinand VII, the king restored at the end of the Peninsular War thanks to Wellington's victory. The crown was claimed by both his daughter Isabella, backed by the Liberal party and his brother Don Carlos, at the head of northern ultra-conservatives centred in the Basque provinces and Navarre. The Liberals or 'Cristinos' were supported by a 10,000-strong British Legion of volunteers led by a former aide to Wellington as well as the British Royal Navy, a Portuguese division, and the French Foreign Legion. With both armies still using Napoleonic weapons and tactics, early victories were won by the Basque general Zumalacarregui. After his death in 1835 a see-saw series of campaigns followed, fought by conventional armies of horse, foot and guns, supported by many irregulars and guerrillas.
This little known multi-national campaign provides a fascinating postscript to the Peninsular War of 1808-14, and its uniforms present a colourful and varied spectacle.

GABRIELE ESPOSITO is a professor of modern history, a freelance researcher and an author of military history books, specializing in uniformology. His interests range from ancient civilizations to modern postcolonial conflicts including 19th-century Italian, Spanish and Latin American wars. His books and essays have been published by Pen & Sword, Winged Hussar and Libreria Editrice Goriziana and he contributes to a variety of specialist military-history journals. He has written various titles for Osprey including MAA 499 Armies of the War of the Triple Alliance 1864-70 and MAA 541 Armies of the War of the Grand Alliance 1688-97.

Introduction: historical background, and the road to war/Course of the war on the Northern Front: first, second and third Carlist offensives; the 'Royal Expedition'; representative battle of Oriamendi, March 1837/Course of the war on the Southern Front: the Andalusian expedition; occupation of Cordoba and Extramadura; representative battle of Villarrobledo, September 1836/The Liberal Army: uniforms, weapons, tactics and performance of regular and irregular units/ The foreign contingents: uniforms, weapons, tactics and performance of British, French and Portuguese units/The Carlist Army: uniforms, weapons, tactics and performance of regular and irregular units/ Conclusion/ Select Bibliography/Plate Commentaries/Index