The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition. 2001-07.
Carlos, second son of Charles IV of Spain
(Carlos María Isidro de Borbón), 17881855, second son of Charles IV of Spain. He was the first Carlist pretender. After his fathers abdication (1808) he was, with the rest of his family, held a prisoner in France until 1814. A conservative and a devout Catholic, he was supported by the clerical party when he refused to recognize Isabella, daughter of his brother, Ferdinand VII, as successor to the Spanish throne. When his niece became queen (1833) as Isabella II, Don Carlos took up arms. Defeated in 1839, he escaped to France and renounced his claim in favor of his son, Don Carlos, conde de Montemolín. See Carlists.