The Carlist Wars were a series of civil wars that took place in Spain during the 19th century. The contenders fought to establish their claim to the throne, although some political differences also existed. Indeed, several times during the period from 1833 to 1876 the Carlists — followers of Infante Carlos and his descendants — rallied to the cry of "God, Country, and King" and fought for the cause of Spanish tradition against liberalism, and later the republicanism, of the Spanish governments of the day. The Carlist Wars had a strong regional component, given that the new order called into question region–specific law arrangements and customs kept for centuries.
La Reforma or the Liberal Reform was initiated in Mexico following the ousting of centralist president Antonio López de Santa Anna by a group of liberals under the 1854 Plan de Ayutla. From the liberals' narrow objective to remove a dictator and take power, they expanded their aims to a comprehensive program to remake Mexico governed by liberal principles as embodied by a series of Reform laws and then the Constitution of 1857. The major goals of this movement were to undermine the power of the Catholic Church in Mexico, separate church and state, reduce the power of the Mexican military, and integrate Mexico's large indigenous population as citizens of Mexico and not a protected class. Liberals envisioned secular education as a means to create a Mexican citizenry. The liberals' strategy was to sharply limit the traditional institutional privileges (fueros) of the Catholic Church and the army. The law prohibiting the ownership of land by corporations targeted the holdings of the Catholic Church and indigenous communities - confiscating Church land. Indigenous community lands were held by the community as a whole, not as individual parcels. Liberals sought to create a class of yeoman farmers that held land individually. No class of individualistic peasants developed with the Liberal program emerged, but many merchants acquired land. Many existing landowners expanded their holdings at the expense of peasants, and some upwardly mobile ranch owners, often mestizos, acquired land previously held by communities. Upon the promulgation of the liberal Constitution of 1857, conservatives refused to swear allegiance to it and, instead, formed a conservative government. The result was a civil war known as the Reform War or Three Years' War, waged between conservatives and liberals for three years, ending with the defeat of the conservatives on the battlefield. Victorious liberal president Benito Juárez could not implement the envisioned reforms due to a new political threat. Conservatives had sought another route to regaining power, resulting in their active collaboration with Napoleon III's plans to turn the Mexican Empire into the main American ally of the French empire. Mexican conservatives offered the crown of Mexico to Hapsburg archduke Maximilian. The French invasion and republican resistance to the French Intervention in Mexico lasted from 1862-67. With the defeat of the conservatives and the execution of Maximilian, Juárez again took up his duties as president. In this period from 1867 to 1876, often called the "Restored Republic" liberals had no credible opposition to their implementation of the laws of the Reform embodied in the 1857 Constitution.
Juan Nepomuceno Méndez was a Mexican general, a Liberal politician and confidante of Porfirio Díaz, and interim president of the Republic for a few months during the Porfiriato. He served from 6 December 1876 until 17 February 1877.
The Leominster by-election was a by-election held on 15-16 February 1876 for the British House of Commons constituency of Leominster in Herefordshire.
The Carmarthen District by-election, 1912 was a Parliamentary by-election held in the United Kingdom on 29 January 1912 for the Carmarthen District in Wales. The constituency of Carmarthen District of Boroughs, was centred on the boroughs of Carmarthen and Llanelli. It returned one Member of Parliament to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, elected by the first past the post voting system.
The East Suffolk by-election of 1876 was fought on 22 February 1876. The byelection was fought due to the succession to a peerage of the incumbent Conservative MP, Viscount Mahon. It was won by the Conservative candidate Frederick St John Barne.
The Liskeard by-election of 1876 was fought on 22 December 1876. The byelection was fought due to the death of the incumbent Liberal MP, Edward Horsman. It was won by the Liberal candidate Leonard Courtney.
The Frome by-election of 1876 was fought on 23 November 1876. The byelection was fought due to the resignation of the incumbent Conservative MP, Henry Lopes in order to become a Judge of the High Court of Justice. It was won by the Liberal candidate Henry Samuelson.
The Donegal by-election of 1876 was fought on 26 August 1876. The byelection was fought due to the death of the incumbent Conservative MP, Thomas Conolly. It was won by the Conservative candidate William Wilson, who beat the Liberal candidate, Thomas Lea, former member for Kidderminster, by 1,975 votes to 1876, a majority of 99.
The Leeds by-election of 1876 was fought on 15 August 1876. The by-election was fought due to the resignation of the incumbent Liberal MP, Robert Meek Carter. It was won by the Liberal candidate John Barran.
The Carmathen Boroughs by-election of 1876 was fought on 14 August 1876. The byelection was fought due to the resignation of the incumbent Conservative MP, Charles William Nevill. It was won by the Liberal candidate Arthur Cowell-Stepney, who was returned unopposed.
The New Shoreham by-election of 1876 was fought on 4 August 1876. The byelection was fought due to the death of the incumbent Conservative MP, Percy Burrell. It was won by the Conservative candidate Walter Burrell.
The West Aberdeenshire by-election of 1876 was fought on 10 May 1876. The byelection was fought due to the resignation of the incumbent Liberal MP, William McCombie. It was won by the Liberal candidate Lord Douglas Gordon.
The East Cumberland by-election of 1876 was fought on 26 April 1876. The byelection was fought due to the death of the incumbent Conservative MP, William Nicholson Hodgson. It was won by the Liberal candidate Stafford Howard.
The Horsham by-election of 1876 was held on 29 February 1876. The byelection was fought due to the previous by-election being declared void. This had resulted in the election of the Liberal MP Robert Henry Hurst (junior).
The East Retford by-election of 1876 was fought on 24 February 1876. The byelection was fought due to the death of the incumbent Conservative MP, George Monckton-Arundell. It was won by the Conservative candidate William Beckett-Denison.
The Berkshire by-election of 1876 was fought on 23 February 1876. The byelection was fought due to the resignation of the incumbent Conservative MP, Richard Fellowes Benyon. It was won by the Conservative candidate Philip Wroughton in an all Conservative fight.
The Burnley by-election of 1876 was held on 12 February 1876. The byelection was fought due to the death of the incumbent Liberal MP, Richard Shaw. It was won by the Liberal candidate Peter Rylands.
The Horsham by-election of 1875 was fought on 17 December 1875. The byelection was fought due to the resignation of the incumbent Conservative MP, William Vesey-FitzGerald, who became Chief Charity Commissioner for England and Wales. It was won by the Liberal candidate Robert Henry Hurst (junior). who had previously been MP for the seat but was defeated at the previous General Election.
The City of Durham by-election of 1874 was fought on 13 June 1874. The byelection was fought due to the voiding of the incumbent Liberal MP, Thomas Charles Thompson's election. It was retained by the Liberal candidate Farrer Herschell.
