Esteban de Bilbao Eguía, 1st Marquess of Bilbao Eguía (11 January 1879 – 23 September 1970), was a Spanish politician during the dictatorship of Francisco Franco.
Family and youth
Esteban Martín Higinio de Bilbao Eguíanot to be confused with a contemporary Basque trotskyist, Esteban Bilbao (?-1954), see marxist.org service available here was born into a Basque middle-class bourgeoisie family. His paternal grandfather, Manuel Bilbao, ran a merchant business in his native town of Guernica in Biscay province.see the official service of Spanish senate, available here One of Manuel's sons became a presbyter,El Siglo Futuro 07.06.13, available here while another, Hilario Bilbao Ortúzar, moved to Bilbao and practiced as a physician.see euskalnet service, available here Hilario married María Concepción Matea de Eguía Galindez, a descendant of a distinguished and widely branched Biscay family.Eguia family explained in detail here The couple had six children, with Estebanaccording to the birth certificate he was born in Bilbao, see here; some sources claim he was born in Durango, see Idioia Estornés Zubizarreta, Esteban Bilbao Eguía entry [in:] Auñamendi Eusko Entziklopedia online, available here All of the Bilbao Eguía children were raised in a fervently Catholic environment, though none of the sources consulted provides any information on the political preferences of their parents.
The young Esteban was first educated at the Instituto Provincial, the local state-run secondary school in Bilbao.Gonzalo Díaz Díaz, Hombres y documentos de la filosofía española, vol. 1, Madrid 1980, , 9788400047269, p. 591; according to another source, it was "Instituto general y tecnico", El Imparcial 16.05.28, available here2 Sources provide varying details of his exact academic path, though most agree that he studied law and philosophy, initially at the Jesuit University of Deusto in Bilbao, later moving to the prestigious Universidad de Salamanca, where he completed both curricula.according to Estornés Zubizarreta, Esteban Bilbao Eguía entry, he studied derecho and filosofia y letras at Deusto; according to Entrevista a Esteban Bilbao, [in:] Esfuerzo común 102 (1969), quoted after elcaballerodeltristedestino blog available here he studied filosofia y letras at Deusto, then moved to Salamanca where he graduated in law; according to Díaz Díaz 1980, p. 591 he studied filosofia and derecho at Deusto, but graduated in both in Salamanca Bilbao crowned his academic career by earning a PhD in law from the Universidad Central of Madrid.Entrevista a Esteban Bilbao, [in:] Esfuerzo común 102 (1969) After returning to his native Biscay, he opened a law office and,which in the mid-1920s would briefly employ the Basque political leader, José Aguirre, see Carlos Puerta Sesma, José Antonio Aguirre. Unidad didactica para la ESO, Donostia 2004, p. 10 in 1904, was registered as a practicing abogado (lawyer) in Bilbao.Anuario Riera 2 (1904), p. 1695 available here In 1913, he married María de Uribasterra e Ibarrondo (1891–1976).the spelling of her apellido is somewhat confused. When informing about the marriage, El Siglo Futuro 07.06.13 wrote "Urisbasterra", see here; when publishing her obituary, ABC 14.09.76 wrote "Uribasterra", see here, and this is the version repeated in almost all other works The couple had no children.see Geneallnet service available here; the euskalnet service wrongly claims that he fathered Hilario de Bilbao Eguía y Uribasterra, who was in fact Esteban's brother, see here
Early public activity
It is unclear whether Bilbao inherited his Carlist outlook from his forefathers or whether he embraced it during his academic years. By 1902, he was already firmly established in the local Biscay structures of mainstream Carlism, and alongside national figures like Juan Vázquez de Mella, he toured the province, organizing meetings and delivering speeches.ABC 24.09.70, available here In 1904, he ran as a Carlist candidatefrom the Santiago quarter, ABC 24.09.70 in the elections for the Bilbao City Council and was successful;Estornés Zubizarreta, Esteban Bilbao Eguía entry at Auñamendi Eusko Entziklopedia online some sources suggest that he was later appointed as teniente de alcalde (deputy mayor).Entrevista a Esteban Bilbao, [in:] Esfuerzo común 102 (1969); the same version is presented in El Imparcial 16.05.28, available here When he objected to the presence of a Protestant minister at an official municipal event,namely cornerstone laying ceremony to monument of Juan Crisóstomo de Arriaga, ABC 24.09.70 the government charged him with breaching the constitution and canceled his mandate.Javier Sánchez Erauski, El nudo corredizo: Euskal Herria bajo el primer franquismo, Tafalla 1994, , 9788481369144, p. 213
In his pursuit of Catholic militancy against the increasing secularization promoted by Madrid governments, Bilbao played a pivotal role in the Biscay branch of Juventud Católica.El Siglo Futuro 08.10.11, available here, also El Siglo Futuro 05.11.12, available here He also actively participated in various other local Catholic initiatives, such as representing Carlism at public meetings opposing secular schools.Cristóbal Robles, Cristóbal Robles Muñoz, José María de Urquijo e Ybarra: opinión, religión y poder, Madrid 1997, , p. 233 His activities reached their peak at the turn of the decade during the public uproar caused by the so-called Ley del Candado. As a member of the Biscay Junta Católica, he took part in countless gatherings and events, the most notable being the Acto de Zumárraga in 1910.see the manifesto published at nodulo.org service, available here Some of his speeches skirted the edge of legality, leading to him being tried three times, though the outcomes of these trials are unknown.ABC 24.09.70; see also Robles, Robles Muñoz 1997, p. 252
Within the Traditionalist ranks, Bilbao, along with fellow Deusto students Victor Pradera and Julio Urquijo, formed a new generation of activists. They were promoted by the claimant Carlos VII and the party leader, Marqués de Cerralbo, in their effort to build a modern Carlist network.José Luis Orella Martínez, El origen del primer catolicismo social español [PhD thesis at Universidad Nacional de Educación a Distancia], Madrid 2012, p. 223; in 1910 Bilbao was already president of the local Circulo Tradicionalista, see Robles, Robles Muñoz 1997, p. 246 In 1907, Bilbao was fielded as the official party candidate to the Cortes from the Álavese district of Vitoria. His debut turned into a fratricidal conflict, as another Carlist, Enrique Ortiz de Zarate, ran with the backing of the youth and a more militant electorate;even the Catholic hierarchs remained divided between the two, see Onésimo Díaz Hernández, La "Ley del Candado" en Alava, [in:] Sancho el Sabio 11 (1999), pp. 151-2 as a result, both Carlists lost.Díaz Hernández 1999, p. 152 In 1910, there were rumors that Bilbao would replace Vázquez de Mella as the Jaimist candidate in Pamplona, Navarre, but in the end, it was the latter who stood and won.La Epoca 01.05.10, available here In the subsequent 1914 campaign, Bilbao ran in his native Biscay, in Durango, but lost again, this time to the conservative candidate José de Amézola y Aspizua.La Epoca 09.03.14, available here; Amézola was the 1900 Olympic pelota champion (the only one in history, since pelota was later withdrawn from the olympic games), see olimpismo blog available here The loss led to riots between supporters of both candidates.El Heraldo de Madrid 09.03.14, available here
Bilbao embraced Basque identity in the Carlist tradition, viewing local provincial fueros and ethnic identity as indispensable elements of the broader Spanish political nation. He participated in the first Congreso de Estudios Vascos,in 1918, Estornés Zubizarreta, Esteban Bilbao Eguía entry at Auñamendi Eusko Entziklopedia online where he had the honor of delivering the closing address. In his speech, he expressed solidarity with the persecuted "madre Euskal Herria" and advocated for the establishment of a Basque university to lead the "restauración cultural vasca" (Basque cultural restoration).the address was delivered in castellano, Javier G. Chamorro, Bitarte: humanidades e historia del conflicto vasco-navarro : fueros, constitución y autodeterminación, Donostia 2009, , 9788461307111, p. 209 He remained active in subsequent congresses until the late 1920s, playing a vital role in its Sección de Estudios Sociales.Estornés Zubizarreta, Esteban Bilbao Eguía entry at Auñamendi Eusko Entziklopedia online His interest in social issues extended beyond the Basque realm,El Imparcial 16.05.28, available here as evidenced by his publication of the leaflet "La cuestión social."in 1920, ABC 24.09.70
Cortes and Asamblea Nacional After unsuccessful electoral campaigns in Álava, Navarre, and Biscay, Bilbao competed in 1916 in the Carlist national stronghold, the Gipuzkoan district of Tolosa. He defeated the conservative candidatesee the official Cortes service, available here and became part of the 9-member Jaimist minority in the Cortes. In 1918, he ran again in the same district and was re-elected.see Cortes service here, see also the official deputy certificate available here Known for his active defense of the Church, religion, and Traditionalism,"Esteban Bilbao planteó que sólo existía la escuela socialista, la liberal y la cristiana. Las dos primeras creaban desorganización al centrarse en el Estado o en el individuo. Por eso el orador subrayaba la importancia de la Religión la única que conseguía la unidad de la humanidad bajo la luz de la solidaridad, y el problema social es principalmente un problema de solidaridad", Orella Martínez 2012, p. 223 Bilbao distinguished himself as one of the most notable Carlist orators,Orella Martínez 2012, p. 223 though some critics described his style as having a penchant for purple rhetoric.Stanley G. Payne, The Franco Regime, Madison 2011, , 978-0299110741, p. 235
During the Mellista crisis, Bilbao remained loyal to the successive claimant, Don Jaime,Estornés Zubizarreta, Esteban Bilbao Eguía entry at Auñamendi Eusko Entziklopedia online and worked closely with him, even editing some of his proclamations and documents.Entrevista a Esteban Bilbao, [in:] Esfuerzo común 102 (1969) As the secession decimated the Jaimist ranks, Bilbao became the local Biscay jefe.Orella Martínez 2012, p. 223 In 1919, he was fielded as the provincial Jaimist candidate for the Senate.Estornés Zubizarreta, Esteban Bilbao Eguía entry at Auñamendi Eusko Entziklopedia online Elected, he remained active, focusing on syndical laws and the autonomous status of universities.see the official Senate service available here It is unclear why he abandoned his senatorial position in 1920 to run for the Cortes again, but this time, he returned to Navarre and was elected from another Carlist stronghold, the Estella district.see the official Cortes service available here In 1923, during the last parliamentary campaign of the Restoration, the Carlist king ordered abstention, and no official candidates were fielded.ABC 13.03.1923