Pascual Comín Moya, 2nd marquess of Comín (1855–1928) was a Spanish Carlist politician. Since the mid-1890s he formed part of the provincial Zaragoza party executive and the Traditionalist regional Aragón leadership; since 1907 he was the party leader in the region of Aragón. His political climax fell on 1919, when during 6 months between mid-February and mid-August he held the provisional Carlist party jefatura nationwide. Until today his leadership period remains the shortest one in the entire Carlist history.
Family and youth
Origins of the Comín family are obscure.some claim that it arrived in Spain from Italy, see Comín entry, [in:] MisApellidos service, available here One branch settled in Aragón, but until mid-19th century none of its representatives gained public recognition. Pascual's paternal grandfather sided with the legitimists during the First Carlist War; following defeat he settled in Bordeaux.Comín y Sarté, Bienvenido, [in:] Gran Enciclopedia Aragonesa online, available here . His name is unknown. A Tomás Comín, former member of the Royalist Volunteers, was involved in Carlist conspiracy in Zaragoza in the 1830s and was subject to repressive governmental measures, see La Revista Española 23.03.34, available here This is where his son and the father of Pascual, Bienvenido Comín Sarté (1828-1880), spent his late childhood.it is not clear what – if any – was the family relationship between Bienvenido Comín Sarté (born 1828) and Pascual Comín Vera (born 1825), both active in Zaragoza. Pascual Comín Vera was a doctor and professor of medicine; he grew to prestige as both a physician and a scientist, for details see Comín Vera, Pascual 1825-1875, [in:] Medicos historicos. Biblioteca Complutense service, available here In 1842 he returned to Spain and studied law; in 1848 he started to practice in Zaragoza.Comín y Sarté, Bienvenido, [in:] Gran Enciclopedia Aragonesa online In the mid-1850s Comín Sarté engaged in Carlist conspiracy himself; following the Aragonese rebellion of 1855details in Antonio Caridad Salvador, El carlismo aragonés en armas. La revuelta de 1855, [in:] Cuadernos de Historia Contemporánea 36 (2014), pp. 165-188, also B. de Artagan [Reynaldo Brea], Príncipe heróico y soldados leales, Barcelona 191, p. 247 he went on exile again. Back in Spain he gained local recognition as “el abogado de los pobres” and served in the Zaragoza ayuntamiento.Comín y Sarté, Bienvenido, [in:] Gran Enciclopedia Aragonesa online In the late 1860s he became president of Junta Provincial Católico-Monárquica, emerged as key Carlist theoristhis key work was a 1870 treaty La política tradicional de España. Writings of Comín Sarté contained a European breadth and discussed also continental issues. He was also the author of novels; one of them, Virgén y mártir, was published in 1876, another named Angela remained in manuscript, see e.g. Jacek Bartyzel, Nic bez Boga, nic wbrew tradycji, Radzymin 2015, , p. 90 and laid out the legal claim of Carlos VII;Jacek Bartyzel, Umierać ale powoli, Kraków 2002, , p. 264 the pretender rewarded him with the title of Marqués de Comín.Títulos carlistas, [in:] AlasCatacumbas blog 31.08.08 [blogspot service blocked by WP] Exiled again during the Third Carlist War,Artagan 1912, p. 249 in the late 1870s he was among most distinguished Carlist intellectuals of the eraComín Sarté published also works on history of literature, see e.g. his Catolicismo y racionalismo. Historia general de la literatura católica del siglo XIX, 2 vols. Some authors present him as one of the greatest Traditionalist pundits of the 1870s along Aparisi, Villoslada and Tejado, La Esperanza 22.01.70, available here and one of the best-known lawyers in Aragón.he served as vice-president of Congreso de Jurisconsultos Aragoneses
Bienvenido Comín marriedLa Ilustración Católica 07.02.80, available here Luciana Moya Huerto (died 1896);El Correo Español 14.02.96, available here none of the sources consulted provides any information either on her or on her family. The couple had 3 children: Pascual (born 1855), Francisco Javier (1857)La Ilustración Católica 07.02.80, available here and María Comín y Moya (1862),La Ilustración Católica 07.02.80, available here all brought up in very religious and zealously Traditionalist ambience.already in 1865 and as a 10-year-old boy he appeared as signatory and donator in open letters and other religious initiatives, El Pensamiento Español 08.08.65, available here It is not clear where the young Pascual received his early education. He then enrolled in Facultad de Derecho at the University of Zaragoza; exact years of his academic career are not known, though they fell probably on the early 1870s.Third Carlist War broke out in 1872, when Comín was 17 years old. However, none of the sources consulted claims or suggests he took part in the conflict Comín Moya obtained the licenciatura in law in Zaragoza, to pursue his doctoral research at Universidad Central in Madrid later on;José Ignacio Lópes Susín, Gente de leyes. El derecho Aragonés y sus protagonistas, Zaragoza 2004, , p. 140 the year of his doctorado is not clear. In the late 1870s he was back in Zaragoza,El Siglo Futuro 19.07.77, available here where he soon opened his own law office.
At unspecified time Pascual Comín Moya married María de Arévalo y Aguilar;Pascual Comín Moya, [in:] Real Academia de Historia service, available here there is no information on her or her family available. It is neither clear whether the couple had any children. When referred in societé columns of the press, e.g. in the 1890s, they are listed along nephews and other relatives, but never with own children;La Libertad 18.08.97, available here also later notes on Comín's family engagements do not contain information on his children.El Debate 21.04.23, available here Comín's obituaries and death notices, which customarily contained condolences addressed to descendants, did not mention any.La Prensa 22.03.28, available here, also Diario de Reus 23.03.28, available here Marquesado de Comín, which Pascual inherited from his father, passed on to his younger brother.as the title awarded by the Carlist claimant, for 91 years it was not recognized officially. This changed in 1961, see BOE 28.11.61, available here; the Francoist authorities recognized the marquesado and attributed to José María Comín Sagues A few of Comín's relatives grew to public figures. Pascual's younger brother Francisco Javier became an academic and served as dean of the law faculty in Zaragoza;Comín Moya, Francisco Javier (1857-1932), [in:] Diccionario de Catedráticos Españoles de Derecho, available here his son and Pascual's nephew Jesús Comín y Sagüés emerged as Carlist politician and served in the Republican Cortes.Comín Sagues, Jesus, [in:] Congreso service, available here The son of Jesús Alfonso Carlos Comín Ros gained name as a writer and politician who tried to merge Communism and Catholicism, while his son Antoni Comín Oliveres is a Catalanist separatist politician.
Earlier public activity (prior to 1907)
As descendant to two generations of Carlists and as son to one of the greatest Traditionalist theorists of the time, Comín inherited his political outlook from the ancestors. Already as a 10-year-old boy he was listed in various open letters which supported the Catholic cause;El Pensamiento Español 08.09.65, available here in his teens he delivered addresses during local gatherings and while at the university he engaged in the religious charity organisation Asociación San Luis Gonzaga.El Siglo Futuro 19.07.77, available here His whereabouts during the Third Carlist War are not clear. In the late 1870sEl Siglo Futuro 11.04.77, available here and early 1880sEl Católico 28.03.80, available here his name kept appearing among signatories of various declarations of support or protest letters, usually related to religious questions and perceived anti-Catholic measures of the Madrid government. In the early 1880s Comín acted as president of Juventud Católica de ZaragozaEl Siglo Futuro 26.04.80, available here and used to deliver militant addresses at its meetings.El Siglo Futuro 23.04.80, available here
Comín's focus on religious issues seemed perfectly in line with the strategy adopted by the Carlist political leader, Candido Nocedal; Comín travelled to Madrid to take part in related events.El Siglo Futuro 09.01.85, available herel Following death of Nocedal, in the mid-1880s Comín seemed supportive of his son Ramón Nocedal,El Siglo Futuro 04.02.87, available herel who aspired to vacated party leadership.La Verdad 29.05.85, available here However, upon outbreak of the conflict between Nocedal and the claimant Carlos VII Comín sided with his king and did not join the Integrists, who broke away in 1888.Bartyzel 2002, p. 90 In the early 1890s Comín was active in quasi-political activities animated by the Church, which at the time turned towards wider public mobilization: he took part in Congreso Católico de ZaragozaDiario de Cataluña 10.09.90, available here and formed part of a commission appointed by the archbishop, entrusted with screening local periodicals and propagating Catholic virtues in the press.La Paz 07.10.90, available here In 1893 latest he entered Junta Provincial Carlista de Zaragoza, the provincial party executive;El Correo Español 04.05.93, available here in 1895 he was reported as member of Junta Regional, the body which commanded Carlist structures in entire Aragón.El Correo Español 30.09.85, available here
At the turn of the centuries Comín was already a recognized Zaragoza personality. He formed part of executive of the local charity organisations La Protectora,1897 La Protectora formed “empresa de redenciones militares y de seguros dotales”; Comín was member of its junta consultiva, La Voz de Provincia 24.11.97, available here remained active in anti-duel associationLa Epoca 10.07.05, available here and took part in numerous in one-off events, e.g. the one intended to prevent tuberculosis.Diario de Córdoba 26.02.04, available here A recognized specialist in local heritage law,in 1880 during Congreso de Jurisconsultos Aragoneses Comín delivered a lecture on consorcio foral, a specific Aragonese civil law institution related to inheritance regulations, part of “cuestion foral”, Mauricio Murillo y García-Atance, Colación y participación, [in:] Manual de derecho sucesorio aragonés, Zaragoza 2006, , p. 157 he was delivering lectures at congresses of Aragón lawyers.for 1907 congress see La Correspondencia de España 28.05.07, available here A royal decree which created a nationwide Comisión General de Codificación nominated him to sub-commission entrusted with work on specific legal Aragón establishments.Lópes Susín 2004, p. 140 He served as counselor in the ayuntamiento,Lópes Susín 2004, pp. 140-141 member of Audiencia ProvincialAnuario Riera 1904, available here and fiscal de la cámara de apelaciones,Julio Irazusta, Memorias: historia de un historiador a la fuerza, Madrid 1975, p. 85 specializing in criminal law. He handled prestigious legal cases and represented local personalities in civil lawsuits.e.g. in 1888 Comín represented duque de Villahermosa in legal case related to land ownership and access, La Crónica 10.03.88, available here His career in jurisprudence was crowned when in 1907 Comín grew to dean of the Zaragoza Colegio de Abogados.Revista Aragonesa 4 (1907), available here
From regional to national leader (1907-1919)