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Antonio Mazarrasa Quintanilla

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Antonio Mazarrasa Quintanilla
Born1864
Villaverde de Pontones, Spain
Died1941 (aged 76–77)
Madrid, Spain
NationalitySpanish
Occupationlawyer
Known forpolitician
Political partyCarlism

Antonio María Andrés Mazarrasa Quintanilla (1864–1941) was a Spanish politician, civil servant and entrepreneur. Politically he initially supported the Carlists, then he joined the breakaway Mellistas, and eventually he engaged in Primoriverrista structures. In the 1890s he was a member of the Santander ayuntamiento. His parliamentarian career climaxed during two terms in the lower chamber of the Cortes (1903–1905 and 1910–1914) and one term in the senate (1919–1920). In 1924–1927 he served as civil governor of the Segovia province. In 1928–1936 and 1939–1940 he was the managing director of Monte de Piedad y Caja de Ahorros de Madrid. Until the late 1920s he was engaged in a family-held Mazarrasa mining conglomerate in Cantabria.

Family and youth

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father

The family of Mazarrasa for centuries has been representative for Cantabrian rural hidalguia with its members active in the bar, army and officialdom,[1] though also in arts.[2] The great-grandfather of Antonio, Juan Manuel Mazarrasa Mazarrasa (1746-1824),[3] was the native of Villaverde de Pontones,[4] a village in the Trasmiera county; he served as Abogado de los Reales Consejos. His younger son and the grandfather of Antonio, Felipé Mazarrasa Cobo de la Torre (1789-1879),[5] inherited the grand family house in Villaverde and became one of the 50 largest rural taxpayers in the Santander province.[6] His son and the father of Antonio, Juan Manuel Mazarrasa Jorganes (1827-1898), also from Villaverde,[7] became a lawyer.[8] He represented in court some major creditors of La Providencia and La Esperanza, Cantabrian mining companies extracting zinc and lead ores in Andara, in eastern parts of Picos de Europa; eventually in the 1880s he purchased the troubled companies on auction[9] and re-oriented the family economy from agriculture and rental of rural properties to industry.

Mazarrasa Jorganes married Josefa Quintanilla López-Galmares (died 1906),[10] daughter to an enriched indiano originated from the Salamanca province and his Mexican wife, both settled in Cantabria.[11] The couple lived in the family residence in Villaverde de Pontones and had 10 children, born between the mid-1860s and the mid-1880s; Antonio was the oldest one.[12] Though 3 younger sons became engineers, supposed to manage technicalities of the mining business, Antonio entered the faculty of law at Universidad Central in Madrid. In the early 1880s he was noted as an active student;[13] following graduation in 1885[14] and his brief apprenticeship period later, in 1887 he entered Colegio de Abogados in Santander[15] and opened his own law firm in the Cantabrian capital,[16] soon to look after legal affairs of the Mazarrasa mining conglomerate.

son Antonio
son Antonio

Already in his late 30s, in 1902,[17] Antonio Mazarrasa married María de la Concepción Fernández de Henestrosa Tacón (1878–1968);[18] she was daughter to a retired Madrid military Francisco Javier Fernández de Henestrosa Santiestban, who claimed aristocratic titles of Marqués de Villadarias, Marqués de Vera, and some other. The couple settled in Santander and had 6 children, born between the early 1900s and the early 1910s. One son perished during infancy in 1917;[19] two others were executed by the Republicans in 1936, one in Bilbao[20] and one – who started to earn his name as an Atletico Madrid winger[21] – in Paracuellos de Jarama.[22] The oldest son Roberto Mazarrasa Fernández (1903–1981) became a career officer in the artillery corps. Among Antonio's grandchildren the best known one was a military historian, Javier Mazarrasa Coll;[23] his brother Agustín went into the footsteps of his grandfather and in the late 20th century he held managerial roles in Caja de Ahorros y Monte Piedad de Madrid. The Catholic priest-singer Gonzalo Mazarrasa Martín[24] and a writer Lucia Botín Mazarrasa[25] are descendants of Mazarrasa's brother, while authors from the Mazarrasa Mowinckel family are descendants of his sister.[26]

Early public career (until 1902)

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José de Mazarrasa Cobo de la Torre

The Mazarrasas held firmly reactionary views. The older brother of Antonio's paternal grandfather, José de Mazarrasa Cobo de la Torre (1772-1858), was among leaders of Voluntarios Realistas and rose to highest positions in the legitimist army during the First Carlist War, nominated mariscal de campo.[27] Antonio's grandfather held minor roles in Carlist structures of the late Isabelline period,[28] while his relative José Tomás de Mazarrasa served as bishop of Ciudad Rodrigo and Filipopolis.[29] The young Antonio inherited their political outlook; already during his academic years he signed letters protesting secularization in education,[30] and then he married a girl from the vehemently Carlist family. Initially he was active in technically non-political organizations flavored with conservative spirit, e.g. in the late 1880s he was noted in Milicia Cristiana of Santander.[31] However, Mazarrasa engaged also in charity[32] and education, e.g. as member of Real Sociedad Económica Cantábrica de Amigos de País.[33] In 1892, he became president of Círculo Tradicionalista in Santander.[34] Mazarrasa cultivated also personal cultural links.[35]

Already in the late 1880s Mazarrasa was voted into the Santander ayuntamiento;[36] in 1892 he rose to primer teniente de alcalde.[37] Having his ticket in the council prolonged in the 1893 elections[38] in the mid-1890s, he served as tercer teniente de alcalde[39] and as president[40] of Comisión de Obras of the town hall.[41] He animated some municipal cultural and leisure institutions.[42] In the late 1890s he was among major shareholders of municipal bonds.[43] His spell in the ayuntamiento continued; as a coalition candidate Mazarrasa was re-elected in 1901,[44] though in 1902 he lost the internal city council elections for the post of deputy mayor.[45]

Minas Mazarrasa mining facilities, Andara, Picos de Europa

Continuously active in the bar,[46] he was increasingly engaged in business, also abroad, representing the family interests in Britain;[47] in 1898 Mazarrasa Jorganes passed away and the brothers agreed their roles in Minas Mazarrasa.[48] In 1899 he entered the board of Nueva Montaña, a family-held steelworks company.[49] In 1900 as representative of Cantabria Mazarrasa joined the executive of Sociedad Española de Minas, a newly formed local cartel,[50] and in 1901, he became a member of the board of Hidráulica de Frésser, supposed to operate a hydro power plant in Catalonia.[51] His political engagements at the time were muted. The press did not note any activities, and also contemporary scholars when discussing Carlist history of the late 19th century do not mention Mazarrasa.[52] Reportedly, in 1893, he agreed with the party leader Marqués de Cerralbo that he would run for the Cortes from Vitoria,[53] but there is no follow-up known. His 1897 taking part in a local party rally in Liébana, where he accompanied one of the parliamentarian Carlist leaders Matías Barrio y Mier, was rather exceptional.[54]

Carlist deputy (1903–1914)

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Carlist standard

In the 1903 elections to Congreso de los Diputados, the lower chamber of the Cortes, Mazarrasa stood as a Carlist[55] beyond his native Cantabria, in the Basque district of Laguardia; the last Carlist triumph there was recorded in 1893, followed by defeats in 4 successive campaigns.[56] Though he was a cuckoo candidate he emerged triumphant; with 3,806 votes gathered out of 4,067 votes cast he trashed the liberal counter-candidate.[57] He resigned the ayuntamiento mandate as incompatible with the Cortes ticket;[58] in the chamber he formed a tiny, 7-member Carlist minority. However, the Cortes term proved very brief and lasted only until 1905. Mazarrasa was barely active; the official Cortes records note only his intervention in favor of legislation on Cantabrian mining, which was supposed to expedite river transport and loading facilities in the Bay of Santander.[59] During the 1905 campaign he tried to renew the mandate, again running on the Carlist ticket from Laguardia,[60] but this time he lost to a Liberal canalejista counter-candidate.[61] Briefly nominated to Santander town hall as consejal interino,[62] during the following general election of 1907 Mazarrasa ceded the would-be Laguardia mandate to a fellow Carlist Celestino Alcocer.[63] Himself he opted for the senate, also from Álava, but he lost.[64]

Laguardia, early 20th c.

In the 1910 campaign Mazarrasa resumed his bid for the lower chamber from Laguardia; with 2,520 votes gathered out of 4,920 votes cast he was narrowly elected;[65] this time the Carlist minority amounted to 9 MPs. His official record in the chamber is negligible, as there are almost no interventions recorded; the key Carlist campaign was directed against a so-called Ley del Candado.[66] However, during the 4-year term Mazarrasa was rather active mobilizing popular support during rallies and meetings, e.g. in 1911 in Vitoria[67] or in 1912 in Eibar.[68] In 1913 he welcomed his king Don Jaime, who technically incognito was visiting Santander.[69] Other means of propaganda were issuing joint open letters, publicized in Traditionalist press,[70] funding prizes at Juegos Florales, e.g. in 1911,[71] or attending banquets, e.g. in Labastida in 1913.[72] His position in the party was increasingly prestigious; apart from cases of exaltation in Traditionalist papers[73] he was being asked to act as presidente honorario of some juvenile circles.[74] In 1913 he was first noted as a member of the nationwide Carlist executive, Junta Nacional, which he entered by virtue of his Cortes mandate.[75] However, in 1914 Mazarrasa's term in the Congress expired. Also in 1914 he launched his candidature for the Senate, but failed.[76]

Mellista (1915–1923)

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De Mella speaking, 1910s

In the 1910s Carlism was increasingly paralyzed by a conflict between the claimant Don Jaime and the key party theorist, Juan Vázquez de Mella. The latter favored a grand ultra-right coalition with dynastic questions de-emphasized and pro-German stand during the Great War; the former prioritized his own claim over would-be political alliances and sympathized with the Entente. Mazarrasa was not among protagonists of the strife; a monographic study on the emergent Mellismo mentions his name only once.[77] He appeared to have been on at least correct terms with the party leadership, as in 1917 he was reported as Traditionalist jefe provincial[78] in his native Santander.[79] However, he did not adopt a rigid, Carlist dynastic stand; when in 1918 Alfonso XIII toured Cantabria and visited industrial installations of Altos Hornos de Nueva Montaña, Mazarrasa effusively welcomed him on site.[80]

In early 1919 the conflict between Don Jaime and de Mella erupted into open confrontation; the Mellistas left to form their own organisation. Mazarrasa remained in the back row, but eventually he decided to support the rebels and to abandon the loyalty to his king. During general elections in June 1919 he represented the emerging Mellista structures when running for the senate, again from the province of Alava. Though he attracted some criticism as a cuckoo candidate unrelated to Vascongadas,[81] back-stage haggling proved effective and Mazarrasa emerged victorious.[82] In the upper chamber he formed a tiny, 2-member Mellista minority.[83] His activity was marginal; the senate archives record only few of his amendments, usually related to discussion on the budget of Ministerio de Fomento.[84] In 1920 the Senate term came to the end and there is nothing known about Mazarrasa's attempts to get his ticket renewed.

Nueva Montaña facilities
Nueva Montaña facilities

The Mellista party did not materialize and in the early 1920s the movement bogged down in stagnation, fragmentation and disillusionment. Politically Mazarrasa remained on the sidelines and is not listed as taking part in a chaotic sequence of meetings and conferences.[85] At the time he was above all an industrial and financial Cantabrian tycoon; the list of his properties and sources of income, prepared by the notary, contains 77 pages.[86] The key items are his shares in Minas Mazarrasa and Nueva Montaña, though the lead and zinc ore deposits were getting depleted and the mining enterprises were operating on the verge of profitability.[87] However, the family business was diversified and covered also Banco Mercantil, Nueva Argentífera, Sociedad Minas del Carmen, Compañía Azufrera de Hellín y Moratalla and many other;[88] Mazarrasa owned even land on the Fernando Poó island[89] in Spanish Guinea.[90]

Governor and manager (1924–1940)

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Mazarrasa (front row, white beard) as civil governor, 1927

The 1923 coup of Miguel Primo de Rivera brought political life in the country to a standstill. Most Mellistas at least initially welcomed the new regime, though none of the sources consulted provides information on position adopted by Mazarrasa personally. He was probably highly sympathetic, as in late 1924 the military directorio appointed him gobernador civil of the Segovia province.[91] His term lasted almost 3 years and was not marked by any specific features; both the press and official documents from the mid-1920s dwell mostly on typical administrative work and remain singularly uninformative as to the substance of his term, except engagement in Unión Patriótica and presence at official propaganda rallies.[92] In mid-1927 it was officially declared that Mazarrasa had resigned from the post and that his resignation had been accepted.[93]

In the spring of 1928 Mazarrasa was involved in Monte de Piedad y Caja de Ahorros de Madrid, a traditional financial institution operating as charity pawnbroker and savings bank, at that time largely controlled by state and municipal authorities. Upon death of its manager, Conde de Sepúlveda, and in line with the routine, the board proposed 3 candidates for the position of director-gerente.[94] Mazarrasa was one of them and it was eventually him nominated by the royal decree.[95] He moved to Madrid and assumed the role corresponding to this of CEO; he would remain at the helm of Monte for the following 8 years. The fall of dictatorship and emergence of the republic did not affect his professional position, even though he was already in the retirement age.[96] Mazarrasa managed the institution and represented it in court; by present-day scholars his tenure is viewed as fairly successful.[97] It lasted until September 1936; in revolutionary Madrid the syndicates commenced purge of officials considered potentially disloyal. He was dismissed[98] and replaced by the secretary of Monte.[99]

Monte de Piedad HQ, Madrid

As a former Carlist, high dictadura official, business mogul, member of social establishment and known right-winger Mazarrasa was detained by revolutionary militias along with his son, who was later executed.[100] In unclear circumstances he left prison and managed to take refuge in the Mexican embassy, where he lived until the end of the war.[101] In 1939 he lived to see the Nationalist troops entering the city. Already in early April 1939 he was re-appointed director of Monte de Piedad,[102] but his tenure lasted merely a year; in April 1940 he retired.[103] Later that year and in his mid-70s he was fit enough to take part in a public event, related to resumption of Monte de Piedad activities; he was hailed as ex-director.[104] There is no information on his public engagements after the date, and he passed away the following year.

See also

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Footnotes

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  1. ^ José de Mazarrasa y Cobo de la Torre, [in:] Real Academia de Historia service, available here
  2. ^ Olav Mazarrasa Mowinckel, Fernando Fernández Herrero, Mazarrasa. Maestros canteros y arquitectos de Trasmiera, Santander 1988, ISBN 9788486238179
  3. ^ Juan Manuel de Mazarrasa y Mazarrasa, [in:] Geni genealogical service, available here
  4. ^ Fermín de Sojo y Lomba, Biografía del Mariscal Mazarrasa, [in:] El Mariscal Mazarrasa, Santander 1973, p. 32
  5. ^ Felipe de Mazarrasa Cobo de la Torre, [in:] Geni genealogical service, available here
  6. ^ Boletín de Comercio 13.10.75, available here
  7. ^ Juan Manuel de Mazarrasa Jorganes, [in:] Geni genealogical service, available here
  8. ^ Sojo 1973, p. 114
  9. ^ José Luis Pérez, José Antonio Gutiérrez Sebares Historiador y autor de El metal de las cumbres. Historia de una sociedad minera en los Picos de Europa (1856-1940) «La minería en Picos fue rentable hasta el fin de la I Guerra Mundial», [in:] El Diario Montañes 20.05.07, available here
  10. ^ Josefa Quintanilla López-Galmares, [in:] Geni genealogical service, available here
  11. ^ Mazarrasa’s maternal grandfather was Zoilo Quintanilla Mazo, the native of Tamanes (Salamanca procince); his wife Páz López Galmares, i.e. Mazarrasa’s maternal grandmother, originated from San Luis de Potosi in Mexico, see Mazarrasa Quintanillo, Antonio. Partida de Bautismo, [in:] Senado official service, available here
  12. ^ the siblings were Antonio María Andres (1864), José María (1867), Agustín (1868), Juan Manuel (1878), Carlos, Isabel, Trinidad, Paz, Zorita and María del Carmen, Josefa Quintanilla López-Galmares, [in:] Geni genealogical service, available here
  13. ^ El Imparcial 06.10.83, available here
  14. ^ Sara del Hoyo Maza, De la harina al acero. José María Quijano y las Forjas de Buelna (Cantabria, 1873-1914), Santander 2021, ISBN 9788417888442, p. 118
  15. ^ El Correo de Cantabria 01.07.87, available here
  16. ^ Del Hoyo Maza 2021, p. 118
  17. ^ La Correspondencia de España 28.10.02, available here
  18. ^ G2 María de la Concepción Fernández de Henestrosa Tacón, [in:] Geni genealogical service, available here
  19. ^ José María (birth year unclear) died in 1917, José María de Mazarrasa Fernández, [in:] Geni genealogical service, available here
  20. ^ Agustín was shot in Bilbao on September 9, 1936, Movimiento Nobiliario 1931-1940, p. 110, available here
  21. ^ Mazarrasa entry, [in:] BDFutbol service, available here
  22. ^ José Ignacio Corcuera, Futbolistas nacionales fallecidos en la Guerra Civil, [in:] Cuadernos de Futból 103 (2018)
  23. ^ Javier de Mazarrasa Coll, [in:] Casa del Libro service, available here
  24. ^ Gonzalo Mazarrasa Martin, [in:] Geni genealogical service, available here
  25. ^ see e.g. at TodosTuLibros service, available here
  26. ^ see Felipe de Mazarrasa y Mazarrasa, [in:] Geni genealogical service, available here
  27. ^ José de Mazarrasa y Cobo de la Torre, [in:] Real Academia de Historia service, available here
  28. ^ Sojo 1973, p. 345
  29. ^ Del Hoyo Maza 2021, p. 118
  30. ^ El Imparcial 06.10.83, available here
  31. ^ El Aviso 03.07.86, available here
  32. ^ El Atlántico 24.03.88, available here
  33. ^ Mazarrasa was member of comisión de ciencias, literatura y bellas artes, El Atlántico 28.03.88, available here
  34. ^ El Correo Español 26.12.92, available here
  35. ^ e.g. in 1893 he welcomed Narcís Oller in Santander, Jordina Gort Oliver, Viatges i literatura en Narcís Oller, [in:] Quaderns de Vilaniu 59 (2011), p. 41
  36. ^ El Atlántico 15.08.89, available here
  37. ^ El Atlántico 15.08.89, available here
  38. ^ El Aviso 16.11.93, available here
  39. ^ El Correo Español 27.02.94, available here
  40. ^ El Correo de Cantabria 31.08.94, available here
  41. ^ La Atalaya 04.01.94, available here
  42. ^ 1895 in Circulo de Recreo, El Atlantico 27.03.95, available here
  43. ^ Revista Ilustrada de Banca 1898, available here
  44. ^ El Atlantico 27.03.95, available here
  45. ^ El Cantábrico 02.01.02, available here
  46. ^ for 1890 see El Atlántico 02.05.90, available here
  47. ^ El Atlántico 10.02.95, available here
  48. ^ Antonio Gomar, El arte en las minas, [in:] Amalgama 6 (2012), pp. 4-5
  49. ^ Revista Ilustrada de Banca 1898, available here
  50. ^ Revista Ilustrada de Banca 1900, available here
  51. ^ El Cantábrico 25.05.01, available here
  52. ^ see Agustín Fernández Escudero, El marqués de Cerralbo (1845-1922): biografía politica [PhD thesis Complutense], Madrid 2012
  53. ^ El Atlántico 23.01.93, available here
  54. ^ La Atalaya 28.08.97, available here
  55. ^ La Epoca 28.04.03, available here
  56. ^ Javier Real Cuesta, El Carlismo Vasco 1876–1900, Madrid 1985, ISBN 8432305103, pp. 193, 206
  57. ^ for his 1903 mandate see Mazarrasa y Quintanilla, Antonio, [in:] Cortes official service, available here
  58. ^ La Atalaya 16.06.03, available here
  59. ^ La Atalaya 16.03.04, available here
  60. ^ La Atalaya 16.03.04, available here
  61. ^ Antonio Rivera, Historia de Álava, San Sebastián 2003, ISBN 9788489569959, p. 419
  62. ^ El Cantábrico 12.08.05, available here; he entered Comisión de Hacienda, see El Correo de Cantabria 18.08.05, available here
  63. ^ Rivera 2003, p. 419
  64. ^ El Pais 06.05.07, available here, Heraldo Alaves 03.05.07, available here
  65. ^ for his 1910 mandate see Mazarrasa y Quintanilla, Antonio, [in:] official Cortes service, available here
  66. ^ La Defensa 02.07.11, available here
  67. ^ Heraldo Alaves 19.06.11, available here
  68. ^ El Norte 07.04.12, available here
  69. ^ La Tradición 04.01.13, available here
  70. ^ El Correo Español 08.07.10, available here
  71. ^ El Correo Español 29.09.11, available here
  72. ^ Heraldo Alaves 18.09.13, available here
  73. ^ Ideal numantino 26.12.10, available here
  74. ^ Heraldo Alaves 22.01.12, available here
  75. ^ Diario de Valencia 31.01.13, available here
  76. ^ La Vanguardia 25.02.14, available here
  77. ^ see Juan Ramón de Andrés Martín, El cisma mellista. Historia de una ambición política, Madrid 2000, ISBN 9788487863820
  78. ^ El Pueblo Cantabro 11.06.17, available here
  79. ^ Del Hoyo Maza 2021, p. 118
  80. ^ La Atalaya 22.08.18, available here
  81. ^ El Cantábrico 06.06.19, available here
  82. ^ La Correspondencia de España 15.06.19, available here
  83. ^ another Mellista senator was Ampuero from Gipuzkoa, Andrés Martín 2000, p. 175
  84. ^ Mazarrasa Quintanilla, Antonio, [in:] official Senado service, available here
  85. ^ see Andrés Martín 2000
  86. ^ see Certificación del Registro de la Propiedad de Santoña. Mazarrasa Quintanilla, Antonio, Expediente Personal, [in:] official Senado service, available here
  87. ^ in 1923 zinc ore production was only 8 metric tonnes, Reigart Meredith Santmyers, The Lead Industry: Europa, Asia, and Africa, Washington 1925, p. 28
  88. ^ Del Hoyo Maza p. 118
  89. ^ already in 1908 Mazarrasa entered the board of a company exploiting the African deposits, Madrid Cientifico 601 (1908), available here
  90. ^ Certificación del Registro de la Propiedad de Santoña. Mazarrasa Quintanilla, Antonio, Expediente Personal, [in:] official Senado service, available here
  91. ^ Diario de Marina 13.10.24, available here
  92. ^ El Debate 12.12.24, available here
  93. ^ El Debate 30.08.27, available here
  94. ^ El Progreso 28.04.28, available here
  95. ^ La Nacion 27.04.28, available here
  96. ^ Mazarrasa served continuously in 1928-1936, Manfred Pohl, Handbook on the History of European Banks, London 1994, ISBN 9781781954218, p. 951
  97. ^ compare Manuel Titós Martínez, Historia de la Caja de Ahorros y Monte de Piedad de Madrid, Madrid 2002, ISBN 8489471274
  98. ^ El Liberal 13.09.36, available here
  99. ^ Pablo Martín Aceña, La economía de la guerra civil, Madrid 2006, ISBN 9788496467330, p. 424
  100. ^ José Ignacio Corcuera, Futbolistas nacionales fallecidos en la Guerra Civil, [in:] Cuadernos de Futból 103 (2018)
  101. ^ the corpse of son Antonio has never been found. The third of the male children, Agustín, was killed in Bilbao and buried in the Derio cemetery, Gogora Civil Registry Bilbao section no. 1, no. 631/1936
  102. ^ Hoja Oficial de Lunes 10.04.39, available here
  103. ^ Hoja Oficial de Lunes 29.04.40, available here
  104. ^ Hoja Oficial de Lunes 28.10.40, available here
Mazarrasa family residence, Villaverde de Pontones

Further reading

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  • José Antonio Gutiérrez Sebares, El metal de las cumbres: historia de una sociedad minera en los Picos de Europa (1856–1940), Santander 2007, ISBN 9788493567019
  • Manuel Titós Martínez, Historia de la Caja de Ahorros y Monte de Piedad de Madrid, Madrid 2002, ISBN 8489471274
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