Luis Lezama Leguizamón Sagarminaga

Luis Dionisio de Lezama Leguizamón y Sagarminaga (1865-1933) was a Spanish entrepreneur, Vascologist and politician. As a businessman he kept developing the family-owned mining conglomerate, which controlled part or iron ore, carbon, fluorite, anhydrite and plaster exploitation in Vascongadas and Asturias. As a linguist he was a longtime executive of Sociedad de Estudios Vascos, owned one of the largest collections of Basque literature and contributed few scientific works himself. As a politician he supported the Traditionalist cause, first as a Carlist, in 1919-1931 as a breakaway Mellista, and then again as a Carlist; in the early 1930s he held the provincial party jefatura in Biscay.

Luis Lezama Leguizamón Sagarminaga
Born1865
Bilbao, Spain
Died1933
San Sebastian, Spain
NationalitySpanish
Occupationbusinessman
Known forbusiness, politics
Political partyCarlism

Family and youth
Etxebarri, the Leguizamon ancestral home (present view)

The Lezama family is among the oldest in Vascongadas, traced back to the 12th century; one branch settled in Biscay.[1] Some of its representatives rose to high posts in Madrid;[2] the Biscay branch, apart from having been among largest landholders in the region, specialized as merchants and were army suppliers.[3] The great-grandfather of Luis, Juan Antonio de Lezama Jugo, was the first one to call himself Lezama Leguizamón; the surname incorporated the name of a related distinguished branch,[4] which was about to extinguish.[5] The grandfather of Luis, Gregorio Lezama Leguizamón Eguia (1781-1857), was the one who transformed the family into business tycoons. Though one of the largest terratenientes in Biscay,[6] he turned major protagonist of industrial revolution in the province. Initially owner of an ironworks mill,[7] he engaged in industrial-scale iron mining, made possible thanks to introduction of Bessemer converters and the richest vein of iron ore in Europe, located in Biscay. In the mid-19th century he obtained a number of mining concessions and in the 1850s formed an emergent new social class of industrial moguls.[8]

The youngest son of Gregorio, Manuel Lezama Leguizamón Aldama (1817[9]-1884[10]), inherited part of the family business and developed it further on. He kept obtaining new mining concessions,[11] counted among “destacados miembros de las élites bilbaína” and owned one of the most successful industrial conglomerates in Biscay. He married María Concepción Sagarminaga Zabala, descendant to a less affluent, but prestigious Basque family.[12] The couple had 2 sons,[13] Luis born as the younger one.[14] Nothing is known about his early education; later he was prepared to take over the family business and at unspecified time, though most likely in the late 1880s, he studied engineering in Barcelona.[15] Following the death of their father, Manuel and Luis set up Hijos de Lezama Leguizamón company, which owned the family business;[16] Luis inherited also 13 ha between Begoña and Etxebarri, plus 7 ha in Gipuzkoa.[17]

Palacio Lezama-Leguizamon, Getxo

In 1894 Luis married Felicia Zuazola Escuza (1875-1958),[18] descendant to a noble Gipuzkoan family.[19] The couple settled at the Lezama estate in Etxebarri, but in the early 20th century Luis purchased from his cousin a residential building in Getxo, later re-modeled and to be known as Palacio Lezama Leguizamón. The couple had 7 children, born between 1898 and 1906; 4 sons[20] and 3 daughters.[21] The oldest son, Luis Lezama Leguizamón Zuazola, was the provincial Carlist leader in the mid-1930s;[22] he died of typhus[23] when fighting as requeté during the Civil War;[24] neither José survived the conflict.[25] Manuel also served as requeté[26] and in the Francoist Spain he emerged as head of the family business conglomerate;[27] Fernando was involved in Carlism until the 1960s.[28] Most of Luis’ grandchildren landed corporate managerial positions, but did not grow to nationwide prominence;[29] the exceptions are Pedro Muruá Lezama-Leguizamón (field-hockey bronze Olympics medalist in 1960)[30] and Ramón Vargas Lezama-Leguizamón (a painter).[31] Among other Luis’ relatives, his older brother Manuel was deputy mayor of Bilbao in the 1890s,[32] provincial deputy in 1907-1911 and a Carlist senator in 1921–1923.[33]

Entrepreneur
opencase iron ore mine, Biscay

With his brother Manuel, Luis was co-owner of Hijos de Lezama Leguizamón-Negocios de Minería, the company which owned the inherited business; it consisted of opencast iron ore mines in Etxebarri[34] and Ollargan.[35] Until the late 1890s the Lezamas were granted 5 more mining licenses[36] and ranked as 6th most successful concessionaires in Biscay.[37] At the turn of the centuries they attempted to restructure their mining portfolio; in 1895 the brothers sold Sociedad Coto Minero de Ollargan[38] and in the early 1900s they received first anthracite mining concessions in Asturias.[39] Apart from new licenses in Biscay,[40] in the 1910s the Lezamas obtained further concessions in Asturias;[41] along coal they covered also exploitation of fluorites,[42] plaster and anhydrite deposits.[43]

One time or another the Lezamas operated some 15 mines in Biscay[44] and Asturias;[45] the jewel in the crown was "Abandonada",[46] an iron ore opencast pit in Miribilla.[47] Some mines were equipped with transportation systems or washeries which provided services to competitive companies;[48] part of their infrastructure was so advanced that it gained scientific articles.[49] It is estimated that the Lezama conglomerate accounted for some 5-6% of the Biscay iron ore production, and even during the wartime crisis it produced some 110-122 thousand tons.[50] In the 1920s, when the Biscay mining was undergoing transformation[51] and family-held companies were being replaced with bank ownership,[52] the Lezamas held firm. For decades engaged in lawsuits against municipal authorities[53] and subject to legal investigation as far as in Britain,[54] during the Primo dictatorship they enjoyed favorable treatment.[55]

Lezama engaged in numerous other initiatives, mostly related to his mining business. In the 1890s he was among stakeholders of La Robla, a new railway line which linked Bilbao with León and Palencia; both regions provided coal, needed for the Biscay iron industry.[56] In the 1910s he was involved in engineering projects related to regulation of the Nervion, vital for iron ore transportation and exploitation.[57] In the early 20th century the Lezamas engaged financially in Banco de Bilbao; for decades Luis held a seat in its executive[58] and in the late 1920s he was its rotating president;[59] he stepped down from Consejo de Administración in the early 1930s.[60] The Lezamas invested also in construction works in Canada,[61] film-making industry in America[62] and in photo business in Catalonia.[63]

Ollargan mine, 1890s

The Lezama Leguizamóns are not counted among the very top elite of Biscay industrial tycoons,[64] formed by the Ybarra, Martínez Rivas, Chávarri, Sota and Echevarrieta families;[65] however, they are listed as members of the emergent Basque oligarchy;[66] their name repeatedly comes up in history of Biscay industrialization[67] and their companies are listed among the most important ones in Bilbao in the first decades of the 20th century.[68] Their wealth and position was demonstrated by two buildings: Casa Lezama-Leguizamón in the downtown Bilbao, home to numerous corporate and other institutions,[69] and Palacio Lezama-Leguizamón, the family residential estate in Getxo. Both are considered iconic examples of Biscay architecture, made possible by fortunes of the new industrial and financial oligarchy.[70]

Vascologist
SEV being founded, 1918

Lezama cherished his ethnic heritage and strove to promote the Basque culture. As a wealthy businessman he was best positioned to contribute organization wise. In 1916 he engaged in Euskal Esnalea, an association set up to study Basque language; he took part in its labors and co-organized a grand “Homenaje al idioma vasco”, hailed among “conocidos cultivadores del euskera”.[71] In the late 1910s he contributed to emergence of Sociedad de Estudios Vascos and took part in its “Subcomisión de autonomía de Vizcaya”, entrusted with drafting an autonomy scheme.[72] In 1920-1922 he represented the province of Biscay in Junta Permanente of SEV;[73] from 1923 until death he again was member of the SEV executive;[74] he represented the Traditionalist outlook.[75] Periodically Lezama headed Sección de Historia[76] and Sección de Literatura of the Society;[77] in the early 1920s he was delegated to Junta de Cultura de la Diputación de Vizcaya.[78] In 1927-1928 he entered the SEV committee which was to prepare the most ambitious undertaking so far, an exposition on the 19th-century civil wars in Vascongadas. As the project was flavored with Carlist undertones, eventually the interior ministry effectively prohibited the exposition.[79]

Informe acerca de ... "Crónica de Ibargüen"... (1921)

Lezama's scientific contribution to vascólogia is minor. His key work[80] is Informe acerca de la obra manuscrita conocida con el nombre de "Crónica de Ibargüen" (1921), a 47-page commentary[81] on a 16th-century chronicle, just purchased by the Biscay diputación;[82] it covered bibliographic, geographical, heraldic, archeological and linguistic issues.[83] Other attempts are largely bibliographical and partially biographical pieces published in Revista Internacional de los Estudios Vascos in the 1920s;[84] one of them, El Vascófilo Franciscano R. P. Fr. Juan Mateo de Zabala, was dedicated to an early vascólogist and brother of his maternal grandmother.[85] Despite rather modest output, at least compared to scientific writings of other SEV leaders like Julio Urquijo, Luis Eleizalde or Resurección Azkue, in friendly press Lezama was hailed as “vascofilo ilustrísimo”.[86]

Potentially most significant, but ultimately futile and tragic Lezama's efforts to protect the Basque heritage were related to his bibliophile passion. He inherited a collection of manuscripts and old prints from his maternal relative, Zabala; another portion of historical texts was taken over from the family of his wife, the Zuazolas. Lezama multiplied the treasure; for decades he kept searching private, parochial and conventual archives and spent personal fortune on purchases. In the early 1920s his library was considered “mas copiosa y mas importante de las bibliotecas vascongadas”,[87] and himself he was dubbed “doctísimo bibliofilo”.[88] The collection, estimated to be one of the largest in Spain, occupied entire wing of Lezama's palace in Getxo;[89] apart from Basque-related treasures[90] it included also non-Basque documents related to Spanish history.[91] In total, the collection amounted to 45,000 volumes; the owner admitted access to scholars and shared some documents with various institutions.[92] Almost entire library was lost during the fire of December 1937, caused by malfunction of the heating system.[93]

Man of culture
Lezama (1fR) during construction of San Esteban church in Etxebarri

Apart from his vascólogist endeavors, Lezama was engaged in numerous other cultural initiatives, most strongly flavored with zealous Catholicism. The most lasting one was La Gaceta del Norte, the Bilbao daily launched in 1901. It was part of the Catholic counter-offensive against the rising secularization tide and adhered to the “unity of all Catholics” platform, at the time advocated by the hierarchy; it mounted “oposición a ultranza” versus the liberal policy of Canalejas government, especially against the Ley de Asociaciones.[94] Lezama co-founded the daily and provided own financial contribution;[95] similarly, in 1904 he engaged in somewhat broader media initiative, setup of a Bilbao publishing house, Editorial Vizcaina; he served as its vice-president.[96] At least until the late 1910s the Lezama brothers were key owners of La Gaceta;[97] Luis remained in executive of the company and died as Presidente del Consejo de Administración of the daily.[98]

In the early 20th century Lezama was active in numerous other religion-related initiatives.[99] In 1905-1906 he served as treasurer in Junta Directiva which organized diocesan pilgrimages to Rome and Palestine.[100] In the late 1900s he was active in Junta de Defensa Católica de Vizcaya, a non-party association bent on confronting secular initiatives in the province.[101] He set up and financially contributed to a foundation which supported schools in Etxebarri; the Lezamas donated money for construction of new churches in the same district. For years Luis acted as secretary of Junta del Santo Hospital Civil de Bilbao. His charity donations went also beyond the religious format: in the early 1920s he offered assistance to wounded soldiers, recovering from the Moroccan campaign,[102] and made donations to offer accommodation to the deposed Austrian empress and Hungarian queen Zita, who was seeking exile in Bilbao.[103]

Casa Lezama-Leguizamón, Bilbao

Lezama was a devoted music lover, active in Sociedad Filarmónica de Bilbao; in 1904 he rose to vice-president of the organisation.[104] As he contributed financially, in 1909 the Sociedad organized him a homage concerto; its program included the first public performance of Así cantan los chicos, the first major work of Jesús Guridi.[105] In 1926-1933 he served as president of Sociedad.[106] His bibliophile collection included treasuries of musical history; in case of some, he donated them, e.g. in 1927 he presented a manuscript of Boccherini, consisting of separate vocal and instrumental parts of Stabat Mater, to his native Comune di Lucca.[107] Until his late years Lezama used to take part in musical events, e.g. in 1928 he participated in Congreso Nacional de la Música Sagrada[108] and upon death was acknowledged as “músico eminente”.[109] During a few strings in Casa Lezama-Leguizamón at the Bilbao Gran Vía he hosted cultural institutions related and unrelated to music, like Teatro de la Cámara Amarilla and Teatro del Submarino.[110]

Traditionalist
Don Jaime and the families of Manuel and Luis Lezama Leguizamón, 1913

As Lezama's paternal grandfather was a militant Liberal[111] who vehemently opposed the Carlists,[112] and Lezama's father did not engage in politics,[113] it is unclear how Luis and Manuel got involved in the movement.[114] Hagiographic obituaries claimed Luis had been “attracted to Traditionalism in his youth”,[115] but there is no confirmation of access until 1892, when the brothers visited Carlos VII in Venice.[116] There is sporadic evidence of Lezama's Carlist engagements during the following few decades. In 1903 Luis hosted the Carlist theorist Vázquez de Mella in Bilbao;[117] later he mixed with Carlists in Catholic organizations.[118] In 1907 he accompanied Don Jaime in Spain;[119] in 1909 together with de Mella they attended the funeral Carlos VII.[120] In the 1910s Lezama was moderately engaged in party propaganda; in 1911 he took part in a banquette to honor Traditionalist deputies,[121] in 1913 both brothers travelled to Paris to pay homage to Don Jaime,[122] and in few cases he appeared on closed-doors Jaimista feasts, e.g. in 1917 in Azcoitia with infanta Beatriz.[123] At the time Luis remained in the shadow of his brother, who headed the Jaimist organisation in Biscay.[124]

During the maturing disagreement between de Mella and Don Jaime both Lezama brothers sided with the former and supported the promellista concept of broader alliances.[125] When the conflict erupted in the climax of 1919, the Lezamas joined the rebel Mellistas;[126] though they counted among their most eminent personalities,[127] in Biscay the dissenters were led by José Joaquín Ampuero and Ignacio Gardeazábal.[128] In the early 1920s Luis and Manuel supported the Mellistas in their struggle to set up a separate organisation; in 1922 Luis covered huge part of massive debt, accumulated by the Mellista daily El Pensamiento Español.[129] The party failed to materialize before the Primo coup. In 1924 both brothers[130] co-signed a manifesto, which pledged support to the dictator; though they declared that no Traditionalist could accept the 1876 constitution as basis for further action, they nevertheless recommended entering Union Patriótica.[131] However, there is little evidence of Luis’ active engagement in primoderiverista structures; the exception is his membership in the 1928 homage committee to Marqués de Estella.[132]

Carlist standard

Following the fall of the monarchy Lezama, at the time together with Ampuero already the patriarch of Biscay Traditionalism, was strongly leaning towards some rapprochement with the Jaimistas, especially prior to the 1931 elections.[133] Lezama's return to orthodox Carlism was sealed by his presence at the funeral of Don Jaime in Paris and his leading of local funeral ceremonies in Biscay;[134] the hardly active Bilbao Mellista structures joined Comunión Tradicionalista in corpore.[135] In the united organisation in 1932 Lezama was nominated the party provincial Biscay leader[136] and later represented the provincial party organization in the nationwide executive.[137] The same year he entered the Carlist junta which inspected the draft of vasco-navarrese autonomous statute; the body eventually refrained from issuing firm recommendations.[138] Few months before death Lezama, who has barely been noted on massive rallies, co-presided over a grand Carlist political gathering in Bilbao.[139]

See also

Footnotes
  1. the Lezamas originated from Alava; one branch moved to Biscay in the Middle Ages, Juan José González, Bandera de la Anteiglesia de Lezama, Bilbao 2008, p. 8, available here
  2. like alcalde de Madrid or members of Consejo de Castilla (noth 17th century), Cesar Estornes, Los Lezama. Primera parte, [in:] Blog de Historia y Deportes 28.10.19, available here
  3. Estornes 2019
  4. the Leguizamón lineage was related to Etxebarri, currently a suburb of Bilbao, where they owned an iconic mansion, see Palacio Legizamon entry, [in:] Etxebarri municipal service, available here. The Leguizamons have been known especially for their role in conquest of America, see Cesar Estornes, Los Leguizamón el linaje más antiguo. Segunda parte, [in:] Blog de Historia y Deportes 30.09.19, available here l
  5. opinion of Guillermo Leguizamón Mayol at Esme, Mansiones de Getxo, [in:] Conoce Bilbao con Esme blog 17.07.15, available here
  6. Joseba Agirreazkuenaga, Vizcaya en el siglo XIX: las finanzas publicas de un estado emergente, Lejona 1989, ISBN 9788475851020, p. 34
  7. so-called Molino Zubiondo, locatated at the left bank of the Nervion in Etxebarri, the mill was originally the property of the Leguizamón family. It passed to the Lezamas when the families merged, some time prior to the mid-18th century, Molino Zubiondo entry, [in:] Etxebarri municipal service, available here
  8. Agirreazkuenaga 1989, p. 308
  9. Antonio Castejón, Los Lezama, [in:] Euskalnet service, available here
  10. La Correspondencia de España 19.05.84, available here
  11. the first note on Lezama Leguizamón Aldama obtaining new licenses comes from the 1860s, when he was concessioned to exploit the Nuestra Señora de Begoña mine, Sentencias del Tribunal supremo de justicia: año de 18, vol. 3, Madrid 1884, p. 346. The last note is from the early 1880s, when he got a concession to exploit the Acebal mine near Baracaldo, La Ilustración Cantábrica 08.08.92, available here
  12. she was daughter to the sister of Juan Mateo de Zabala Zabala, who in turn married Juan Manuel de Sagarminaga, Luis de Lazama Leguizamón, El Vascófilo Franciscano R. P. Fr. Juan Mateo de Zabala, [in:] Revista Internacional de los Estudios Vascos 15 (1924), p. 340
  13. Manuel and Luis at times get confused in historiography, see e.g. José Luis de la Granja Sainz, Nacionalismo y II República en el País Vasco, Madrid 2009, ISBN 9788432315138, p. 428
  14. Antonio Castejón, Los Lezama, [in:] Euskalnet service, available here l
  15. Idoia Estornés Zubizarreta, La Sociedad de Estudios Vascos, Donostia 1983, ISBN 848624000X, p. 68, Idoia Estornés Zubizarreta, La contrucción de una nacionalidad vasca. El Autonomismo de Eusko-Ikaskuntza (1918-1931) [extraordinary issue # 14 of Vasconia: Cuadernos de historia – geografía], Donostia 1990, p. 282
  16. the company Hijos de Lezama Leguizamón was active at least since 1895, Juan Peris Torner, Ferrocaril minero de Ollargan a Echevarri, [in:] Ferrocariles de España service, 07.05.12, available here
  17. Luisa Utanda Moreno, Francisco Feo Parrondo, Propiedad rústica en Vizcaya, [in:] Lurralde 19 (1996), available here
  18. full name Felicia María Eloísa Rafaela Zuazola Escuza, Antonio Castejón, Los Lezama, [in:] Euskalnet service, available here
  19. the Zuazolas were based in the county of from Azpeitia. Felisa was daughter to Pedro José Aniceto Zuazola Gazteluzar, Felisa Zuazola Escuza entry, [in:] Geneanet service, available here
  20. Luis (1901-1937), José Fernando (1902-?), José (1906-1936) and Manuel (1907-1987), Antonio Castejón, Los Lezama, [in:] Euskalnet service, available here
  21. Maria (1898-1901), Pilar (1905-?), Dolores (1910-?), Heraldo Alaves 13.11.01, available here, Antonio Castejón, Los Lezama, [in:] Euskalnet service, available here
  22. Julio Aróstegui, Combatientes Requetés en la Guerra Civil española, 1936-1939, Madrid 2013, ISBN 9788499709758, p. 498
  23. Pablo Larraz Andía, Víctor Sierra-Sesumaga, Requetés: de las trincheras al olvido, Madrid 2011, ISBN 9788499700465, p. 917
  24. he was active in Carlist conspiracy of 1936, following the failed coup of July 1936 he went into hiding, made it to France, and crossed back to Spain to the Nationalist zone, Carlos María Olazabal Estecha, Negociaciones del PNV con Franco durante la Guerra Civil, Donostia 2014, ISBN 9788494248023, p. 92. Initially he was in command layer of Tercio de la Virgen Blanca, but then moved to Tercio Ortiz de Zárate, Aróstegui 2013, p. 443; since the summer of 1937 he served in Tercio de Nuestra Señora de Begoña, Aróstegui 2013, p. 498; he died as captain, Aróstegui 2013, p. 506
  25. he died in 1936. Circumstances of his death are not clear. One source claims he was killed or murdered by the Republicans, Angel David Martín Rubio, Relación general de personas asesinadas por los rojo-separatistas, [in:] Desde mi campanario blog 25.07.09 [website blocked by Wikipedia]. According to Silvia Baleztena, seven members of the Lezama Leguizamon Zuazola family were "asesinados por los rojos", referred after Larraz, Sierra-Sesumaga 2011, p. 917
  26. Manuel served in 8. Compañía de Requeté de Alava, Aróstegui 2013, p. 797
  27. in the 1950s and 1960s the Lezama Leguizamon mines ranked 3rd among iron ore producers in Biscay, behind Orconera and Sociedad Franco-Belga; the annual output varied between 120,000 and 175,000 tons, Programa nacional de explotacion minera, Madrid 1971, p. 40
  28. mid-1950s Fernando was heading one group of Biscay Carlists tending towards collaboration with Franco, Mercedes Vázquez de Prada, El final de una ilusión. Auge y declive del tradicionalismo carlista (1957-1967), Madrid 2016, ISBN 9788416558407, pp. 50, 81. In 1961 he refused to offer to become the Biscay jefé senioral, Vázquez de Prada 2016, p. 129. In 1961 he presented a car to Don Carlos Hugo, the gift disguised as coming from the town of Durango, Vázquez de Prada 2016, p. 172. In 1962 Fernando hosted Don Carlos Hugo in his Neguri palace; the visit was intended to impress and enable Don Carlos Hugo to mix up with local high society, Javier Lavardín [José Antonio Parilla], Historia del ultimo pretendiente a la corona de España, Paris 1976, pp. 125-126. In 1966 Fernando was member of Consejo Asesor de la Jefatura Delegada, a grand 36-member body formed during a Huguista reform, Francisco Javier Caspistegui Gorasurreta, El naufragio de las ortodoxias : el carlismo, 1962-1977, Pamplona 1997, ISBN 9788431315641, p. 100. In 1967 the Huguista leader Zavala turned to him when in need of money, Vázquez de Prada 2016, p. 305
  29. Lezama’s grandchildren bore the surnames of Vargas Lezama-Leguizamón, Murua Lezama-Leguizamón, Lezama-Leguizamón Chalbaud, Lezama Leguizamón Dolagaray, Lezama Leguizamón Aranduy, Lezama Leguizamón Acha, Gil de Santibáñes de Lezama Leguizamón, Pérez de Lezama Leguizamón, Jaquotot de Lezama Leguizamón, and Malo de Molina de Lezama Leguizamón.
  30. Pedro Muruá Lezama-Leguizamón (1930-2019) was a regular member of the Spanish national field-hockey team in the early 1960s
  31. Vargas Lezama-Leguizamón, Ramón de entry, [in:] Auñamendi Eusko Entziklopedia online, available here. See also his private web page, available here
  32. Joseba Agirreazkuenaga, Mikel Urquijo (eds.), Bilbao desde sus alcaldes, vol. 3, Bilbao 2002, ISBN 9788488714145, p. 594
  33. Rafael Ruzafa Ortega, J. Antonio Pérez, Francisco Javier Montón Martínez, Santiago de la Hoz, Características y evolución de las elites en el País Vaco (1898-1923), [in:] Historia contemporánea 8 (1992), p. 134
  34. Hijos de Lezama Leguizamón operated at least one mine, named Carmen, in Etxebarri, Puente del ferrocarril minero de Gandarias, [in:] municipal service of Basauri, available here
  35. Juan Peris Torner, Ferrocaril minero de Ollargan a Echevarri, [in:] Ferrocariles de España servoce, 07.05.12, available here
  36. of the 5 concessions obtained 3 referret to the Bilbao area, 1 to Gueñes and 1 to Triano, Gabriel Ramallal, Las minas de hierro de Villaodrid: El fracaso de un proyecto extraordinario, Madrid 2020, ISBN 9788494817878, p. 95
  37. in the period of 1886-1898 the companies granted most concessions were: Ybarra hermanos (22), Chávarri hermanos (12), Luchana Mining (8), C.M. Ustara (7), J.C. Levisson (6), Lezama Leguizamon (5), and J. B. Cortes (5), Ramallal 2020, p. 95
  38. the sale price was 1m ptas, Juan Peris Torner, Ferrocaril minero de Ollargan a Echevarri, [in:] Ferrocariles de España service, 07.05.12, available here
  39. in 1903 the Lezamas requested (and obtained) concession for a mine named Demasía a Colunga in Asturias, in the Carrandi area, Boletín Oficial de la Provincia de Oviedo 10.10.03, available here
  40. Boletín Oficial de la Provincia de Oviedo 15.04.05, available here
  41. in 1915 the Lezamas were noted expoiting another mine, Encarnación, near Carrandi, Boletín Oficial de la Provincia de Oviedo 09.07.15, available here
  42. in the Ribadasella mine near Oviedo, Boletín Oficial de la Provincia de Oviedo 24.11.15, available here
  43. Boletín Oficial de la Provincia de Oviedo 24.01.16, available here
  44. "Santa Regina" (Gueñes y Alonsótegui, the mine of low productivity), "Abandonada" (in coto de Miribilla), "Diana" (equipped with complex transportation system), José Eugenio Villar, Beatriz Herreras Moratinos, Antonio Hernández Almaraz, La industria del agua en la CAV. Ingeniería y Patrimonio, Bilbao 2008, p. 170; "La Pobre", Villar, Herreras, Hernández 2008, p. 145; "Faja", Cesar Estornes, Los Lezama Leguizamon. Segunda parte, [in:] Historia y Deportes blog 14.11.19, available here, "Carmen", Puente del ferrocarril minero de Gandarias, [in:] municipal service of Basauri, available here. Mines named "Bienvenidas", "Segundo Esteban", "Lanillos" and "Regato" were located an unclear areas of Biscay, Cesar Estornes, Los Lezama Leguizamon. Segunda parte, [in:] Historia y Deportes blog 14.11.19, available here
  45. since 1903 the Lezanas operated "Demasía a Colunga mine", Boletín Oficial de la Provincia de Oviedo 10.10.03, available here; the last note of the mine having been exploited by Lezama comes from 1924, Boletín Oficial de la Provincia de Oviedo 28.04.24, available here; "Encarnación" was operated since 1915, Boletín Oficial de la Provincia de Oviedo 09.07.15, available here; "Ribadesella" also from 1915, Boletín Oficial de la Provincia de Oviedo 24.11.15, available here; "Felisa" from 1916, Boletín Oficial de la Provincia de Oviedo 24.01.16, available here
  46. Abandonada was one of the 2 largest iron ore mines in Biscay, Arturo Izarzelaia Izagirre, Los barrios altos de Bilbao, Bilbao 2001, ISBN 9788460736790, p. 88
  47. Villar, Herreras, Hernández 2008, p. 170
  48. e.g. the mine La Pobre was equipped with “instalaciones de lavado” which were made available to neighboring mines of Conchas, San Benito, La Berga, Despreciada, San Martín, Alhóndiga, Altura, San Bernabé and others, initially owned by Ibarra Hermanos y Cia, and later by Sociedad Franco-Belga, Villar, Herreras, Hernández 2008, p. 145
  49. J. Saiz de Omeñaca, I. Ereño, K. Atxabal & I. Azurmendi, Mitigation of adverse effects at the Lezama-Leguizamon abandoned open-pit mine (Bilbao, northern Spain), [in:] Environmental Geology 22 (1993), pp. 10-12
  50. Antonio Escudero, La mineria vizcaina durante la Primera Guerra Mundial, [in:] Revista de Historia Economica 4/2 (1986), p. 372
  51. one scholar claims that the history of Basque industrial oligarchy falls into 3 periods: “etapa de formación” (1872-1900), “etapa de consolidación’ (1900-1021), and “etapa de depuración” (1921-1936), Pablo Díaz Morlán, La evolución de la oligarquía vizcaína, 1872-1936. Un intento de intepretación y síntesis, [in:] Ekonomiaz: Revista vasca de economía 54 (2003), pp. 12-27
  52. Pedro Fernandez Diaz-Sarabia, Los fundadores del ferrocarril hullero de La Robla a Valmaseda S. A., [in:] Javier Vidal Olivares, Miguel Muñoz Rubio, Jesús Sanz Fernández (eds.), Siglo y medio del ferrocarril en España, 1848-1998: Economía, industria y sociedad, Madrid 1999, ISBN 8488675623, pp. 477-494
  53. see e.g. a 1909 lawsuit against Real Decreto which declared expropiación forzosa of grounds marked to become part of the Abandonada mine, Madrid Cientifico 619 (1909), available here. The Lezamas had many differences with the city councils of Bilbao and Getxo, Cesar Estornes, Los Lezama Leguizamon. Segunda parte, [in:] Historia y Deportes blog 14.11.19, available here
  54. in 1922 Luis Lezama was in Britain, interrogated by a parliamentary committee which investigated complaints related to British investment in the Biscay mining industry; the proceedings involved Stuart Bevan, Thomas Edward Scrutton and John Eldon Bankes, Lloyd’s List Law Reports vol. 13 (1922), pp. 101-102
  55. see e.g. the 1928 decision related to prolongation of Lezama’s mining concessions, La Voz de Asturias 25.03.28, available here. In the early 1930s until death Lezama was member of the newly created republican arbitrary board, Jurado Mixto de Minería de Vizcaya, Boletín Minero e Industrial 2/XIII (February 1934), p. 7
  56. Proyecto Ferrocarril La Robla, [in:] Cofradia del Putxera service, available here, El País 18.05.03, available here
  57. La Correspondencia de España 23.05.15, available here, La Actualidad Financiera 26.05.15, available here
  58. El Diario Palentino 25.05.27, available here
  59. Diario de Córdoba 20.01.29, available here
  60. Gaceta de Los Caminos de Hierro 20.07.30, available here
  61. in 1913 the Lezamas were in Consejo de Administracion of Sociedad Estudios y Obras de Ingeniería, a company engaged in works also in Canada, Madrid Cientifico 830 (1913), available here
  62. in the interwar period Lezama was engaged in distributioin of Spanish films in Latin America and held related discussions with RKO, also when visiting New York, El Adelanto 17.10.30, available here
  63. in 1929 Lezama entered Consejo de Administración of Photomatón in Barcelona, Hoja Oficial de la Provincia de Barcelona 18.02.29, available here
  64. Lezama was member of numerous corporative bodies, like Camara Minera de Vizcaya, Centro Industrial de Vizcaya and Liga Vizcaina de Productores, Boletín Minero e Industrial 2/XIII (1934), p. 7
  65. Díaz Morlán 2003, pp. 14-17
  66. El Correo 09.05.10, available here, Diego Muro, Ethnicity and Violence: The Case of Radical Basque Nationalism, London 2013, ISBN 9781134167692, p. 52
  67. Diaz-Sarabia 1999
  68. Cesar Estornes, Los Lezama Leguizamon. Segunda parte, [in:] Historia y Deportes blog 14.11.19, available here
  69. Estornes 2019
  70. apart from estates in downtown Bilbao and in Getxo, Lezama owned houses in Achuri, Ollerías, Guinea, Torre de Aguirre, Arcocha Becoa and Uruzulueta, all at the ouskirts of Bilbao, Estornes 2019
  71. Emilio Majuero, La idea de historia en Arturo Campión, Donostia 2011, ISBN 9788484192206, p. 110
  72. Estornés Zubizarreta 1990, p. 126
  73. in 1922 he was replaced by Ignacio G. de Careaga, Estornés Zubizarreta 1983, p. 45
  74. Estornés Zubizarreta 1983, p. 68; the same author in another work claims that Lezama was member of Junta Permanente in 1926-1936, Estornés Zubizarreta 1990, p. 282
  75. in SEV Lezama represented a broad “familia carlista”; other its representatives were Antonio Paguaga and Ricardo Oreja, Estornés Zubizarreta 1983, p. 60
  76. Estornés Zubizarreta 1990, pp. 282, 283
  77. Pensamiento Alaves 19.09.33, available here
  78. Estornés Zubizarreta 1983, pp. 40, 68
  79. Estornés Zubizarreta 1983, p. 131, Estornés Zubizarreta 1990, pp. 199-200
  80. he was reportedly assisted by Darío Areitio and Julio Urquijo, Cesar Estornes, Los Lezama Leguizamón. Segunda parte, [in:] Blog de Historia y Deportes 30.09.19, available here/
  81. for details and online copy see Academica – E.Navarra service, available here
  82. Bernhard Hurch, Maria Jose Kerejeta, Introducción, [in:] Hugo Schuchardt - Julio de Urquijo. Correspondencia (1906-1927), Donostia 1997, ISBN 848373009X, p. 259
  83. Boletín de la comisión de monumentos históricos y artisticos de Navarra 4/1921, available here
  84. Heraldo Alaves 09.07.27, available here
  85. Luis de Lezama Leguizamón, El Vascófilo Franciscano R. P. Fr. Juan Mateo de Zabala, available here
  86. La Libertad 20.08.21, available here
  87. Heraldo Alaves 10.11.23, available here
  88. Canto del Lelo entry, [in:] Aunamendi Eusko Entziklopedia online, available here
  89. Palacio Lezama-Leguizamón, [in:] Rutas autoguiadas por Getxo, available here
  90. e.g. the collection included República y governo de Vitoria (1585) by Diego de Salvatierra
  91. e.g. Cometorologia (1587) by Fray Juan de Victoria, or letters of Isabel the Catholic referring to Columbus, Pensamiento Alaves 21.12.37, available here. The collection contained also documents related to the broad realm of Hispanidad, e.g. papers of Manoel de Nobrega, the first Jesuit provincial of Brasil, La Civiltá Cattolica 85/1 (1934), p. 352
  92. Heraldo Alaves, 10.11.23, available here
  93. Pensamiento Alaves 21.12.37, available here
  94. José Luis Orella, La Gaceta del Norte, la espada laica de la Compañía de Jesús, [in:] Aportes 51/1 (2003) p. 56
  95. there were 7 co-founders of Gaceta, and each brought in 25,000 ptas, Orella 2003, p. 54
  96. Orella 2003, p. 54
  97. Cesar Estornes, Los Lezama Leguizamon. Segunda parte, [in:] Historia y Deportes blog 14.11.19, available here
  98. Las Provincias 16.08.33, available here
  99. some of them limited to private, e.g. in 1897 he acted as godfather to children of a Protestant Englishmen, who resided in Bilbao, La Lectura Dominical 02.05.97, available here
  100. La Defensa 06.05.05, available here, La Defensa 06.12.06, available here
  101. El Correo Español 04.12.06, available here
  102. Cesar Estornes, Los Lezama Leguizamón. Segunda parte, [in:] Blog de Historia y Deportes 30.09.19, available here
  103. La Correspondencia de España 07.05.23, available here
  104. La Epoca 03.02.04, available here
  105. Asler Vallejo Ugarte, Jesús Guridi o la luz del Norte, [in:] Scherzo 261 (2011), p. 113
  106. La Cruz 16.08.33, available here
  107. Rudolf Rasch, Understanding Boccherini's Manuscripts, Cambridge 2014, ISBN 9781443859202, p. 129
  108. Heraldo Alaves 24.10.28, available here
  109. Pensamiento Alaves 16.10.33, available here
  110. Cesar Estornes, Los Lezama Leguizamón. Segunda parte, [in:] Blog de Historia y Deportes 30.09.19, available here
  111. Gregorio Lezama Leguizamón Eguia moved from the early “exaltado” wing of the Liberals to a somewhat less radical “fuerista” faction later on
  112. he was alcalde segundo and then alcalde primero of Bilbao in the 1810s, Jefe Político of Biscay 1837-1839 and corregidor de Vizcaya in the late 1830s, Luis Ma de Zavala y Fernández de Heredia (ed.), La sociedad vasca del siglo XIX en la correspondencia del archivo de la casa de Zavala, Lasarte 2008, ISBN 9788496288706, p. 137
  113. the only public post identified, held by Manuel, was this of Consultor suplente del Señorío de Vizcaya in the early 1860s, Cesar Estornes, Los Lezama Leguizamón. Segunda parte, [in:] Blog de Historia y Deportes 30.09.19, available here
  114. a monographic study on Basque Carlism in the 19th century does not list the names of Lezama or Leguizamón a single time, Javier Real Cuesta, El carlismo vasco 1876-1900, Madrid 1985, ISBN 8432305103
  115. Región 25.08.33, available here
  116. El Correo Español 14.12.92, available here
  117. El Correo Español 19.10.03, available here
  118. e.g. in Junta de Defensa Católica de Vizcaya, El Correo Español 04.12.06, available here
  119. and then travelled with Don Jaime to France, La Correspondencia de Valencia 12.04.07, available here
  120. in 1909 Lezama travelled with de Mella to attend the funeral of Carlos VII. Due to poor train connections in France they arrived too late, one day after the funeral, El Debate 21.02.19, available here
  121. El Correo Español 04.01.11, available here
  122. El Correo Español 05.05.13, available here
  123. El Correo Español 06.08.17, available here
  124. in 1913 Manuel Lezama Leguizamón was Presidente de la Junta Tradicionalista de Vizcaya, El Correo Español 05.05.13, available here
  125. the group of promellista dissenters in the Jaimist Biscay ranks was known as La Pińa, ridiculed by orthodox Jaimistas as “piñosos con boinas”, Juan Ramón de Andrés Martín, El cisma mellista. Historia de una ambición política, Madrid 2000, ISBN 9788487863820, p. 142
  126. Román Oyarzun, La historia del carlismo, Madrid 1965, p. 454
  127. José Luis Orella Martínez, El origen del primer católicismo Español [PhD thesis, Universidad de Educación a Distancia], Madrid 2012, p. 182
  128. Orella Martínez 2003, p. 58
  129. El Debate 22.11.22, available here
  130. Manuel Lezama Leguizamón died in 1924; at this point Luis became head of the family, also in political terms
  131. the Lezama brothers and the José Ampuero claimed that though no Traditionalist could accept the 1876 constitution as basis for activity, they nevertheless with this reservation recommend that every Traiditionalist UP, “having watched with sympathy the movement of September 13”, El Progreso 27.10.24, available here
  132. El Imparcial 09.03.28, available here
  133. Antonio M. Moral Roncal, La cuestión religiosa en la Segunda República Española: Iglesia y carlismo, Madrid 2009, ISBN 9788497429054, p. 51
  134. El Cruzado Español 09.10.31, available here. The Lezama father and son arrived with a bag of Biscay soil to be deposited in Don Jaime’s grave, Cesar Estornes, Los Lezama Leguizamón. Segunda parte, [in:] Blog de Historia y Deportes 30.09.19, available here
  135. Manuel de Santa Cruz [Alberto Ruiz de Galarreta], Apuntes y documentos para la historia del tradicionalismo español: 1939-1966, vols. 1-3, Seville 1979, p. 28
  136. within the Carlist heterogeneous regional executive network Lezama Leguizamón acted as Delegado Regio para el Señorio de Vizcaya; he was also a member of Junta Suprema Vasco Navarra (representing Biscay; other members were Oriol, Rodezno and Olazabal), Moral Roncal 2009, p. 78. Lezama’s wife, Felisa Zuazola de Lezama Leguizamón, was president of the Carlist provincial female organization, the Margaritas, Cesar Estornes, Los Lezama Leguizamón. Segunda parte, [in:] Blog de Historia y Deportes 30.09.19, available here
  137. e.g. in August 1933 May Lezama in name of the Biscay Junta Regional signed a general appeal to Spanish Traditionalists, issued by the nationwide Carlist executive, Pensamiento Alaves 12.08.35, available here
  138. the Junta declared itself unable to support the autonomy project and viewed it as a step back compared to the earlier draft, so-called Estella statute; the Junta criticized the draft for it secular tone and not adhering to foral traditions. However, the Junta still declared that they saw some advantages of the draft. Eventually, they recommended that every individual does what follows his/her own conscience, Víctor Manuel Arbeloa, Navarra y los estatutos de autonomía, Madrid 2015, ISBN 9788416549184, pp. 384-385, also Heraldo Alaves 16.05.32, available here
  139. on March 13, 1933 Lezama for the first time took part in public, co-presiding a Carlist-organized gathering in Bilbao to protest the secular governmental policy. However, he was not reported as speaker; those addressing the crowd were Rodezno, Bilbao and Beunza, Pensamiento Alaves 13.03.33, available here

Further reading
  • Pablo Díaz Morlán, La evolución de la oligarquía vizcaína, 1872-1936. Un intento de intepretación y síntesis, [in:] Ekonomiaz: Revista vasca de economía 54 (2003), pp. 12–27
  • Antonio Escudero, La mineria vizcaina durante la Primera Guerra Mundial, [in:] Revista de Historia Economica 4/2 (1986), pp. 365–387
  • J. Saiz de Omeñaca, I. Ereño, K. Atxabal, I. Azurmendi, Mitigation of adverse effects at the Lezama-Leguizamon abandoned open-pit mine (Bilbao, northern Spain), [in:] Environmental Geology 22 (1993), pp. 10–12
  • José Luis Orella, La Gaceta del Norte, la espada laica de la Compañía de Jesús, [in:] Aportes 51 (2003), pp. 49–62
  • José Eugenio Villar, Beatriz Herreras Moratinos, Antonio Hernández Almaraz, La industria del agua en la CAV. Ingeniería y Patrimonio, Bilbao 2008
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