BISCAY. 



39 



liibc.iy. obtained after becoming a province of Spain. Their 

 taxations, instead of being duties imposed by the 

 crown, consist o r voluntary contributions advanced 

 by the inhabitants themselves. No stamped paper, 

 which is one great source of revenue, is received in 

 the lordship ; and some articles, such as tobacco, 

 which are elsewhere the subject of royal monopoly, 

 are open to the traffic of each individual. Biscay is 

 not liable to the impress of seamen ; it is exempt 

 from furnishing any quota in a levy of militia ; nor 

 can troops be quartered in the province. Whatever 

 relates to its defence during war, or the preservation 

 of tranquillity in the time of peace, belongs to the 

 inhabitants exclusively. The Biscayans being all 

 noble, hold a distinguished rank in the rest of Spain ; 

 and, excepting to the grand judge of Biscay, who 

 has his tribunal in Valladolid, they are accountable 

 to none other beyond the confines of their lordship. 

 This, of all their privileges, is that which is guarded 

 with greatest jealousy. Their laws and privileges 

 equally remove them from the conditions of most 

 other subjects of the kingdom ; for their affairs are 

 determined by a general assembly of representatives, 

 which is convoked every two years. These repre- 

 sentatives meet under the tree of Guernica, a vene- 

 rable oak, which lias resisted the elements for centu- 

 ries. Thither Ferdinand and Isabella repaired, after 

 high mass, in 14-76, and swore to preserve the privi- 

 leges of the Biscayans entire. When the king raises 

 an army, they are bound to march, at their own ex- 

 pense, to another tree, called Malato, on their con- 

 fines, but having passed it, they are entitled to re- 

 ceive pay. 



The Biscayans preserve a decided difference of cha- 

 racter from the other Spaniards. They are of a 

 gay and lively disposition, friendly, and hospitable. 

 They are faithful, active, and industrious ; but as 

 if to counterbalance these good qualities, they are 

 reputed obstinate, irritable, and impatient. Here 

 the women are equally active as the men : they par- 

 ticipate in the most laborious employments, such as 

 working in the fields, rowing boats, and carrying bur- 

 dens on their heads, which require the strength of two 

 men to lift up. " The wile yields not in strength 

 to the husband, nor the sister to the brother ;" and 

 'hey share in sports elsewhere peculiar to men, 

 such as tennis, in which they show themselves then- 

 successful rivals. The people in general are patient 

 of fatigue : in good and bad weather, they travel to 

 an incredible distance to attend their parish churches, 

 many of which are very far asunder. The inhabitants 

 of Guipuzcoa are fond of bull- righting, with which 

 'he villagers celebrate the festivals of their tutelar 

 aints, and thither the inhabitants of the neighbour- 

 ing villages resort to enjoy the barbarous entertain- 

 ment. The bulls of Spain arc said to be more fero- 

 cious, and better adapted for being pitched against 

 each other, than those brought from abroad; which 

 Bowles ascribes solely to the influence of climate. 

 Perhaps there is some foundation for his opinion ; for 

 it is undeniable, that all animated nature is deeply af- 

 fected by the influence of climate, and much of the 

 manners and customs of the whole human race may 

 even be traced to its effects. It is well known, that 

 lis of the same species are less ferocious in one 

 2 



region than another, and that under the same degrees 

 of latitude incipient customs arise nearly at the same 

 stage of civilization among nations. The universal 

 privilege of nobility produces a principle of dignity 

 among all the Biscayans from the highest to the 

 lowest, and on proving that they originally belonged 

 to the lordship, or come in lineal descent from those 

 who did, they are entitled to claim public certi- 

 ficates of being gentlemen by blood. The three can- 

 tons have many ancient seats, consisting of strong 

 plain edifices with square towers, which have existed 

 from time immemorial. The owners of these are dis- 

 tinguished by the title of Hidalgos de Casa Solar, 

 or gentlemen of known property, the most honour- 

 able appellation in Spain. The head of the family is 

 called Pariente Mayor, and is greatly respected by 

 all the collateral branches. The origin of such Casat 

 Solares is thought to have been anterior to the esta- 

 blishment of Christianity in Spain, and before the use 

 of archives or armorial bearings was known. But 

 some of the owners are now so much reduced, as to 

 be under the necessity of cultivating their estates with 

 their own hands, while the branches which have come 

 off their families flourish in opulence in remote pro- 

 vinces. Simplicity of manners is one striking charac- 

 teristic of the Biscayans : the wives and daughters of 

 the most wealthy do not disdain useful occupations 

 in their domestic economy. Unlike the arrogance of 

 many European states, a proverb is current here, 

 which marks the liberality of the people, la pobreza 

 no es vileza, poverty is no blemish. Extreme gaiety 

 prevails throughout the lordship of Biscay ; the inha- 

 bitants are passionately fond of dancing, and on ho- 

 lidays a vast concourse assembles to dance under the 

 trees to the music of a rustic pipe and tabor. Chil- 

 dren who die young, are preceded to the grave by 

 musicians ; the body is crowned with roses, and the 

 followers tumultuously proclaim their joy at the bles- 

 sed transition. The same origin has been ascribed to 

 the Biscayans and the Irish, which opinion Guillermo 

 Bowles, who himself sprung of an Irish family, sup- 

 poses is corroborated by the similarity of customs still 

 practised among them. The men and women of Bis- 

 cay are extremely fond of pilgrimages. Collecting 

 in troops, they journey from great distances to the 

 churches of their tutelar saints, singing and dancing 

 by the way to the sound of the tabor. The Irish do 

 the same at the festivals of their patrons. The Gut- 

 zones of Biscay, or the Boulam keighs of Ireland, are 

 similar, from the sudden and dangerous quarrels that 

 arise and terminate without any remaining rancour, 

 and without a deadly weapon being drawn. The peo- 

 ple of both countries are extremely choleric ; the least 

 occurrence irritates them, and they cannot endure the 

 most trifling slight. The C/iacoli of Biscay, and the 

 Shebeen of Ireland, render them equally frantic, and 

 greatly to be dreaded. The poor people in Ireland, 

 as in Biscay, eat from the same dish without forks, 

 and using their fingers ; and they dwell in the midst 

 of smoke. The ancient brogues are the shoes of Bis- 

 cay, " and the women here, as in Ireland, wrap a 

 sabanilla or kerchief round the head, wear red petti- 

 coats, frequently go barefooted, carry weights on 

 their heads, and labour along with the men. These, 

 and other concurring circumstances, afford strong 



Biscay. 



