Baldomero Argente del Castillo (1877–1965) was a Spanish politician, sociologist, lawyer, economist, writer and journalist. He was a disseminator of the ideas of

georgism Georgism, also called in modern times Geoism, and known historically as the single tax movement, is an economic ideology holding that, although people should own the value they produce themselves, the economic rent derived from land—includi ...

in Spain. A member of the

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. __TOC__ Active liberal parties This is a li ...

, he briefly served as

Minister of Supply The Minister of Supply was the minister in the British Government responsible for the Ministry of Supply, which existed to co-ordinate the supply of equipment to the national armed forces. The position was campaigned for by many sceptics of the for ...

from 1918 to 1919.

Biography

Born on 6 February 1877 in the province of Granada (sources report as birthplace either Jerez del Marquesado or "Granada"), he was the natural son of a priest, and was raised by his aunt. He took

baccalaureate Baccalaureate may refer to: * ''Baccalauréat'', a French national academic qualification * Bachelor's degree, or baccalaureate, an undergraduate academic degree * English Baccalaureate, a performance measure to assess secondary schools in England ...

studies in Granada. He began university studies in Law in

Valencia Valencia ( va, València) is the capital of the autonomous community of Valencia and the third-most populated municipality in Spain, with 791,413 inhabitants. It is also the capital of the province of the same name. The wider urban area al ...

, ending them in

Manila Manila ( , ; fil, Maynila, ), officially the City of Manila ( fil, Lungsod ng Maynila, ), is the capital of the Philippines, and its second-most populous city. It is highly urbanized and, as of 2019, was the world's most densely populate ...

, earning the

licentiate degree A licentiate (abbreviated Lic.) is an academic degree present in many countries, representing different educational levels. It may be similar to a master's degree when issued by pontifical universities and other universities in Europe, Latin Ame ...

in 1896. He served as lecturer in Mechanics at a school in the Philippines. He also worked as lead writer for the ''

Diario de Manila ''Diario de Manila'' was a Spanish language newspaper published in the Philippines, founded on October 11, 1848, and closed down by official decree on February 19, 1898, after the colonial authorities discovered that its installations were bein ...

'' and as editor of ''El Porvenir de Bisayas''. He served as volunteer in a cavalry regiment, fighting against the insurgent tagalos. Following the loss of the Philippines at the 1898 Spanish–American War, Argente returned to Mainland Spain by mid 1899.

José Francos Rodríguez José Francos Rodríguez (5 April 1862–11 December 1931) was a Spanish politician and journalist. He served as Mayor of Madrid as well as Minister of Public Instruction and Fine Arts and Minister of Grace and Justice during the reign of Alfonso ...

appointed him as ed-in-chief of '' El Globo''. He took an interest in the reading of books on Economy, Administration and Sociology, becoming an adept of the theories of

Henry George Henry George (September 2, 1839 – October 29, 1897) was an American political economist and journalist. His writing was immensely popular in 19th-century America and sparked several reform movements of the Progressive Era. He inspired the eco ...

. Translator of the American economist's works, Argente had a central role in the dissemination of the ideas of

in Spain. Argente opened a law firm in Madrid, and was appointed as substitute prosecutor of the ''Audiencia'' of Madrid. He did not stop writing books and collaborating in newspapers, such as , ''

Heraldo de Madrid The ''Heraldo de Madrid'' (originally ''El Heraldo de Madrid'') was a Spanish daily newspaper published from 1890 to 1939, with an evening circulation. It came to espouse a Republicanism, Republican leaning in its later spell. History The publ ...

'', and ''

El Imparcial ''El Imparcial'', founded in 1918, was a newspaper in Puerto Rico Puerto Rico (; abbreviated PR; tnq, Boriken, ''Borinquen''), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico ( es, link=yes, Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, lit=Free Assoc ...

'', as well as magazines, such as . He was elected member of the

Congress of Deputies The Congress of Deputies ( es, link=no, Congreso de los Diputados, italic=unset) is the lower house of the Cortes Generales, Spain's legislative branch. The Congress meets in the Palace of the Parliament () in Madrid. It has 350 members elect ...

in representation of

Alcaraz Alcaraz is a municipality of Spain located in the province of Albacete, Castilla–La Mancha Castilla–La Mancha (, , ), or Castile La Mancha, is an autonomous community of Spain. Comprising the provinces of Albacete, Ciudad Real, Cuenca, ...

(Albacete) at the 1910 election. He was elected as Madrid municipal councillor at the and was appointed as deputy major in 1912. He earned a parliamentary seat in representation of Las Palmas at the 1914, 1916, 1918, 1919, 1920 and 1923 elections, and as representative of Fregenal de la Sierra (Badajoz) at the 1919 election. A follower of the

Count of Romanones Count (feminine: countess) is a historical title of nobility in certain European countries, varying in relative status, generally of middling rank in the hierarchy of nobility. Pine, L. G. ''Titles: How the King Became His Majesty''. New York: ...

, he was appointed as Minister of Supply in December 1918, only to leave the portfolio in February 1919. He became a member of the executive board of the ''Asociación Española Pro Sociedad de Naciones'' (AEPSDN), established in April 1920 (repeating as member in the new board appointed in January 1929). He took office as member of the

Royal Academy of Moral and Political Sciences Royal may refer to: People * Royal (name), a list of people with either the surname or given name * A member of a royal family Places United States * Royal, Arkansas, an unincorporated community * Royal, Illinois, a village * Royal, Iowa, a c ...

on 1 June 1924, reading ''La Reforma Agraria'', a discourse replied by . During the

dictatorship of Primo de Rivera General Miguel Primo de Rivera's dictatorship over Spain began with a coup on 13 September 1923 and ended with his resignation on 28 January 1930. It took place during the wider reign of King Alfonso XIII. In establishing his dictatorship, ...

, Argente served as member of the

National Assembly In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the rep ...

and the

Council of State A Council of State is a governmental body in a country, or a subdivision of a country, with a function that varies by jurisdiction. It may be the formal name for the cabinet or it may refer to a non-executive advisory body associated with a head o ...

. He died on 28 September 1965, in

Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the Largest cities of the Europ ...

References

;Informational notes ;Citations ;Bibliography * * * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Argente, Baldomero Georgists Government ministers of Spain Members of the Congress of Deputies of the Spanish Restoration Spanish journalists 1877 births 1965 deaths Liberal Party (Spain, 1880) politicians Madrid city councillors