Bernardo Elío y Elío, 7th Marquess of Las Hormazas (1867–1937), was a
Spanish
Spanish might refer to:
* Items from or related to Spain:
**Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain
**Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas
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**Spanish culture
...
aristocrat and politician. He supported the
Carlist
Carlism (; ; ; ) is a Traditionalism (Spain), Traditionalist and Legitimist political movement in Spain aimed at establishing an alternative branch of the Bourbon dynasty, one descended from Infante Carlos María Isidro of Spain, Don Carlos, ...
cause. During the late
Restoration period he formed part of the regional
Aragon
Aragon ( , ; Spanish and ; ) is an autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community in Spain, coextensive with the medieval Kingdom of Aragon. In northeastern Spain, the Aragonese autonomous community comprises three provinces of Spain, ...
party executive, but is known mostly as the local
Traditionalist leader in the province of
Gipuzkoa
Gipuzkoa ( , ; ; ) is a province of Spain and a historical territory of the autonomous community of the Basque Country. Its capital city is Donostia-San Sebastián. Gipuzkoa shares borders with the French department of Pyrénées-Atlantiqu ...
, especially during the lifetime of the
Second Spanish Republic
The Spanish Republic (), commonly known as the Second Spanish Republic (), was the form of democratic government in Spain from 1931 to 1939. The Republic was proclaimed on 14 April 1931 after the deposition of Alfonso XIII, King Alfonso XIII. ...
; he briefly served also in the supreme party executive, but did not play a major role in shaping the nationwide party politics. He was a typical example of an inner-circle aristocrat ruling the local Traditionalist structures.
Family and youth
The Elíos, since the
Mid-Ages related to
Valle de Echauri, during the
Modern Period
The modern era or the modern period is considered the current historical period of human history. It was originally applied to the history of Europe and Western history for events that came after the Middle Ages, often from around the year 1500 ...
became owners of many estates, scattered across central and Northern
Navarre
Navarre ( ; ; ), officially the Chartered Community of Navarre, is a landlocked foral autonomous community and province in northern Spain, bordering the Basque Autonomous Community, La Rioja, and Aragon in Spain and New Aquitaine in France. ...
. Family representatives held various prestigious positions, for centuries served in the
Cortes
Cortes, Cortés, Cortês, Corts, or Cortès may refer to:
People
* Cortes (surname), including a list of people with the name
** Hernán Cortés (1485–1547), a Spanish conquistador
Places
* Cortes, Navarre, a village in the South border of ...
and were briefly care-takers of
Virreinato de Navarra. By means of marriages they acquired
Marquesado de Vesolla in the early 18th century and
Marquesado de las Hormazas in the early 19th century. The holder of both titles and Bernardo's grandfather, Francisco Javier Elío Jiménez-Navarro (1800–1880), passed the Vesolla title to his oldest son, while the Las Hormazas title went to the second son and Bernardo's father, Joaquín Elío Mencos (1832–1876). The family was heavily related to other aristocratic Navarrese families, like
Marquéses de Lealtad, Marquéses de Vadillo,
Duqués de Bailén,
Condes de Guenduláin and other.
Joaquín Elío married his cousin, Petra Celestina Elío Arteta (1836–1909), descendant to another Navarrese
landholder family and already a widow. It is not clear whether the couple settled in
Pamplona
Pamplona (; ), historically also known as Pampeluna in English, is the capital city of the Navarre, Chartered Community of Navarre, in Spain.
Lying at near above sea level, the city (and the wider Cuenca de Pamplona) is located on the flood pl ...
or at one of family estates; they had at least 3 children, Bernardo, Eduardo and Francisca Javiera. Following premature death of Joaquín Elío, result of his engagement in the
Third Carlist War
The Third Carlist War (), which occurred from 1872 to 1876, was the last Carlist War in Spain. It is sometimes referred to as the "Second Carlist War", as the earlier Second Carlist War, "Second" War (1847–1849) was smaller in scale and relative ...
, in the late 1870s the widow and children settled in
Zaragoza
Zaragoza (), traditionally known in English as Saragossa ( ), is the capital city of the province of Zaragoza and of the autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Aragon, Spain. It lies by the Ebro river and its tributaries, the ...
; the family Navarrese property was embargoed and possibly
expropriate
Nationalization (nationalisation in British English)
is the process of transforming privately owned assets into public assets by bringing them under the public ownership of a national government or state. Nationalization contrasts with priv ...
d, while her well-off relatives lived in the Aragón capital. The young Bernardo was growing up in Zaragoza, though he has always cherished his Navarrese heritage. He studied law at the
Zaragoza University
The University of Zaragoza, sometimes referred to as Saragossa University () is a public university with teaching campuses and research centres spread over the three provinces of Aragon (Spain).
Founded in 1542, it is one of the oldest universi ...
and graduated probably in the late 1880s, though he has never practiced.
In 1895 Elío married Teresa Zubizarreta Olavarría (1870–1936), descendant to a distinguished Gipuzkoan landowner family from
Ataun
Ataun is a town located at the foot of the Aralar Range in the Goierri region of the province of Gipuzkoa, in the autonomous community of the Basque Country (autonomous community), Basque Country, in the north of Spain. The town consists of three m ...
in the
Tolosa county. The couple settled in Zaragoza, though later they moved to Zubizarreta properties in Gipuzkoa; it is not clear how many children they had. The only one known was Bernardo Elío Zubizarreta, the 8. Marqúes de las Hormazas; marginally involved in Carlism in the early
Francoist
Francoist Spain (), also known as the Francoist dictatorship (), or Nationalist Spain () was the period of Spanish history between 1936 and 1975, when Francisco Franco ruled Spain after the Spanish Civil War with the title . After his death i ...
era, he did not become a public figure. Neither did any of the Elío Lopetedi grandchildren; following death of Bernardo Elío Lopetedi the 9. Marqués de las Hormazas in 2016 the title is vacant.
Numerous Elío's more distant relatives grew to prominence. Among his predecessors many from the
Elío Ezpeleta, Elío y Elío and Zubizarreta branches distinguished themselves as legitimist military or officials, serving either in the
First
First most commonly refers to:
* First, the ordinal form of the number 1
First or 1st may also refer to:
Acronyms
* Faint Images of the Radio Sky at Twenty-Centimeters, an astronomical survey carried out by the Very Large Array
* Far Infrared a ...
or/and Third Carlist War. His paternal uncle Alvaro Elío Mencos served as president of the
Alava diputación in the late 19th century. Among his paternal cousins, Luis Elío Elío Magallón was a conservative Navarrese senator in 1907–1920;
Francisco Javier González de Castejón Elío held various ministerial posts in conservative cabinets of 1900–1914; Miguel González de Castejón Elío was a military and preceptor of the future king
Alfonso XIII
Alfonso XIII (Spanish language, Spanish: ''Alfonso León Fernando María Jaime Isidro Pascual Antonio de Borbón y Habsburgo-Lorena''; French language, French: ''Alphonse Léon Ferdinand Marie Jacques Isidore Pascal Antoine de Bourbon''; 17 May ...
, later made
Conde de Aybar. His brother-in-law, Eusebio Zubizarreta, was a Carlist deputy to the Cortes in 1893–1896. Many other relatives intermarried with aristocratic families, usually related to the Vasco-Navarrese area.
Early public activity
Many members of the Elío family sided with the Carlists since the 1830s, and a few like
Joaquín Elío Ezpeleta grew to iconic figures of the movement. Bernardo's father Joaquín Elío Mencos prepared the Pamplona rising in 1869; captured and sentenced to death he was eventually condemned to exile on the
Mariana Islands
The Mariana Islands ( ; ), also simply the Marianas, are a crescent-shaped archipelago comprising the summits of fifteen longitudinally oriented, mostly dormant volcanic mountains in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, between the 12th and 21st pa ...
, but escaped in
Cádiz
Cádiz ( , , ) is a city in Spain and the capital of the Province of Cádiz in the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia. It is located in the southwest of the Iberian Peninsula off the Atlantic Ocean separated fr ...
and commanded a battalion during the Third Carlist War. Apprehended again few years later, he perished in captivity. Bernardo's father-in-law was the nephew of
Tomas Zumalacárregui, a half-mythical Traditionalist hero, and engaged in the
legitimist coup of 1860. Bernardo himself started to demonstrate his Carlist zeal already during the academic period in the mid-1880s, first signing letters protesting alleged mistreatment of the
Pope
The pope is the bishop of Rome and the Head of the Church#Catholic Church, visible head of the worldwide Catholic Church. He is also known as the supreme pontiff, Roman pontiff, or sovereign pontiff. From the 8th century until 1870, the po ...
and then – as member of Aragonese Carlist youth – manifesting his adherence to the claimant and his son
Don Jaime. In 1890 he took part in Catholic Congress in Zaragoza and in 1891 embarked on a journey to
Venice
Venice ( ; ; , formerly ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 islands that are separated by expanses of open water and by canals; portions of the city are li ...
to pay his respect to the
pretender
A pretender is someone who claims to be the rightful ruler of a country although not recognized as such by the current government. The term may often be used to either refer to a descendant of a deposed monarchy or a claim that is not legitimat ...
.
As Elío remained among relatively few high aristocrats loyal to
Carlos VII, he usually featured among first signatories of various open letters, circulated by the party activists. Since the early 1890s Elío started to appear along provincial prestigious Carlist personalities, e.g. in 1892 he co-presided a Traditionalist meeting in Zaragoza. During the honeymoon trip of 1895 he and his newly wed wife changed plans and detoured to
Switzerland
Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...
to meet the claimant and receive his best wishes. The same year Las Hormazas for the first time took part in a meeting of the nationwide Carlist executive in Madrid, headed by the party political leader
Marqués de Cerralbo. In 1898 he was rumored to run on the Carlist ticket for the Cortes; newspapers speculated he would stand in the Navarrese district of
Aoiz, but eventually the
news was not confirmed.
In the early 20th century Elío was already a regular prestigious guest at various local Zaragoza and Aragón Carlist rallies. He was opening new círculos, featured prominently during party events like
Fiesta de los Mártires de la Tradición, presided over rallies of the party youth, donated money to Traditionalist prints, co-signed various open letters and appeared in first row during related religious services; the claimant honored him with personal letters. In 1907 he became vice-president of Juventud Carlista de Zaragoza; at the same time he was also deputy chairman of Junta Tradicionalista of Zaragoza and probably also member of the Aragonese Junta Regional. Following the 1905 death of the unquestioned Aragón Carlist leader
Francisco Cavero the regional party leadership was contested by
Duque de Solferino, Manuel Serrano Franquini,
Pascual Comín and José María del Campo; Elío and Francisco Cavero Esponera formed the second row of aspiring politicians.
Aragón party executive

In 1909 Elío for the first, and, as it would turn out in the future, also the last time, decided to stand in electoral competition. He represented the Carlists on a broad Right-wing ticket of Asociación Social Católica when running to the town hall from the
Pilár district and emerged successful; the victory terminated the string of earlier Carlist electoral defeats. During the next few years he was recorded in local press as the
ayuntamiento
''Ayuntamiento'' ()In other languages of Spain:
* ().
* ().
* (). is the general term for the town council, or ''cabildo'', of a municipality or, sometimes, as is often the case in Spain and Latin America, for the municipality itself. is mai ...
councilor, usually during charity events and other official ceremonies, e.g. meetings with local hierarchs, like civil governor of the Zaragoza province. His last assignment identified was the 1912 nomination to Junta Provincial de Instrucción Pública; indeed, he demonstrated particular interest in education, animating rallies against secular schools.
At least in 1909 Las Hormazas entered Junta Regional de Aragón; it is not clear whether at the time he was also member of the provincial Zaragoza party executive, though he held vice-presidency of Juventud Tradicionalista in the city. In the early 1910s he went on with usual and rather traditional party ceremonial duties, e.g. speaking at close meetings or taking part in related religious services. In his early 40s, since 1910 he presided over the freshly set up Zaragoza branch of
Requeté
The Requeté (; , ) was a Carlist organization, at times with paramilitary units, that operated between the mid-1900s and the early 1970s, though exact dates are not clear.
The Requeté formula differed over the decades, and according to its c ...
, at the time the sporting and outdoor organization for the youth. In the regional executive he was also responsible for co-ordination of charity work. Elío is not mentioned as engaged in nationwide Carlist politics; historiographic works on Traditionalism of the early 20th century ignore him and it is not clear what – if any – was his position in numerous conflicts tormenting the party at the time, like mounting conflict between the
claimant
A plaintiff ( Π in legal shorthand) is the party who initiates a lawsuit (also known as an ''action'') before a court. By doing so, the plaintiff seeks a legal remedy. If this search is successful, the court will issue judgment in favor of the ...
and the key theorist
Vázquez de Mella, position versus growing peripheral nationalisms or the question of a broad conservative alliance.
Though resident in Zaragoza and active in the regional Aragón party structures, Las Hormazas maintained links to his native Vasco-Navarrese area; e.g. in 1909 he was noted in
San Sebastián
San Sebastián, officially known by the bilingual name Donostia / San Sebastián (, ), is a city and municipality located in the Basque Autonomous Community, Spain. It lies on the coast of the Bay of Biscay, from the France–Spain border ...
taking part in the funeral mass to the late Carlos VII. In the mid-1910s Elío focused on remnants of his Navarrese estates in
Valle de Baztán, as construction of
Tren Txikito, the
Elizondo-
Irún
Irun (, ) is a town of the Bidasoaldea region in the province of Gipuzkoa in the Basque Country (autonomous community), Basque Autonomous Community, Spain.
History
It lies on the foundations of the ancient Oiasso, cited as a Ancient Rome, Roma ...
narrow-gauge railway line, affected his property related to the former
Señorio de Bertiz. None of the sources consulted confirms when he left Zaragoza and settled in Gipuzkoa, most likely at the Zubizarreta property inherited by his wife in San Sebastián. In 1914 he was for the first time noted as engaged in the provincial Gipuzkoan Carlist structures, at that time led by
Marqués de Valde-Espina. Also the last Zaragoza-based information related to the Elío couple comes from early 1914.
Gipuzkoa party executive
During the
Mellista crisis of 1919 Las Hormazas sided with the claimant. As representative of Gipuzkoa he was one of 4 aristocrats present during a grand meeting known as Magna Junta de Biarritz, supposed to set the new course of the movement. In the early 1920s he moderately engaged in Jaimista propaganda and purchased shares in Editorial Tradicionalista, a
Donostía-based Carlist publishing house. However, the
Primo de Rivera coup of 1923 brought political life in the country to the standstill; throughout the rest of the decade Elío was recorded in the press only on the societé columns, as he apparently withdrew into privacy.
Few weeks after the fall of Primo, in early 1930, the Gipuzkoan Jaimistas reconstituted their provincial executive; Las Hormazas was temporarily elected its president, the choice confirmed a few months later during a grand rally in
Zumarraga. As provincial jefé in October he issued a manifesto which called to recognize distinct identity of the Vasco-Navarrese provinces, including the
Basque language
Basque ( ; ) is a language spoken by Basques and other residents of the Basque Country (greater region), Basque Country, a region that straddles the westernmost Pyrenees in adjacent parts of northern Spain and southwestern France. Basque ...
and separate legal establishments, all to be incorporated within “esta hermosa Federación de Naciones”. In 1931 he suggested setup of “Pro Reivindicaciones Vascas”, a junta expected to work for re-constitution of “nuestras libertades”; however, he opted against "organización supraprovincial”.
In 1930-1931 Elío emerged strongly in favor or re-unification of all Traditionalist branches, initially on basis of a Catholic alliance. When in late 1931 the process was completed with emergence of united
Comunión Tradicionalista
The Traditionalist Communion (, CT; , ) was one of the names adopted by the Carlist movement as a political force since 1869.
History
In October 1931, Carlist claimant to the Spanish throne Duke Jaime died. He was succeeded by the 82-year-old ...
he saw his powers somewhat diminished; though he remained the provincial jefé of CT, in public it seemed that he co-presided with the former
Integrist leader,
Juan Olazabal, as the two appeared as peers on many assemblies, especially at the 1931 funeral services to the defunct Don Jaime. Though he was confirmed as Gipuzkoan jefe in 1932, the double-leadership pattern was maintained as both Elío and Olazabal entered the national party executive.

During early stages of debates on
Vasco-Navarrese autonomy Elío remained active and called to abolish the government-imposed comisiones gestoras, but in his 1932 addresses he was more ambiguous; historiographic studies do not list him as involved. Still member of the national executive in the mid-1930s, in 1933 he was first noted as suffering from poor health and got temporarily replaced. In 1934-1935 he was noted on few rallies and entertained the new party leader
Manuel Fal in the province, though at key gatherings he seemed in the second row.
It is not known whether Elío was involved in anti-Republican conspiracy of 1936. In Gipuzkoa the
coup failed; Las Hormazas was detained and ended up in the
Bilbao
Bilbao is a city in northern Spain, the largest city in the Provinces of Spain, province of Biscay and in the Basque Country (greater region), Basque Country as a whole. It is also the largest city proper in northern Spain. Bilbao is the List o ...
Angeles Custodios prison. Since the
Basque government
The Basque Government (, ; ) is the governing body of the Basque Autonomous Community of Spain. The head of the Basque government is known as the '' Lehendakari''. The Lehendakari is appointed by the Basque Parliament every four years, after a re ...
did not deploy autonomous police to protect the building during the unrest, caused by the nationalist bombing raid over the city, the prison was entrusted to the
UGT militia unit. On January 4 socialist militiamen executed around 100 prisoners; some were killed by hand grenades thrown into cells, some were shot and some were reportedly slashed with machetes. It is not clear how exactly Elío died.
[detailed accounts differ; one scholar identifies the perpetrators as "incontrolados" militants of CNT and UGT, Pedro Barruso Barés, ''La represión en las zonas republicana y franquista del País Vasco durante la Guerra Civil'', n:''Historia Contemporánea'' 35 (2007), pp. 653–681]
Footnotes
Further reading
* Lucio R. Perez Calvo, ''El Marquesado de Las Hormazas'',
n:''Hidalguía'' LXI (2014), pp. 473–497
* José María Sesé Alegre, ''Poder y elites an la Navarra tardomoderna. Las familias Aperregui y Elío'',
n:''Príncipe de Viana'' 15 (1993), pp. 265–272
External links
Senorio de Bertiz tourist folder*
''forgotten crypt'' post on memory of the 4.1.1937 victims*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Elio y Elio, Bernardo
Carlists
Spanish far-right politicians
Marquesses of Spain
People from Pamplona
People from Zaragoza
People killed by the Second Spanish Republic
Spanish anti-communists
Spanish casualties of the Spanish Civil War
Spanish landowners
Spanish monarchists
Spanish prisoners and detainees
Spanish Roman Catholics
Spanish victims of crime
University of Zaragoza alumni
1867 births
1937 deaths