An espatadantza for Fernando VII
Ferdinand VII visited Bilbao between June 16 and 25, 1828, “the famous decade” (the ten famous days) according to the City Council. No king had come to the town since the Catholic Monarchs, three and a half centuries before. The municipal authorities, who spread this circumstance, organized a splendid welcome, after an intense preparation that revitalized the population.
It was the absolutist period that began in 1823. The City Council, made up of royalists, overturned. Surely he sought to stage Bilbao’s support for the monarch. According to the detailed chronicle that he published, a crowd greeted all the appearances of the kings, with continuous displays of enthusiasm. A great mobilization before such an exceptional event is plausible. It would also be true that “public order and security did not suffer a moment of fulfillment.” However, a realistic unanimity is not credible. There would necessarily be sectors in Bilbao that were dissatisfied with absolutism, since between 1820 and 1823 the town had defended the constitution. Another question is that, in a few repressive years, the Liberals chose to withdraw.
Apart from these political considerations, the presence of Fernando VII and his wife Amalia is of interest due to the meticulous organization that wanted to show the best of the town. In addition, the visit was important in the urban development of Bilbao. To follow it, it is convenient to dispense with the rhetorical excesses with which the realists related it: «Love, fidelity and gratitude to their August sovereigns», elation, sweetness, jubilation, tenderness, gratitude, joy, loyalty, bravery, affection, etc.
The City Council learned on May 4 that the kings arrived the following month. Ferdinand VII agreed to an invitation from the Basque delegations when he was in Catalonia, where an uprising calling for an increase in absolutism had been put down. In Vizcaya, the suppression of a contrafuero in which troops for the army had been requested had been interpreted favorably -and attributed to the king.
The citizens of Bilbao decide to do the rest: fix the facades of the public buildings, carry out major repairs, improve the promenades, organize four bullfights, set up two triumphal arches, prepare the reception and several boats, as well as accommodation for the kings and their entourage (72 people), in addition to the troops that accompanied them – at first they were told that 2,000 soldiers were coming; then the number was lowered-, get funds to finance works and celebrations, as well as call individuals to clean the facades and get lighting (wax axes) to greet the sovereigns.
Also, decide to build the Plaza Nueva. Literally. It had been planned since 1821 and the Town Hall had bought the land, but nothing had been done. They proceeded to erect it in four weeks in a life-size mock-up. They had to knock down four buildings and six booths, as well as prepare the surface.
A new square for the monarch
Bilbao wanted to renew itself in a month. It was considered essential to close the Paseo de la Ribera with a fence, from Barrencalle Barrena to the beginning of Sendeja. In addition, the churches were embellished, the fences that closed the Plaza Mayor were fixed when there were bulls and the Town Halls were tidied up, retouching the portraits of the kings, deteriorated by humidity. The underground pipe through which the water circulated, which was used for cleaning and in case of fire, was cleaned. They prepared a warehouse for troops on Calle la Estufa (and another on the opposite shore), they increased the number of lampposts, they prepared carriages and boats, they brought bulls (from Castile and Navarra, they said the best ones), they hired bullfighters from the court, they prepared fireworks and a long etcetera.
Those four weeks there was a huge activity in Bilbao. All the masons within six leagues were hired. In addition, there were the works of individuals, who also embellished the houses. Such a collective arrangement had never been carried out in Bilbao, including fountains, facades, squares… The use of efforts, however, allows us to glimpse the modesty of the town’s facilities, without a landmark building or places of rank. The slaughterhouse and the butcher shop, which were understood as buildings of interest, were decorated. They had it, but they were not sumptuary but practical. By the way, the suspension bridge of San Francisco, designed by Antonio Goicoechea, was finished. It was later said that it was inaugurated by Fernando VII, although he limited himself to visiting it, without a ceremonial act.
The king’s residence in Bilbao was the neoclassical building next to the church of San Nicolás, built by Ventura Gómez de la Torre in 1790-91.
The reception for Fernando VII and Queen Amalia in Miraflores was solemn. When the king and queen arrived there was a peal of bells throughout the town, artillery salutes from San Francisco and from a brigantine, miles of rockets. According to the chronicle, there were 8,000 people in the Plaza Mayor. The authorities and several representative floats, four troupes, etc. received the king. In the estuary 18 boats and feluccas followed the procession by oar. In the Ribera, where the Arriaga is today, a triumphal arch was erected in which some welcome verses of unfortunate lyricism appeared – the other sonnets and poems that were composed for the occasion were no better:
“The best tribute
is the one born of love
this one from bilbao happy
to Fernando and his wife»
At night, one of the most striking acts was organized, when 20,000 colored glasses were lit, in addition to wax axes in the houses and lanterns on the boats.
A stay followed with a lengthy program of acts, albeit very official and with no closeness detected between the kings and the people, who always seem ecstatic in the story. There was ‘Te Deum’ in Santiago, visits to the Casa de Misericordia, to the Santiago school -it was in Ronda and was the main center of education- and to the Civil Hospital, walks to the Campo Volantín and to the suspension bridge, in addition to the tour of the New Square. There was a ball game, which the king could see from his lodging, and peasants from Abando danced the Espatadantza. The four bullfights were attended by (they said) 10,000 spectators, including those who were in the plaza and those who watched from the mountains, boats and neighboring houses.
Without dancing for “fear of the reflux”
There were four dances, carefully prepared by the City Council. They were a success, although the king did not attend for “fear of the reflux”. The larger barge that the Consulate had prepared in case the monarch wanted to cross the estuary did not change either. That is why he did not see the spectacular triumphal arch that had been prepared for him in Olabeaga, supported by two quechemarines.
The kings did not leave Bilbao. According to the chronicle, very syrupy, everything turned out to full satisfaction. The king and queen participated in the procession of the Octavario del Corpus, which changed the date: they played on June 12 and in Bilbao they were celebrated on the 23. At that time the main religious festivals of the town were Corpus and its octave. The kings closed the procession carrying a candle, which “edified all the attendees.” Then they allowed the children, who were dressed as little angels, to kiss their hands…
The City Council lost a hit on the visit, which ended with royal donations to charitable causes. In addition, he obtained authorization to build the Plaza Nueva, which was called “Plaza de Fernando VII” and which had an equestrian statue of the king in the center. He changed his mind when the absolutist period ended.
If the City Council wanted to strengthen the realistic spirit of Bilbao, its chronicle had to be counterproductive, due to the multiplication of cloying flattery, in a bombastic story in which the people of Bilbao seemed to fall into a mystical rapture when contemplating the kings. Neither the pompous language fit with the people of Bilbao nor was such veneration credible.