Franco at Bilbao (extract)
1939-06-20 012b-0027-004 -3- vigorously encouraged and sustained by British propaganda, had brought about in Biscay a curious united front against Madrid, in which, paradoxically enough, socialists and communists of the working class centres of Biscay stood cheek by jowl with the so-called nationali...
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| Institution: | MCR - The Modern Records Centre, University of Warwick |
| Language: | English |
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20 June 1939
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| Online Access: | http://hdl.handle.net/10796/EBADE2FF-A23D-4BBC-8A2E-4883FAA4F870 http://hdl.handle.net/10796/B34A9F2C-4700-46A5-AC12-64C88AAAF4B1 |
| Summary: | 1939-06-20
012b-0027-004
-3- vigorously encouraged and sustained by British propaganda, had brought about in Biscay a curious united front against Madrid, in which, paradoxically enough, socialists and communists of the working class centres of Biscay stood cheek by jowl with the so-called nationalist millionaires of Bilbao and important groups of Biscayan clergy. The economic platform of Basque separatism was a strange privilege known as "economic harmony" granted one hundred years ago to Biscay during the first Carlist War. By virtue of this privilege, Biscay was the only Spanish region which did not participate to the same extent as the other territories in contributing to the revenue of the Nation, but simply paid Madrid a "lump sum" annually. The taxes were fixed and collected by the provincial deputation of Bilbao, which utilised them as it thought fit after having paid the "lump sum". This ended in creating a peculiar situation, as a result of which the industries and commercial companies which, throughout the rest of Spain, had to pay tribute to the State amounting to 15% of their profits, only paid in Bilbao 3%. At least 50% of all the Spanish industries therefore, had their registered office in Bilbao. British influence in Bilbao therefore signified the influence of London over 50% of the entire Spanish industry and all the financial and banking interests connected with such industry. Every attempt made by Calvo Sotelo and Primo de Rivera to suppress this unjust, anachronistic privilege of Biscay systematically failed in the face of the energetic resistance of the Basque population who, in this secular privilege, defended their extraordinary local prosperity. London repeatedly brought its political and financial weight to bear on the Court and the weak Governments of Madrid to protect the intangibility of its great fief of Bilbao, through which it dominated Spanish industry and subordinated the industrial development of Spain to the interests of British imports and exports. In June 1937, when Franco occupied Bilbao by force of arms, he suppressed the unjust secular privilege by proclaiming the equality of all the regions of Spain vis-a-vis the Public Treasury. After having vainly attempted to separate Biscay from Spain and make it an autonomous Republic as a vassal of London, England, decided at the last moment to recognise Franco in order to defend its enormous interests in Bilbao. London hoped to resume through Bilbao its former political influence on Madrid.
292/946/12b/28(iii) |
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| Physical Description: | TEXT |