The Biscayans possess an inherent love of liberty, which nothing can prompt them to forego ; they jealously preserve various privileges, which they ei ther enjoyed while an independent government, or obtained after becoming a province of Spain. Their taxationa, instead of being duties imposed by the crown, consist o' 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 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 has resisted the elements for centu ries. Thither Ferdinand and Isabella repaired, after high mass, in I476, 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 wife yields not in strength to the husband, nor the sister to the brother ;" and they share in sports elsewhere peculiar to men, such as tennis, in which they show themselves their 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-fighting, with which the villagers celebrate the festivals of their tutelar saints, and thither the inhabitants of the neighbour ing villages resort to enjoy the barbarous entertain ment. The bulls of Spain are 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 :Annals of the same species are less ferocious in one region than another, and that under the same degrees of latitude incipient customs arise nearly at the same L. stage of civilization among nations. The universal privilege of nobility produces a principle of dignity among all the •Biicayans from the highest to the lowest, and on proving that they originally 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 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 Cases, 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 arc 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, In 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, arc 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 arc extremely fond 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 Gui. zones of Biscay, or the Bantam of Ireland, arc 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 Chacoli 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 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 presumptions that the natives of the two countries have had one common origin." The modern Biscayans consider themselves descend ed from the ancient Cantabri, who offered the most determined resistance to the Roman arms, and who were distinguished by the same energetic character which marks their posterity.
Cantaher ante °manes hyemisque, a.stusqueollernisque, Invirtus palmamque ex omni Jerre Wore • • • • r • • r • Nee ritam sine mark pati ; quints' omnis in armis Lucis datum sita et damnatum ricere pad.