The Gamazada protests in Navarre, Spain

The Gamazada was a reaction in Navarre, Spain in 1893 and 1894, to when the Spanish Finance Minister, Germán Gamazo, under Prime Minister Sagasta’s liberal party, tried to suppress the fueros that had been established in the Compromise Act of 1841. The protests started in Vitoria-Gasteiz and continued across Biscay, Navarre, and San Sebastián, ending tragically in the latter in 1893. Gamazo proposed increasing the annual contributions of the four provinces with fueros, allowing the Government, via Article 17 of the Budget Law, to apply the same contributions and taxes in Navarre and the other Basque provinces as in all other Spanish provinces.

The Government of Navarre made a formal protest on May 16th, 1893, and was seconded by city governments and the press. However, the delegation sent to Madrid to hold talks with Sagasta and Gamazo ended in failure. The liberal newspaper El Eco de Navarra convened marches in the five merindades of Navarre on May 28th. On the following Sunday, another large march was organized in Pamplona. In this climate, a two-day episode of armed revolt also occurred, starting during the night of June 1st–2nd, led by Sergeant José López Zabalegui.

Upon shouting “¡Vivan los fueros! (“Long live the fueros!”), they headed to Arraiza, where they were arrested by forces of the Civil Guard and the army. The sergeant and the two residents of Obanos managed to escape and reach the French border. This event was condemned by El Eco de Navarra, describing it as a “demented act carried out by seven fools”, and the Navarrese Government assured the Civil Governor, Andrés García Gómez de la Serna, that this was an isolated incident and that they “unanimously reject violent acts”.

The Government, after the altercations in Puente la Reina, did not authorize the march for June 4th, 1893. Nevertheless, more than 17,000 people gathered, of all classes and political parties. The Monument to the Fueros of Navarre, erected in Pamplona and designed by Manuel Martínez de Ubago, was placed in front of the Navarrese Government Building. Although it was never inaugurated until 1903, it stands as a symbol of Navarrese freedom and a reminder of the resistance to the bill concerning the Fueros. The event led to the strengthening of the union with the other three Basque provinces: Biscay, Araba, and Gipuzkoa.

Sources: Wikipedia, OpenStreetMap, Wikidata