Juan Carlos Hernandez Teruel
As announced in the Festival Magazine of the previous edition, on the occasion of the realization of a work on "Banyeres during the War of Succession", we expose in the present the struggles, Austracist sieges and inclusions, that this municipality endured during the war in question. As a result of this war considered as fratricidal, Banyeres suffered the burning of all official documents, Therefore, this approximate reconstruction has been carried out by compiling a currently existing scattered bibliography., accompanied by documentation obtained from different Municipal Archives, being handwritten texts that transmit dozens of bitter stories, that for this article we have had the collaboration of the direction of the Municipal Archive of Sax: D. Vicente Vazquez Hernandez; Jijona: D. Jose Bernabe Ruiz; Bocairent: Mrs. Pepa Always Domenech; Alcoy: Mrs. Encarna Serrano Santos; Villena: Mrs. Pilar Diaz Martinez; there: Mrs. Maria Jose Martinez Tribaldos; sour: D. Rafael Reig Bodí, and that of Banyeres de Mariola through the mediation of D. Ramon Albero Belda, as well as accompanied by the assessments obtained in the numerous interviews held with D. Juan Castelló Mora (neighbor of Banyeres), to whom we give all of them our most sincere thanks for their cordial attention.
Next, all the text fragments concerning the topic will be revealed, with what we first expose the one that tells us D. José Manuel Miñana on the War of Succession in Banyeres, in his work “De Bello Rústico Valentino”:
«/(L. II-32) …So to this place (Bañeres) the boldest and bravest of the King's supporters had fled. These together with those of the town not only devastated the neighboring fields but also burned the buildings and infested everything in the style of the mercenaries.. The farmers, irritated by these actions, proposed quite frequently with a troop of soldiers who wintered in those places to destroy the town with fire.. However, with such vigor and fortitude the defenders of the fortress repulsed them that sometimes only they, others with the help of a platoon of the King's cavalry from the nearby winter quarters, They treated their enemies so badly that they would not let them escape except the wounded and those who had fled…”.
In this paragraph exposed, It should be clarified that when we read "cavalry platoon", he is not referring to a regular army on horseback, but to the militias of the Hoya de Castalla to which D. Pedro Corbí was his commander, of which we will later transcribe its certification.
On the other hand, in the "Adjusted Memorial" dated in Valencia on 13 September 1817, which is a dispute maintained by the Biar city council and the elected irrigators of the Benejama valley, then belonging to the first, against the municipalities of Bocairente and Bañeres, with the intention of fulfilling the sentence of Juan II of Aragon, of 6 of June 1459 on the use and distribution of said waters, the notary Laureano Ballester is among the witnesses presented by Banyeres (grandson of the one who was of the same name during the war that concerns us), in which when starting his testimony in the 6th question and without coming too much with the subject, declares some notes on what happened in Banyeres during the War of Succession, exposing as follows:
«/(P. 60) …but like those of Bocairente in the succession wars of the Crown of the years 1705, 6 Y 7 They were from Carlos Tercero's party, and Baths of Felipe Quinto, Those troops and those from Bocairente besieged Bathtubs seven times., and in four of them the entire town was burned and destroyed, particularly the old house of the parents and grandparents of the witness who all up to the fourth grandparent had been Notaries, they burned all the papers and protocols, leaving only three or four burned some pages, and the papers from the Villa archive were also burned, but as the witness had received from his father, this one of yours, that of the other to the first of his lineage since the conquest of King D. Jaime…».
So also in the book by Laureano Ballester, clerk of Banyeres during the years of said war, copies letters and writings referring to her, in which is the one that numbers as six belonging to the Count of Mahony, dated in Gandia to 30 July 1707, which being Field Marshal of His Majesty's armies, Colonel of a Regiment of Edinburgh Dragoons, tells us what's next:
«/(f. 5) …I certify that since I arrived at these borders of said Reyno (Valencia) the locals of said village have been employed (Bañeres) incessantly in the R.L. (Real) assi service for the protection of his homeland as well as leaving it several times to repress the rebels in his terms also for three times /(f. 5v) This town has been formally besieged by the enemies of the peasants, as well as regulated people, the peasants always resisting with effort and courage until they are helped by our people.…/…It's been twenty times that the town has been attacked by the rebels and put to flight by the locals, although on other occasions the damage has been great, caused in the earth /(f. 6) mino cassas and fields of said town…”.
On the other hand, in writing no. 16 of the aforementioned book by Laureano Ballester, with date 11 February 1708 inform Bernardo Sanz, Baitle of the then University of Banyeres and Laureano Ballester himself before the exclusive judge of the confiscation of rebel property, to which they present the testimony of various witnesses who lived through the events, also indicating the losses suffered and their valuation, of which we reproduce a fragment of Bautista Domenech and Pedro Albero, respectively, arguing as follows.
«/(f. 18) …the enemy always looked at her with horror and invaded her and finished twenty-three times and on three other occasions they besieged her in shape and one and the other with thick
troops…"".
«/(f. 18v) …the Enemies stood out together with the Rebels from this Kingdom of Valencia and harassed and harassed this University and it ended with a large number of people for twenty and three times and for three times they gave it the formal site…”».
From what was said that Bañeres was invaded more than twenty times, their days are recorded through the following citations. On the one hand, what Francisco Berenguer Mora comments on in the book “Bañeres and San Jorge”, telling it like this:
«/(P. 88) …contempt (Bañeres) in 28 from December to 1705, the threats with which he was required by D. Francis of Avila, cape of the seditious, and other times those of Basset, that he had in his power and tormented Casamayor's wife and mother-in-law if he did not hand over the plaza, and that of Ricardo Gorges, Brigadier ingles…”».
Likewise, we can find the following events, through copy no. 7 made by Laureano Ballester, in the case of the Certification of Mr. Pedro Corbi, dated in Castalla a 10 February of 1707, of whom it was previously commented that he was commander of the militias of the Hoya de Castalla, in which he comments the following:
«/(f. 6v) …I certify and attest that the University of Banieres, It is one of the most affected places that the King has, N. S. that God gde, and the most fought by the enemies of all those of the Kingdom of Valencia; Well, after having handed over the towns of Ontiniente, and Bocairente to the enemy for the month of December of the Year 1705 being Banieres a place of sien cassas, and very short medium, their neighbors resolved to defend themselves to the point of losing their lives for not knowing another owner, as they stated in the answer they gave on the day 28 of said month of December to Dn Francisco de Avila corporal of the seditious, and to better ensure their resolution, those of Banieres resolved to hazer league and brotherhood, with the villages of Hoya de Casta /(f. 7) lla, Let, Monovar and Petrel, to those who asked for help the day 26 April of the year 1706, in which they were besieged by the enemies, with whom those from Banieres were shotgunned, until help arrived and I saw the danger in which said place was located, I left a garrison from the same places that came in my company to help those from Banieres, whom the enemy wanted to attack again for five times in just the month of May of the same year 1706 and on the eighth of the same month, those of Banieres being very tight, I went to help them with the people of the Oya de Castalla and other places mentioned above, and we had the siege lifted until we put the enemy inside Bocairente and the day 15 of the same month of May the enemy tried to surprise the said place of Banieres that resisted manfully until it arrives again with the help of this oya, where the enemy was completely destroyed and we reached Bocairente's rifle shot, leading cattle of the enemy a herd of goats. About /(f. 7v) being regulated people from the third of Valencia and us all peasants =
The day 4 June of the same year 1706, the enemy returned with more than two thousand men for. attack Banieres and defended against them with great courage, until he arrives with the aid and about having killed and imprisoned many of the enemies who withdrew with hasty flight to Bocairente, and although the enemies stayed for some time, they have not forgotten the oxeriza they have charged against the poor place of Banieres, since on October 9 of that year 1706 More than six hundred Portuguese came, and many countrymen who could do no other than flee at the sight of a hundred horses with which I went to help them in whose expedition many of the enemies were killed and more than twenty prisoners. last day 14 the Nº. (November) The enemies went with greater fire and they say that they forced those of Banieres to leave the place, and they made them remove the castle from that place, they could not reduce the enemies to those good vassals to any capitulation, an /(f. 8) They defended themselves well from there and although with a lot of work because there were many enemies and the castle was very weak, they were able to hold out until the help arrived that came from this oya de castalla that due to the occasion of not having to go to the town of xixona, who also asked for help I could not go personally to Banieres, but I know that they acted with the customary fidelity and courage that other times…”.
As it has been possible to read in the exposed transcript, the Austrian intrusion carried out on the day 15 of May, they were for regulated people of the Tercio de Valencia, being soldiers of the regular army of the Kingdom that were witnessed in Bocairente, who were uniformed with a blue jacket, wearing his yellow cuffs and vest of the same color to the aforementioned cuffs. They also obtained white pants and with a head garment of a "glazed" hat called a tricorn, black trimmed with white braid, as well as footwear they used strong cowhide shoes, equipped with three soles, providing a strong walking base with spikes for better grip on the trails, whose characteristic of the time was to contain large reeds, being the same for both feet, no difference between right and left. On the other hand, it can be seen that the continuous Austracis inclusions come from Bocairente, as well as their starting to flee they return to that place, what consequently your old way, at that time of land also included in it the current street of La Cruz but not having any housing, repeatedly there must have been a multitude of wounded and dead on him.
On the other hand, and concerning the events that occurred at the 14 of November, we expose the following references and comments. In the first place and resorting to the commented letter no. 16 Laureano Ballester, we highlight again those of Bautista Domenech and Pedro Albero, respectively:
«/(f. 18) …the last one with four thousand men who could not resist in the body of the town, all the neighbors with women and children withdrew to the castle and from there they defended themselves with such courage that three hundred men were killed. And having helped them the villages of the oya de Castalla they made them flee and before they burned most of the houses of this population and looted all of them…”.
«/(f. 18v) …the last one with four thousand men who, having seized the houses of the place, saved him /(f. 19) They burned everything and burned more than thirty houses without others that were left half-burned…”.
As we can see in the first fragment comments: "...they couldn't resist in the body of the village...", to which it must be pointed out that this was comprised of a perimeter that safeguarded the population, constituted by the houses themselves with the streets closed:
«/(f. 72v) …and they determine that in view of the fact that the Rebels and fanatics are so close that every day and night they enter said Villa and disturb the residents of it for their protection, it is good that all the streets be closed and faithfully keep the credit to our king;…» (Fragment of writing no. 43 Laureano Ballester).
Thus we also read another in which he tells us: "... all the neighbors with women and children withdrew to the castle...". In this regard we can add the aforementioned Laureano Ballester that, being married to Pascuala Francés, coincidentally i was on tape, giving birth to her son Francisco Ballester the 25 April in the year of so repeated Austrian intrusions. (Protocols of Francisco Ballester of 1731).
Below we reproduce another fragment corresponding to the commented writing no. 6 belonging to the Earl of Mahony:
«/(f. 5v) …in one of the three places the enemies came to occupy the town that for the most part was burned and looted and the Vezinos having retreated to the castle, no longer having ammunition, they came to use the weapons that the same land offered them that they were the stones and the enemy fled with some loss of abandoning the town and retreating to Bocairente…”.
Finally and referring to the same day, We reproduce a fragment of the letter no. 43 Laureano Ballester, in which he tells us how much is next:
«/(f. 73v) …Occasion for which, offended, the cape of them did together with those who lived in Alcoy, Cosentaine, lieutenant, albayda and Bocayrente and others and to say goodbye to what happened in the past what preceded, on day 14 the Nº (November) of 1706 So the Regiment assisted by many countrymen from both Villas at dawn found this fenced Villa and with impetus and surprise they got into it Retreating to the castle with that vigilance that the case allowed Well with the shots, answer, it was a confusion, Well, when the countrymen retreated to the Castle, the soldiers in the Avanse who went after them was all confusion, and wanting to reach the castle they could not because they saw stones thrown at them that we threw from the castle like Ballas, the most remained lying on the ground and in view of the copious loss they set fire to the largest /(f. 74) of the village, Looting everything completely and seeing the fire that the enemies gave us, we asked Onil and his sircunvezinos for help and they assisted us with whatever vigilance they could, Damian Rico. (Justice of Onil)1 and others gave encouragement to the others so that the enemy repressed = It was not like that from Villa de Biar because that is how he himself came to ask for help; They wanted to join a meeting to help us in such a way that, seeing the lukewarmness and giving time to time, the day passed without going to what was silent about my situation, my doing the ll (leal) cervicio; Well, it was not much when at other times great lukewarmness had been experienced in fidelity to His Mag. = It was not ass in those of the City of Villena Well, seeing the Own
who was called Pedro Sempere de van entitled by Martina's last name the coldness and infidelity of those from the town of Biar; and ingratitude besides not responding to harmony; who spent the day without going to help the Villa de Banieres, He himself went to the City of Villena and heard the report, Monsiur de la Rubiniere2 ordered the cavalry to gather at full speed and two hours later Pres arrived at night at this town with the assistance of some from the time. /(f. 74v) of the City of Villena and they found this Villa at a time when the enemies had already left Withdrawn; action by which the said brigadier commanded a company of Frenchmen to stay on the flagpole for Resguardo della. But those of the Villa de Biar did not appear in said invasion.
In view of which the company of the French remained in the Castle Dn. Pedro Corbi colonel embio company of horse to make corerias and Repress fanatics i Rebels; and it lasted so long that after having conquered the Villa de Ontiniente…” (9 May 1707).
The French regiments of Louis XIV (1643-1715) they used to be named after the region or department from which they recruited their men, therefore in the case of "Blesois" it is a name of Blois, which is the capital of the Loir et Cher department located on the banks of the Loire river. Said Regiment participated in the Battle of Almansa, in which picture of said Battle, Made in 1709 commissioned by Philip V, It is represented with the number 8, where its corresponding sign reads like this:
«The Mailly Brigade composed of the Mailly Reding Blesois Battalions commanded by Mª Beauaues».
This Regiment would be uniformed with a mouse gray jacket and breeches., almost white, like all French, possibly blue sleeve cuffs with a vest of the same color as the aforementioned sleeve cuffs and the black three-cornered hat trimmed with white braid, as they were normally in all generally uniform. Possibly, the French Company alluded to in the cited text are the thirty soldiers mentioned by the aforementioned Pedro Albero:
«/(f. 19) …a commander and thirty soldiers who have been garrisoned in the Castle of this University, the longest this war has lasted…” (Fragment of writing no. 16 Laureano Ballester), which is probably the same one that is mentioned as Tropa del Sor, in the first part of the relationship between Fabián and Fuero made by virtue of the Royal Order of His Majesty of 18 April 1790. Likewise, in the aforementioned writing implies that they were a period of time, more or less long after the mentioned siege, to which in the Municipal Archives of Villena we have been able to find a record dated 27 of the 12 of 1707, in which its last paragraph tells us the following:
«… According to this City. Accommodation is available. to the thirty soldiers of acavallo q. they have come for. garrison and defense of this Plaza, and take care of the artillery. ay in her detainee of order of the S. Conde Mahoni=…”.
From these said soldiers we intuit, since it does not reflect more data than those exposed, being so by his number, the body to which it belonged and the date of appearance in Villena, could be the Company that the aforementioned monsieur ordered to stay on the night of the 15 November 1706. By last, and as can also be seen in the same text, the aid of the town of Biar did not make an appearance on this occasion, to which, on the contrary, the militias of Pedro Corbí were present, as we have read in their certification, to which we believe that they went to Banyeres by the old path of Onil.
In order to find out more days of Austrian intrusion, can be found in the National Historical Archive of Madrid, in the Tips section, that a file is preserved that contains the lawsuit over the possession and ownership of the notaries of Banyeres de Mariola initiated in 1774. In this litigation there is the statement of the then escribano de Banyeres, Francis Ballester, made on 18 August 1743, in which he states:
"On the occasion of the invasion of the troops (of Archduke Charles), occurred in the year of 1706 in that village (Banyeres de Mariola), almost all the houses were burned and among them that of Laureano Ballester (his father), and that of Pedro Ballester (his grandfather), write U.S, with all the notes and protocols that they guarded except for four books, although not whole, respective of the years of 1633, 1646, 1651 Y 1652, that in the latter and 2 April there is a lease deed from the Courts of Bayle and Justice of that town (Banyeres de Mariola), which is the one granted by Cristóbal Vicent, whose books were kept for having taken them out of Casa, however of which, there is one that has some leaves burned.”3
effectively, the protocols up to that time went up in flames in one of the assaults on Banyeres during the War of Succession,
«/(f. 19) …they burned all the Papers and Privileges that the University and the office of Laureano Ballester had, sno (Sr. Notary)…» (Fragment of writing no. 16 of Laureano Ballester of the aforementioned testimony of Pedro Albero). So too, examining these preserved books, which is also referenced in the commented text of the "Adjusted Memorial", It is a draft of writings that are gathered in a volume in 4th (page format), in the Municipal Archive of Alcoy with signature 175, containing some slightly burnt leaves corresponding to the year 1633. It is accompanied by the books already indicated, plus the one pertaining to the year 1656, being all referring to Ibi and Fuente la Higuera,
Villas of which Pedro Ballester was notary; only one deed is related to Banyeres. In them you can see how the numbering of the folios is indicated in the upper right margin of each one.. Likewise, at the beginning of said volume contains added a sheet written in the handwriting of the aforementioned Laureano, being in the Valencian language, so he must have remade it before the abolition of the fueros, in which it says the following:
"Inventory of the Acts that remain from the notes books and Protocols of Mi aguelo (significant of old) Pere Ballester nor (abbreviation of Notary) what remains of the day of the burning of this Vila, what are the days 8 November 1706 and for averse burnt the inventory of that one and I LaureAn Ballester nor work on it (Notary) For that niaga clear ahead. Year = of = 1633.»
In the “Antonio do Couto Castelo Branco Comments on the campaigns of 1706 Y 1707 in Spain", narrates that he was quartered with his Tercio in Bocairente, between 14 October 1706 and the 3 April 1707, but it does not mention anything about the intervention of the commented day 8 of November, to what yes, as we saw in the Festival Magazine last year, who participated in the siege of the day 14 the same month, together with the Tercios of Onteniente, Agris and Alcoy. But who was also quartered with said Field Master D. Antonio Couto, was the Tercio of the also Master of Field D. Pedro José de Mello commanded by Sergeant Major Jacob de Paiva, to what we intuit was possibly the Third of these last, those who participated in the Portuguese intrusion on that day 8. These Portuguese soldiers would possibly be uniformed as they are always illustrated in the texts, with pearl gray jacket and breeches with green sleeve cuffs and vest, with tricorn equal to the other uniforms, being in black edged with white braid.
As the year progressed 1706, until after the Battle of Almansa (25 April 1707), the town of Bañeres (bourbon square), formed border with the towns of its part N and E, declared in favor of Archduke Charles, constituting a series of incessant Austrian intrusions for the municipality of Banyer, to what between those periods of time in which the confrontations ceased, They were moments in which they tried to recover as long as what was lost. A) Yes, we find a brief fragment in the letter no. 43 Laureano Ballester, commenting how much is next:
«/(f. 73) …And in view of the continued annoyance of the Munsu enemies of the Rubiniera, he sent a company of Migaletes to more of the Union companies that would steal as much as they could; Great feeling of the Villa de Banieres that sustaining them the essential would steal; and although different representations were made to the brigadier in Xamas, it was possible to achieve; the one who did not steal a portion of war…».
Likewise, it was also made clear by the nuisances they gave him, to the aforementioned Master of Field D. Antonio do Couto in his mentioned diary, as follows:
«/(P. 604-605) …There were continuous alarms and clashes with the enemies to ensure the crops; there were intelligence with confidants to know the movements of the enemy, where a lot of money was spent. Battle Sergeant Major D. Juan Manuel Noroña (stationed in Alcoy) He told me to send him the list of what he had spent on spies, but I replied that I did not keep track of what I had given. Being on the border, he had many clashes with enemies, who came to ambush the cattle, So most days I had encounters with them for six months…”.
Of the total days described, those who formed formal sites, Vicente Gascón Pelegrí tells us about it in his book “The Valencian Region in the War of Succession”, as follows:
«/(P. 79) …had to heroically endure three major sieges, how were those of 26 of April, 8 of May and 14 of November, respectively, of the year 1706,..”».
Three days are the ones that are repeatedly mentioned as formal sites, but when exposing how many days have been cited, missing a few more, it could be understood that more days were understood as sieges, thus reaching its number to those mentioned in the commented at the beginning of this article "Adjusted Memory", revealed a little more than a century after the war that concerns us. Likewise, In said litigation, the number of times the town of Bañeres was burned is commented on., to which at the end of our 2nd part, we almost got to complete your referred number.
To be continue
Notes:
1. "... Frances Rico de Damia ciutada Justicia in the civil and criminal of the present Vila de Onil in the current year;…” Heading of the foundation deed of the “Unión de la Hoya de Castalla”, that formed the towns of Castalla, Onil, Ibi and Tibi with those of Bañeres, Biar Petrel and Monovar, celebrated on 14 from December to 1705 before the notary of Onil, rich savior.
2. D. Monsieur de la Rubiniera era D. Sunday's Robiniere, who was governor commander of weapons of Villena and Square Brigadier French Infantry Regiment called "Blesois". This regiment was garrisoned in Villena, It is able to calculate the number of soldiers in at least one 800, because they were the accommodation places -tickets- that Mr. Dominic asked the City Council villenense: “…how Brigadier D. Domingo Robinier, Governor commander of weapons of this city, He asks that eight hundred tickets be delivered to him for as many Frenchmen who are garrisoned to house them in this city…” (council of 1 from December to 1706 Villena).
3. judgment of 25 October 1382. José Luis Vañó Pont. Magazine of Festivals and Fair of Santa María Magdalena de Banyeres de Mariola, 2007.
P. 45-46.
