Disputes with the province. There were several at this time, detailed by Gorosabel: “Since ancient times, Fuenterrabía claimed that in the place called Puntal, near the city itself, there should be a barge for the passage of people to France; further asserting that its ordinary mayors were competent to grant licenses, that is, passports for goods exported to that kingdom. In short, it sought to annul the grant made by the Catholic Monarchs to the province regarding the alcaldía de sacas, which the province had long held. Fuenterrabía based its claim on the fact that the Behobia crossing was under its jurisdiction, and added that in the past its mayors dealt exclusively with border smuggling. From all this, it argued that the grant of the alcaldía de sacas to the province could not prejudice existing rights at the time; in other words, it should be understood without harming any interested third party. The province always rejected such claims from Fuenterrabía and firmly upheld the exclusive jurisdiction of its alcalde de sacas over that crossing.
As a result of this disagreement, the town of Fuenterrabía filed a lawsuit against the province before the Council of Castile around 1560; and the province’s second resentment over such unfair conduct deprived Fuenterrabía of the alcaldía de sacas, whose jurisdiction it refused to recognize. This situation continued until 1621, when the city proposed a settlement. As a result of these efforts, a concord was achieved by deed on May 2 of the same year, with Fuenterrabía agreeing to abandon its claims and lawsuits, recognizing the exclusive jurisdiction of the alcalde de sacas over the entire Behobia crossing. In consideration of this submission, and the fact that Fuenterrabía had been excluded from the alcaldía de sacas for more than sixty years, the province granted it two extraordinary turns.
Nevertheless, despite such a solemn agreement, the city later renewed its old claims on several occasions. This occurred in 1675, when its mayors insisted that their inhabitants not be registered by the guards of the alcaldía de sacas when crossing into France, intending instead to issue the export passports themselves. Other times, they sought to have the passage barge located at Puntal, that is, near the city. Their mayors also attempted to claim authority over cases of smuggling reported by themselves, their subordinates, or townspeople. But the province always strongly rejected such demands, which no other mayor had, upholding the exclusive jurisdiction of its alcalde de sacas, hence the reason for new and lengthy lawsuits before the Council of Castile. The result was that in 1713, this supreme tribunal d that the jurisdiction of the alcalde de sacas was cumulative and preventive alongside the ordinary mayors of Fuenterrabía in its territory.”
The castle of San Telmo. On a height, to defend this port against pirates, the castle of San Telmo was built in 1598 by order of the king near Cape Higuer, and from then on it was generally armed and garrisoned.