An incident with the inhabitants of Hendaye almost jeopardized the peace France and Spain. In 1679, during the passage of Queen Maria Luisa of Bourbon, the French complained that the people of Fuenterrabía had committed abuses, including burning a boat carrying priests and servants of Prince d’Ancourt and violating the French flag.
In response, in 1680, French troops gathered near Bayonne, and four war frigates blockaded the port of Fuenterrabía. Faced with this serious situation, the Guipúzcoa Juntas Generales tried to intervene to prevent an international conflict and appointed Martín Antonio de Barrutia as a special commissioner to investigate the alleged offenses.
Upon reaching Fuenterrabía, Barrutia was unable to enter: armed townspeople and local clergy opposed to the inquiry forced him to turn back. Even sending a priest as a messenger failed. The province reported Fuenterrabía’s resistance to royal authority to the king.
On May 21, 1680, the Juntas Generales decreed, given the impossibility of enforcing the law immediately, that Fuenterrabía be excluded from the Hermandad of Guipúzcoa. The king expressed his appreciation for the province’s loyalty but emphasized the need to maintain good relations with the city. A royal provision of October 3, 1680, finally confirmed the exclusion and ordered that Fuenterrabía be readmitted to the province with all its previous honors and rights.