Convocation of the Estates-General
On the eve of the Revolution, France was experiencing a severe financial crisis. The State’s coffers were empty, but taxes could no longer be raised as they had reached the limits of taxpayers’ capacity. Reforms were necessary. The successive ministers of Louis XVI—Necker, Turgot, Calonne—all knew that the only way to remedy the situation was to spread the tax burden among the greatest number of taxpayers. However, a tax paid by everyone was rejected by the nobility and clergy, who demanded the convocation of the Estates-General, which had not met since 1614. They certainly expected confirmation of their privileges from it.
Thus, on February 19, 1789, Louis XVI sent a letter to the governor of Soule, expressing his intention to hold the Estates-General on April 27 of that year (Larrieu, 1891). He ordered that the Estates of Soule be convened in Mauléon as soon as possible to draft their complaints and grievances and propose reforms. They were then to elect one deputy from the clergy, one from the nobility, and two from the Third Estate. A special regulation added that His Majesty considered it fair that Soule send deputies directly to the Estates-General, as it was united under a common administration. This was tantamount to confirming their Estates and their identity.
Soule in 1789
Despite infringements by central authority, which had occasionally caused serious crises such as the sale of royal domains to M. de Troisvilles and the Matalas revolt, and thanks to the fierce determination of its inhabitants to preserve their independence, Soule enjoyed a certain autonomy on the eve of the Revolution. While it was obliged to pay taxes, it was the Estates-General, its parliament, that decided how they would be apportioned.
As is well known, attempts were made to limit its independence by altering its composition through the suppression of the Silviet, but Soule remained a country of Estates whose only law was the Foru. The Souletins thus had experience in political life in assembly dating back to ancient times, and they considered themselves guardians of their Constitution, the Foru. Like the Labourdins, Navarrese, and Béarnais, but for different reasons, they wondered whether it was appropriate to send deputies to the Estates-General. Indeed, they had never been represented in previous Estates-General and had little interest in having their affairs resolved in the capital. They feared, in particular, the expenses of travel and stay in Versailles for their representatives, and they had not forgotten what their delegates had cost them during the Troisvilles affair more than a century earlier.
Designation of Deputies
They were so slow to meet with the other French deputies that, on May 5, 1789, the day the Estates-General opened in Versailles, the Souletins met…in Mauléon, under the presidency of Clément Méharon de Maytie, king’s counselor and civil and criminal lieutenant of the castellany, in the absence of the governor, M. Mesnard de Clesle. They set the date for an extraordinary assembly to designate deputies and prepare the cahiers de doléances. This assembly took place in Mauléon from May 18 to July 3, 1789, in the Capuchin chapel.
The bishop of Oloron, Mgr de Villoutreix de Faye, was elected by the clergy; the nobility chose Marquis Jean Bernard d’Uhart, son of the Baron of Uhart, king’s lieutenant in Soule and lord of Sauguis; and the Third Estate designated the mayor of Mauléon, Jean Pierre d’Arraing, and d’Escuret-Laborde, royal notary of the same town.
The Parishes of Soule under the Ancien Régime
Each parish therefore drafted its cahier de doléances. These are of great historical interest as they reveal, through the complaints, demands, and hopes of the Souletins, their living conditions and mentalities. We know of 53 of the 69 parish cahiers of 1789 thanks to Dr. Larrieu, who discovered them in a Mauléon barn and published them in 1891. They are as follows:
Abense de Haut, Aïnharp, Alçabéhéty, Alçay, Alos, Aroue, Arrast, Athérey, Aussurucq, Berrogain, Camou, Cihigue, Charritte-de-Haut-Arhan, Chéraute, Domezain, Espès, Etcharry, Etchebar, Garindein, Gestas, Gotein, Haux, L’Hôpital-Saint-Blaise, Idaux, Ithorots, Lacarry, Larrau, Larrebieu, Larrory, Libarrenx, Lichans, Licharre, Licq, Mendy, Menditte, Moncayolle, Musculdy, Olhaïby, Ordiarp, Ossas, Osserain, Oyhercq, Pagolle, Restoue, Saint-Etienne, Sauguis, Suhare, Sunhar, Sunharrette, Troisvilles, Undurein, Viodos.
Drafting the Cahiers de Doléances
May 5 and 18, the inhabitants of each parish gathered to draft their cahiers. Most were drafted collectively and signed by all. Sometimes they elected a deputy to write down the deliberations and represent them, as in Osserain. In other cases, several communities chose the same scribe; for example, Jean Baptiste Sunhary, prosecutor of Aroue, was chosen by Etcharry and Ithorots. Oyhercq and Aïnharp chose d’Escuret-Laborde as secretary, who would later become the Third Estate deputy of Soule to the Estates-General. The cahiers thus bear the mark of their authors. They are not identical, even if certain articles are often phrased almost the same. Some are long, like Gotein’s with 30 articles or Cihigue’s with 45, while others are very short, like Camou’s with only 5. But all reflect the same difficulties and hopes. The style is generally simple and direct, with a respectful tone toward the king.
Taxes and Duties
What, then, is the content of these cahiers? Above all, the Souletins complain of taxes that are too heavy given the country’s poverty. They call for the abolition of certain burdens they deem particularly unjust, useless, and intolerable, such as tolls and foreign duties that hinder provincial trade, the collection of the “carnero larrari” by the collectors of each owner’s mountain hut (kaiolar), and special taxes for the Picardy and Burgundy canals, which Soule cannot even manage for its own river. They the removal of unnecessary and costly “haras,” the ineffective Water and Forest administration, and a reduction in the number of officials such as bailiffs and messengers.
They find it particularly scandalous to give 3,000 livres each year to the governor, who has only visited Soule once, on taking office. Moreover, the country went into debt to build him a residence, which was barely completed before another equally unnecessary one was bought. They demanded the sale of both and the elimination of all allowances for the governor, his lieutenant, and others.
Fiscal and Political Equality
Above all, the Third Estate demanded tax equality:
"That taxes and other burdens be borne equally by the clergy, nobility, and Third Estate" (Etcharry);
"That feudal and noble properties be taxed as much as rural holdings, and that no person or property be exempt from corvée" (Osserain).
(In Soule, where the king was the only direct lord, corvée applied only to road construction and maintenance, but since the edict of November 6, 1786, it could be paid in money instead of labor). Another common suggestion in almost all cahiers was:
"To reduce archbishops, bishops, and abbots to a dignified income suitable to their rank, and use the surplus to pay the national debt, then complete clergy stipends and reduce taxes" (Pagolle).
But the Souletins did not limit themselves to fiscal equality; they also demanded equality in all domains:
"That the law excluding the Third Estate from military service be abolished, and that they may rise to all civil offices and dignities."
Attachment to the Foru
These grievances against taxation were always accompanied by a firm affirmation of attachment to the Constitution and privileges. They invoked the first articles of the Foru:
"All inhabitants of Soule are free and of free condition, without stain of servitude, and may bear arms at all times for the defense of themselves and the country."
They also recalled their rights to hunting and fishing, and that common lands belonged to the inhabitants, insisting that “the Country must be maintained in its property” (Tardets). As a pastoral people, they frequently mentioned grazing rights on wastelands (Elissondo, 1988) and ed freedom to bring livestock into royal forests. Their historic attachment to individual liberties is evident again:
"That the liberty of all citizens be inviolable and that no one may be deprived of it by a 'lettre de cachet'" (Gestas, Cihigue, etc.).
Despite their respect for the Foru, several communities sought to reform certain articles, such as reducing the 41-year right of preemption to one year for avitins (ancestral properties) or standardizing succession across the province.
Judicial Reform
Another commonly expressed concern was judicial reform. “The proceedings are long and ruinous” (Tardets). To avoid lengthy appeals, they ed that the Mauléon castellany, which replaced the Licharre Court in 1776, be transformed into a presidial court, with sovereign authority up to a sum some (Etchebar) set at 200 livres. They also ed simplification of procedures and, politically, that judges of the castellany of Soule be five: three from the Third Estate and two from the Nobility. By the Foru, only nobles and holders of noble houses were
"juges-jugeants" in the Licharre Court. Some even proposed abolishing the unique right of noble house holders to judge without qualification.
Critique of the Clergy
Few references were made to the nobility. By contrast, the clergy were heavily criticized. Some, like in Musculdy, demanded:
"The suppression of the priories of Larrau, Aïnharp, and L’Hôpital-Saint-Blaise, which had previously been hospitals aiding pilgrims and the poor, and are now possessed by ecclesiastics who are of no use to religion. Their revenues should be allocated to the Mauléon hospital."
Others went further: “the suppression of friars and all useless religious orders.” Yet in many cases, they wanted clerical stipends increased, ing the influence of priests involved in drafting.
Communal, Provincial, and National Interests
Some residents hoped the Estates-General would solve local problems. Etcharry wanted the serora appointed by the community; Pagolle wanted the parish included in the small Arbaille; Tardets complained about competition from Spanish wines. Some thought of the future, advocating for the creation of the Mauléon college (Montory, Cihigue) or sending talented individuals to Paris for training at the expense of the province. Others, like in Suhare, looked further afield, proposing:
"To grant the King extraordinary but limited aid to restore the nation’s finances, and to that the parliaments be preserved entirely as they are the true…fathers of the people."
Ultimately, the cahiers de doléances provide an inexhaustible source of information on life and mentalities at the time. They reveal the Souletins’ concern to preserve their Foru and privileges, and their aspirations for equality and fair taxation. They denounce, in simple terms, the burden of taxes and obligations. The Third Estate wanted its voice heard and aspired to influence.
Conclusion of the Extraordinary Assembly of the Estates of Soule
The extraordinary assembly of the Estates of Soule began on May 18, 1789, in Mauléon. On May 20, the Third Estate, with 142 delegates representing the 69 communities, appointed 25 commissioners to synthesize all the parish cahiers and draft the General Cahier of Grievances and Petitions of the Third Estate of Soule (Vinson, 1882; Hourmat, 1989; Regulen, 1991). The commissioners finished drafting on June 13, and the cahier was approved on June 20. It contained 71 articles synthesizing the essential s of the parish cahiers.
On June 20 and 22, deputies to the Estates-General were elected, and the assembly dissolved on July 3. The deputies did not arrive in Versailles until the second half of July, by which time many events had already occurred: the Third Estate had proclaimed itself the National Assembly on June 17; on June 19, the clergy decided to join the Third Estate, formally doing so on June 24; the Tennis Court Oath took place on June 20; on June 27, the king ordered the nobility to join the other two orders; on July 11, Necker was dismissed; and on July 14, a popular uprising erupted in Paris with the storming of the Bastille. The Revolution was already underway when the Souletin deputies arrived in Versailles.
The Revolution in Motion
The Basque Country remained free from the riots that erupted in Paris and from the “Great Fear” that shook the rural world. To prevent such dangers, the people of Mauléon organized a militia, the Garde Nationale. In Versailles, the National Assembly, on the night of August 4, decided to abolish the feudal , as well as corporate, provincial, and seigneurial privileges. The representatives of Soule voted for these decrees. The Soule National Guard quickly took action, as on market days—August 25, September 1, and September 8—riots broke out in Mauléon due to the high price of wheat.
Abolition of the Estates of Soule
The Constituent Assembly abolished provinces like Soule and their respective provincial Estates. The “pays” were replaced by departments, divided into districts, and further into municipalities. Assemblies at all levels were composed of elected representatives, but the Constitution defined the status of citizens with political rights, dividing the French into active and passive citizens. Only active citizens, by paying a minimum contribution, were electors; the poor, women, and servants were excluded from voting.
Creation of the Department of the Lower Pyrenees
Soule, like other Basque territories, would have preferred to retain its individuality rather than be integrated into a larger administrative unit. A deputy from Béarn wrote:
"The three Basque provinces have formed a coalition among themselves, citing uniformity of language, customs, and practices as a pretext."
However, the Assembly decreed, ignoring the wishes of the inhabitants (January 12, 1790):
"Soule, Navarre, and Labourd are united with Béarn to form a single department."
Departments were divided into districts. The Mauléon district kept the boundaries of the old Soule territory, with 25,156 inhabitants, 3,431 active citizens, and 29 electors for choosing deputies to the National Assembly. The first municipal elections took place on February 15, 1790. The 60 active citizens of Mauléon out of 900 elected François Arraing, former mayor and father of their deputy to the National Assembly, ing adherence to the past.
Religious Issues
To avoid bankruptcy, the National Assembly placed church property “at the disposal of the Nation.” On February 13, 1790, it prohibited monastic vows and suppressed religious orders. On March 17, it decreed the sale of church property. The Mauléon municipality decided to acquire the only convent in Soule, that of the Capuchins, “by unanimous vote of the inhabitants so that the house be preserved for religious who wished to remain in retirement.”
Finally, on November 27, the Constituent Assembly required all active clergy to take the following oath:
"I swear to be faithful to the Nation, the Law, and the King and to diligently oversee the flock entrusted to my care."
This oath caused serious divisions within the Church; the clergy split into jurors and refractory priests. In the continental Basque Country, Soule was the area of least opposition, but the Bishop of Oloron refused to take the oath. Seeking to reform everything, the Constituent Assembly created new dioceses, suppressed others, and assumed the right to appoint clergy—from bishops to parish priests—without consulting the Pope, who condemned these measures. Some clergy, especially lower-ranking priests, enthusiastically embraced them; others, mainly bishops, rejected them and went into exile; most tried to reconcile loyalty to the Constitution with fidelity to the Pope. J.P. d’Etcheverry, parish priest of Mauléon, took the required oath on March 6, 1791, with reservations regarding Religion, but refused to read the pastoral letter of Sanadon, newly appointed constitutional bishop. On October 9, 1791, parish elections took place in Mauléon, St Jean de Berraute, resulting in 13 new appointees to replace “restrictive” priests with “constitutional” ones.
Threat of Hunger
Famine persisted in 1792. On January 12, the Mauléon town council ed that the Minister of the Interior send grain
"to prevent the threat of hunger."
On April 14, bread and meat were taxed due to scarcity. On May 22, it was announced that the National Assembly had decided to purchase wheat to aid departments in need. However, the quantity allocated to the Mauléon district was insufficient, and on June 17, the mayor foresaw “an inevitable insurrection if the situation is not remedied.”
Refractory Priests and Emigrants
From its first sessions, the Legislative Assembly sought to combat counter-revolutionaries: refractory priests and émigrés. Many priests were “nonconforming.” The Mauléon procurator ed measures against those undermining the Constitution, particularly nonconforming priests who, under the pretext of a Papal Brief, accused conformist priests of heresy. On September 22, 1792, complaints were made about the former canon of Arthez, who celebrated Mass in the Mauléon oratory alongside the constitutional priest, drawing many attendees. In October, former religious residing in the district were required to abandon their habits to erase distinctions, applying the Assembly decree of April 6 that suppressed all religious congregations and prohibited clerical clothing. On February 9, 1792, the Assembly decreed that the property of French citizens abroad be confiscated for the benefit of the Nation. On February 11, Mauléon sealed the property of Madame Charritte, the town’s only émigré.
The Convention
The departmental assembly elected citizen Neveu of Mauléon as one of the six deputies to the Convention, which first convened in Paris on September 21, 1792, and decreed the abolition of the monarchy in France. The next day, deputies decided that public acts would be dated in Year I of the Republic. On January 17, 1793, in Paris, the Convention voted for the King’s death by 361 votes to 360—a majority of one. The six deputies from the Lower Pyrenees voted to detain but not ute the King, making them, along with the Lower Alps, an exception in France. On January 21, Louis XVI was uted. Mauléon municipal records make no mention of this; however, on February 23, it was decided to plant a Tree of Liberty in the main square of Mauléon.
France at War
Relations with Spain had previously been governed by the Family Pact, but from these events, they deteriorated. From October 1792, young people from Lower Navarre went to the border to counter possible enemies. On January 17, 1793, Spain’s King Carlos IV offered, through his representative, neutrality and mediation if Louis XVI’s life was spared. The Convention responded by declaring war on March 7. The King’s ution prompted a coalition against France: Austria and Prussia, followed by Holland, England (Feb 1, 1793), Spain (March 7), and Russia (March 25). On February 24, the Convention decreed a levy of 300,000 volunteers, and on May 9, representatives were sent to departments to enforce the decree. On April 30, 1793, the Army of the Western Pyrenees was created under General Servan, regrouping units Hendaye–Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port–Bayonne. In Soule, key passes like Larrau and Sainte-Engrâce were guarded by up to 6,000 men, centered on Tardets. On April 30, four Representatives, including Féraud, were sent to this army. The revolutionary administration oversaw volunteer battalions at the border.
In April 1793, Spanish troops advanced into France, sacking Sara on May 2 and taking Aldudes on May 27. Operations did not exceed the Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port meridian eastward. Soule remained safe due to high terrain and difficult access. By June, the French regained lost ground; by August 7, Aldudes was retaken. French Basque chasseurs distinguished themselves alongside Representative Féraud. Zuberoa contributed to national efforts, converting the Bérraute church into a military warehouse and hospital.
Popular Song
A popular song from 1793–1795 commemorates the participation of Souletins, Lower Navarrese, and Labourdins in the war against Spain:
Laphurdi, basa Nafarre, Zuberoa gureki…
[Song describes unity and patriotic sentiment against Spain.]
Representatives of the People
Following Carnot’s speech, the Convention decreed on March 9, 1793, the dispatch of:
"Commissioners from the National Convention to instruct citizens on threats to the nation and mobilize sufficient forces to repel enemies."
These became Representatives of the People sent to the army on April 30, with unlimited powers, reporting to the Committee of Public Safety. Among them were Étienne Neveu of Mauléon and Féraud in Soule, tasked with frontier defense, conscription, army organization, and maintaining order.
Public Health Measures
On March 21, 1793, the Convention established Revolutionary Surveillance Committees in communes. Mauléon held its first session on October 31. On April 6, the Public Health Committee was created. May 13 decrees ordered disarmament of ex-nobles and priests, though apparently no one in Mauléon was affected.
Dechristianization
On October 5, 1792, the Convention adopted the Republican calendar, replacing Sunday with décadi as a day of rest. In Soule, de-Christianization was superficial, limited to Trees of Liberty ceremonies and patriotic songs. The only exception was Aroue, where Reason was celebrated in 1794.
Revolutionary Government and First Arrests
On October 10, 1793, the Constitution was suspended. Committees of Surveillance compiled lists of suspects, imprisoned them, and issued certificates of civism. On November 7, the Bélaspect house in Mauléon became a prison. Among the first detained was Ambroise d’Arthez, later freed at the of local youth, only to later die by suicide to avoid ution. In December 1793 and January 1794, new Public Health Committees were elected, ing local independence.
Continuation of Dechristianization
The former Mauléon parish church, Saint-Jean-de-Berraute, was turned into a military hospital. On February 21, 1794, the district director ordered the removal of church furniture to house soldiers and convert linens into bandages.
9th of Thermidor
On July 26, 1794, Robespierre gave his final speech; he was arrested the next day and uted on July 27, ending the Terror. By August 3, 15 prisoners remained in Mauléon. New Representatives were appointed over the summer, marking political relaxation.
End of the War with Spain
After occupying Gipuzkoa, the French planned to invade Navarre but paused due to winter and epidemics that killed over 30,000 in military and civilian populations. In 1795, the Treaty of Basel ended the war on July 22, restoring territories and establishing peace with Spain.
Reopening of Churches
On February 21, 1795, the Convention proclaimed the separation of Church and State and freedom of worship. By May 31, Catholic worship resumed. Citizens of Mauléon ed use of the Villa Alta chapel for worship on June 17.
The Directory
The Directory implemented the 1795 Constitution (Year III). Universal male suffrage was replaced with census suffrage. Étienne Neveu, of Mauléon, was elected to the Council of 500. The Catholic Church regained its place, with constitutional and refractory priests sharing parishes. On November 9, 1799, a coup ended the Directory, replacing it with three consuls, including Bonaparte.
From the Consulate to the Empire
France transitioned from the Directory to the Consulate without major upheaval, affecting Zuberoa minimally. Departments and municipalities were maintained; Mauléon became a subprefecture, encompassing almost all of Lower Navarre and all of Soule. On June 4, 1800, Jean-Pierre Lancel was appointed mayor. Tasks included restoring public services and schools. Napoleon’s Civil Code (1804) guaranteed property rights, individual freedom, male equality, abolished feudalism, and established secular governance. On May 18, 1804, Bonaparte was proclaimed Emperor.
Moderation during the Revolution
Like the whole department of the Lower Pyrenees, the province of Soule was, during the French Revolution, in favor of a policy of cautious and moderate reforms, distant, of course, from the Old Regime, but also distant from a revolutionary government.
Soule, the leftmost territory of Iparralde
It is known that Iparralde often appears in electoral sociology studies as a conservative stronghold, widely influenced by traditional and clerical values. It should be noted, however – and the fact is perceived more clearly if one considers the electoral results of the very conservative neighboring province of Lower Navarre (in short, the cantons of Bidache, Labastide-Clairence, Iholdy, Saint-Palais, Saint-Étienne-de-Baïgorry, and Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port) – that Soule is the province that is the most left-wing in Iparralde. This position has been constant from the results obtained by Augustin Chaho in 1848-1849 to the legislative elections of 1997. Several series of factors can explain this significantly more left-wing position: historical factors (republicanism, secular tradition, less weight of the clergy than in Lower Navarre or in interior Labourd) and also economic or social factors (smaller farms, difficulties of mountain agriculture, more modest general standard of living, reaction against depopulation).
Methodological note. It is necessary to formulate a methodological note: in order to achieve greater convenience in analysis, when, in these lines, we speak of Soule, we will refer only to the two cantons of Mauléon and Tardets, that is, we will not take into account, for the purpose of analyzing electoral results, the 7 communes historically Souletine dependent on the canton of Saint-Palais: Aroue-Ithorots-Olhaïby, Domezain-Berraute, Etcharry, Gestas, Lohitzun-Oyhercq, Osserain-Rivareyte, and Pagolle. Considering that these communes represent only 1,638 inhabitants of the general population census of 1990 and that there were 1,405 registered voters in the legislative elections of June 1997, this fact could hardly alter the results obtained. The same applies to Esquiule – 524 inhabitants in the general population census of 1990, populated by Basques but dependent on the canton of Oloron – which was also not taken into account.
Political life in the 19th century
Around 1840, Soule, in its two cantons of Mauléon and Tardets, had about 22,000 inhabitants. Mauléon is the head of an arrondissement that brings together the provinces of Lower Navarre and Soule (145 communes in total). This fact is, in itself, quite paradoxical if we consider that at the same time, the population of Lower Navarre represents more than double (around 45,000 inhabitants) that of Soule. Saint-Palais, seat of the Court of First Instance, edly ed – in vain – during the entire first half of the 19th century, the transfer of the subprefecture of the arrondissement of Mauléon to Saint-Palais, arguing not only a larger Lower Navarre population but also its superiority over Mauléon in road communications. On June 24, 1845, serious incidents broke out as a consequence of misery and an extremely difficult food situation. 500 and 600 rebels participated in this day, but the strong presence of the Army quickly restored calm.
The reign of notables
It was the most dominant feature of political, economic, and social life in France under the Restoration and the July Monarchy (1815-1848). Under the Restoration, those male citizens who paid more than 300 francs of tax were voters; in this way, there were barely 346 voters in the department of the Lower Pyrenees on the eve of the Revolution of 1830. A law of March 1831 lowered the threshold to be a voter from 300 to 200 francs of tax, and from 1,000 to 500 francs of tax to be eligible. In 1847, there were 1,499 voters in the Lower Pyrenees; according to Jean-Claude Drouin (1978), only 41 voters in the canton of Mauléon (0.23% of the population) and 17 in the canton of Tardets (0.15% of the population). After the Revolution of 1848, the figures rose, in the legislative elections of May 1849, to 3,561 voters for the canton of Mauléon (26.2% of the population) and 3,259 voters for the canton of Tardets (29.6% of the population). According to J.P. Jourdan (1987), "three elements concur in the definition of notability: fortune, social and political influence, and rootedness." For a notable, political and administrative functions sometimes follow the trajectory of their career: in this way, Jean-Julien d’Andurain was, prior to his appointment as sub-prefect of Mauléon (January 1821), mayor of Licharre (commune merged with Mauléon in 1841) and general councilor of the Lower Pyrenees; he resigned as sub-prefect in 1826 and died in 1854, being dean of the General Council of the Lower Pyrenees. For representatives of the locally most influential families, regime change matters little: in this way, Clément d’Andurain, eldest son of Jean-Julien d’Andurain, was sub-prefect of Mauléon from 1826 to 1830, from 1840 to 1848, and then from 1849 to 1861 (thus serving successively four different regimes: the Restoration, the July Monarchy, the Second Republic, and the Second Empire). The same applies to Count Clément Mont-Réal, property owner, of royalist tendency, elected general councilor of Tardets under the July Monarchy, the Second Republic, the Second Empire, and later under the Third Republic. Notables are, moreover, closely controlled by prefects. In 1833, the prefect of the Lower Pyrenees transmitted the following confidential reports concerning the Souletine elected officials:
“Mauléon. Dandurain Jean-Julien. Born May 20, 1778. Residence in Licharre. Income 20,000 francs. Former sub-prefect, man of wit, rich, educated, enjoying old and just consideration, reputed to have Carlist sympathies, man of honor and without ility. Tardets. Darhampé (Pierre). Born March 7, 1763. Income 15,000 francs. Former squadron leader, with some fortune, part of which, however, is attributed to usury; despite everything, fairly well regarded, possesses some knowledge, supportive of the July Revolution and the Government.”
Influence of Chaho
This regime of notables would be strongly shaken by the Revolution of 1848. Indeed, moderate republican elements triumphed in the elections to the Constituent Assembly on April 23-24, 1848, but the following year, in the legislative elections of May 13, 1849, a strong wave of sympathy developed in Soule toward Augustin Chaho, Souletin, born in Tardets in 1811, republican of advanced ideas, frankly left-oriented, atheist, already elected general councilor of Tardets in August 1848. The sub-prefect of Mauléon, Clément d’Andurain, would speak of an "electric current" in his favor. In these 1849 elections, Augustin Chaho received 30,453 votes, that is, barely 130 votes less than the last elected. His electoral campaign was hindered by a serious circulatory accident that occurred a week before the vote; some newspapers even circulated news of his death. In any case, in his own land, Soule, he triumphed clearly, obtaining the impressive record of 87% of the votes cast. The great Souletin poet Pierre Topet “Etchahun” campaigned for him, confirming in his poem Musde Chaho the attachment of his candidate to the “common people” and his reserve toward the ruling social classes (nobility, clergy, wealthy bourgeoisie…):
[Basque poem preserved as is, with literal translation]
The wave of anticlericalism accompanying the Revolution of 1848 even partially reached Iparralde; although all Basque general councilors were baptized as Catholics, at least two of them were non-practicing: Augustin Chaho and his friend Dindaburu, elected general councilor of Iholdy in 1848.
Electoral struggles in the Third Republic
But very soon, with the Second Empire and the beginning of the Third Republic, moral order triumphed again with the "official" candidate Jean-Baptiste Etcheverry, elected deputy in 1852, 1857, and 1863, then with Charles Harispe, nephew of the marshal, elected deputy in 1876, 1877, and 1885. We have an example of the fact that Soule leans toward the Left in the well-known electoral struggles of 1889-1890 in the constituencies of Lower Navarre and Soule: in September 1889, the conservative candidate Loáis Etcheverry, from Saint-Jean-le-Vieux, director of the Basque weekly Eskualduna, was elected deputy with 54% of the votes, against 46% for the republican candidate Henry-Martial Berdoly, heir to properties and a castle in Uhart-Mixe, near Saint-Palais, and former sub-prefect of Mauléon; but Etcheverry received only 47% in Soule against 53% for Berdoly. After Loáis Etcheverry's election was invalidated, a new election took place in March 1890; Loáis Etcheverry was elected with greater difficulty against Berdoly: 51.8% against 49.2%, but he remained in the minority, and this time even more clearly in Soule (43.7% against 53.6% for Berdoly). It should be noted that Berdoly received in Soule the considerable support of Jean-Dominique Julien (called Jules) Sallaberry, lawyer-notary, president of the Mauléon District Council, president of the Société de Secours Mutuel de Mauléon, who wrote in Souletin Basque a pamphlet entitled Biba Uskaldunak!! (printed in Pau in 1889), in which he clearly sided with Berdoly against Etcheverry:
Musde Berdoly Errelijionaren eta aphezen adichkide da...
Eguia da eztiala, mousde Etcheverry-k bezala,
bere esparantcha osona aphezetan ezartzean,
Mousde Berdoly-k nahi dian gaiza da:
Izan ditian naousi, bakhoitcha bere lekhian,
apheza elizan, mera aiz'etchian eta errejenta eskolan.
Bena hargatik maite du Errelijionia eta aphezak.
Translated text:
Mr. Berdoly is a friend of Religion and the priests…
It is true that he has not placed, like Mr. Etcheverry,
all his hope in the priests,
What Mr. Berdoly wants is:
that each rules in his place,
the priest in the church, the mayor in the town hall, and the teacher in the school.
However, he loves Religion and the priests.
Nevertheless, the republicans gained the deputy seat with Berdoly in 1893 and 1898, and with Léon Pradet-Balade, procurator of Saint-Palais, general councilor, disciple of Louis Barthou, easily elected in 1900, 1902, 1906, and 1910. However, Léon Pradet-Balade increasingly leaned toward the Right and the defense of the Church. In 1914, he withdrew in favor of Jean Ybarnégaray, a promising politician. Jean Micheu-Puyou writes (1965):
"Deputies Berdoly, first, Pradet-Balade later, despite their intransigent republicanism, that is, what was then synonymous with 'Left,' were absorbed, assimilated by their 'conservative' electorate, whose political color they adopted and on which they modeled their parliamentary reactions."
Political Life in the 20th Century: The Predominance of Jean Ybarnégaray
On April 26, 1914, just a few months after the start of the First World War, the election of Jean Ybarnégaray as deputy took place. He was a lawyer and mayor of Uhart-Cize, near Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port, who described himself as a Catholic above all and an uncompromising defender of the traditionalist and nationalist French Right. He obtained 7,614 votes against 5,930 for Blaise Guéraçague, from Saint-Palais, under whose name the more left-leaning republicans were grouped. The latter closely followed “Ybar” in Soule: he obtained 1,427 votes in the canton of Mauléon against 1,504 for “Ybar,” and 932 in the canton of Tardets against 1,006 for “Ybar.”
This somewhat difficult election was followed by a series of easy electoral victories during the interwar period, a time during which Jean Ybarnégaray completely dominated Basque political life and embodied the values of the traditionalist and Catholic Right. A great orator, “Ybar” knew how to make simple ideas popular; Eskualdun-Fededun (Basque-Believer), together with freedom of education and the defense of France, formed his program.
The legislative elections of 1919 and 1924 were conducted according to departmental list voting: Béarn and the Basque Country voted separately in 1919, but were no longer separated in 1924. Thanks to his strong position, Ybarnégaray ensured victory each time for the right-wing list he led. District-level voting was restored for the legislative elections of 1928, 1932, and 1936; in the constituency of Lower Navarre and Soule, one observes the uncontested supremacy of Jean de Ybarnégaray, who achieved, on these three occasions, impressive electoral results close to a true plebiscite.
It should be noted, however, that his exceptional position in Lower Navarre was less strong in Soule. In the 1936 elections, he obtained 93.9% of the votes in his Lower Navarre stronghold, against only (if one may say) 69.4% in Soule, while the result of the socialist Alliez, who reached only 6.1% of the votes in Lower Navarre, rose to 30.6% in Soule.
Before the Second World War, in 1926, a crucial event for the province of Soule occurred: the sub-prefecture of Mauléon was abolished as a measure imposed by the Poincaré government’s economy program. This abolition was harshly felt in the capital of Soule: the Souletins were to be attached to the Béarn sub-prefecture of Oloron.
During the Second World War, the separation Labourdins and Lower Navarre residents on the one hand, and Souletins on the other, became even clearer as the demarcation line divided them: Labourd and Lower Navarre were in the occupied zone, Soule in the so-called free zone.
By virtue of the Armistice of June 22, 1940, the department was divided by the Demarcation Line into two zones: the so-called occupied and free. Soule, together with Béarn, belonged to the latter. Despite the maintenance of this line, on November 11, 1942, German troops occupied the entire department. On February 18 of the following year, the occupier designated a “reserved zone,” accessible only with accreditation, near the Franco-Spanish border; in the Souletin case, this included the communes of Larrau and Sainte-Engrâce.
Segments of various Resistance networks operated, including Network F2: Licq-Athérey-Pau (Bagarigue), Haux via Tardets (Dominique Barandot and Pierre Duhalde). Sauveur Boucher in Licq-Athérey, together with his brother Guillaume, Dominique Etchegoyen, and Pascual Ascano, helped more than 3,000 people reach British Services via the paths of Irati and Erroka-Hastor up to Las Casas del Rey toward Orense. There was also passage through Kakueta or Sainte-Engrâce to the Arrako inn in Isaba (Roncal, Navarra).
In 1942, with the creation of the N.A.P. (Noyautage des Administrations Publiques), Jean-Pierre Champo (Dominique) collaborated with the Resistance in Mauléon. A famous “mugalari” from Barcus, Michel Olazabal, helped nearly 1,000 people cross before being discovered, escaping to the other side of the border, and being sent to Morocco. The Boucher brothers and Pascal Ascano were arrested by the German police in February 1944. The first were freed after 42 days, but Ascano was uted.
A documented list of “mugalaris” included:
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Emile Aguerre, Valentín Arrese, and Lapeyrine in Ordiarp
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Joseph Aramburu, Dominique and Catherine Barranthol, Arnaud and Jean-Auguste Bessouat, Pierre Duhalde, Fernand Etcheberry, González Sánchez, Jean-Baptiste Lahet, Martin Torillo, and Pierre Urruty in Mauléon
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Clément Ascone, Léon Laberrondo, and Michel Olazabal in Barcus
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Pascual Ascano, Sauveur and Guillaume Boucher, and Dominique Etchegoyen in Licq-Athérey
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Adrien Azais in Laruns
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Pierre J. Béhégary and Larramendy in Aussurucq
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Bonat in Moncayolle
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Pierre Bonnat in Domezain
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Jean-Pierre Constancia, Eloi, Jean, and Pierre Eyheramendy in Sainte-Engrâce
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Loustalot in Lacarry
Ref. Poullenot, Louis: Basses Pyrénées. Occupation, liberation. 1940-1945, J&D ed., Biarritz, 1995.
Resistance: Testimony of Clayton C. David
The newspaper Sud Ouest reported in its April 23, 2004 edition the testimony of Clayton C. David, transmitted by his son Lynn:
"Strange destiny that of Clayton C. David, second lieutenant and co-pilot of one of those famous B-17 bombers, also affectionately called 'flying fortresses.' On January 11, 1944, this man, then 25 years old, was with 109 other soldiers on a mission in the Dutch sky when German anti-aircraft fire shot down their plane, which was forced to land in a village on the outskirts of Amsterdam. By chance, the remaining crew managed to escape the Reich’s military and cross the borders of the Netherlands, then Belgium, to reach the French capital and hide in a school basement. The occupying forces soon discovered the twenty fugitives, who owed their survival only to a 'danger of death, electricity' sign fixed to the door of their hiding place.
The hesitation of the Germans that day allowed them to escape through the back door and hide for a few more weeks in a nearby church. When the complicit priest was also arrested, Clayton and his sergeant Ken Shaver were taken south of Paris by the resistance network after two days of walking and pursuit, heading for the Pyrenees.
To the rescue. They were put on a train which, passing through Pau, dropped them at Oloron. There, a couple of High Soule resistants (still alive), codenamed 'André' and 'Claire,' took them by car (gas-powered) to Barcus. 'My father (now 85 years old – ed.) remembers a barn at the end of an alley but never found it again when he returned to Soule many years later,' recounts Lynn, his son. There, they met three other maquisards, who escorted them at night April 11 and 14, from Barcus to Tardets, then to Logibar, crossing the Holzarté bridge, up to the Spanish border. 'The night at the bridge was the darkest my father had ever experienced,' adds Lynn. 'It was not secured like today. There was a lot of snow, and they were not dressed appropriately. But they made it!'
Descending on the Spanish side, the two Americans were eventually arrested by the Guardia Civil near Ochagavia. By chance, prisoner-of-war rights were more or less respected at that time, and they were only put under house arrest in Pamplona for two or three weeks before being repatriated to England via Gibraltar."
The previously mentioned differences Lower Navarre, more conservative, and Soule, more left-leaning, did not prevent the phenomenon of notability from continuing: in the canton of Mauléon, de Souhy, a landowner first elected general councilor in 1895, was reelected after World War I in 1919, 1925, 1931, and 1937. After World War II, an industrialist, Elissabide, took over and was elected general councilor in 1945 and reelected in 1951 and 1958. In the canton of Tardets, Dr. Constantin was elected general councilor in 1919 and reelected in 1922, 1928, 1934, 1945, 1949, and 1955; he served until his death in 1957, when he was replaced by Dr. Pribat.
Under the Fifth Republic
The different elections confirmed the trend already observed on various occasions: that of a province more left-leaning than Lower Navarre and Labourd, a tendency even more marked in the canton of Tardets, a high-mountain canton where living conditions are more difficult. François Mitterrand was the majority in the canton of Tardets from 1974 (51.5%) when he was at 49.2% nationally. When elected President of the Republic on May 10, 1981, with 51.8% of the vote against 42.8% for Valéry Giscard d’Estaing, he obtained 50.6% in the canton of Mauléon but 57.5% in Tardets. When reelected in 1988 (54% nationally), his result rose to 58.8% in Tardets.
His strong position allowed Michel Inchauspé (RPR Right) to be regularly elected deputy for 30 years (1967–1997). In the legislative elections of June 1988 and March 1993, Michel Inchauspé was elected in the first round with 51% and 50.3% of the votes, respectively. However, in these two elections, he was a minority in Soule: in 1988, he obtained only 43.8% in the canton of Tardets and 48% in Mauléon; in 1993, only 43.9% in Tardets and 44.9% in Mauléon. Unlike in 1988 and 1993, it was only in the second round of voting that he was elected in the 1997 legislative elections with 52.6% of votes against 47.4% for the socialist candidate François Maitia. These elections took place within the framework of a new “Basque-Béarnese” electoral district, an unnatural constituency created due to the interventions of Charles Pasqua, Minister of the Interior in 1986.
However, if François Maitia, mayor of Ispoure (Lower Navarre), closely followed Michel Inchauspé in the canton of Mauléon (49.6% vs. 50.4%), he easily defeated him in Tardets with 56.7% against 43.3%. The trend of Tardets being more left-leaning than Mauléon was also seen in elections for the General Council. Thus, the socialist mayor of Tardets, Pierre Erbin, was elected general councilor of his canton in 1979 and reelected in 1985; however, he had to yield by 38 votes in 1992 to the agricultural unionist Michel Arhancet (no party). In contrast, Mauléon always had a right-wing general councilor (the centrist Goux in 1964, 1970, and 1976; the RPR Roger in 1982; the centrist Pepela Mirande in 1994), the only exception being in 1988, when the socialist mayor of Mauléon, Jean Lougarot, was elected general councilor.
Basque Nationalism in Soule
Some few Souletin personalities participated in the first Basque nationalist movement in Iparralde, the Eskualerrist Movement, formed from 1932 around P. Pierre Lafitte and which published the monthly Aintzina from 1934 to 1937.
It is worth mentioning in particular:
a) Jean Hastoy. Very active member of the Eskualerrist Movement, whom he tried to organize in Soule. He was recruited for the Movement by Jacques Mestelan, his philosophy classmate at the Small Seminary of Ustaritz in 1934–1935, and a student, like him, of P. Lafitte.
b) Jean de Jaureguiberry. Doctor of Medicine, born in 1880 and died in 1952 in Alos (Soule). Settled in Saint-Jean-de-Luz, where he practiced medicine until returning to Soule in 1934, he was the oldest member of the Eskualerrist Movement. Although he refused the presidency of the Movement offered by P. Lafitte, he remained a sincere, dedicated, and courageous activist. In 1933, he represented the Eskualerrists at the General Assembly of Eskualzaleen Biltzarra in Louhossoa and published an article in Gure-Herria on the development of nationalism in Hegoalde. The conclusion of this article, titled Renaissance basque, is: “At the moment when the great Western ship drifts under a starless sky… it may be time to look toward the lifeboats. For us, Basques, there is only one, a single one. Let us hurry to take a place in it… Let us not mistake the boat. Ours has a name: Euzkadi.” During the storm of the Spanish Civil War, he wrote three more courageous articles in Gure-Herria (Le Bastion, 1936; Tribune libre: races inconciliables, 1937; Le destin contre les Bosques, 1939), all opposing the dominant pro-Franco opinion in Iparralde at the time.
c) Madeleine de Jaureguiberry. Born in Alos (Soule) on October 13, 1884, died in Sibas (Soule) on October 20, 1977. Appointed by P. Lafitte as the first President of Begiraleak, a women’s organization in Iparralde modeled after Emakume Abertzale Batza in the 1930s. She contributed to Aintzina under the pseudonym Juanes Basaburua, writing almost monthly short articles in Souletin. Closely linked to P. Lafitte, she was, from 1934–1935, a very active activist in the Eskualerrist Movement, both in coordination with her brother, Dr. Jean de Jaureguiberry from Saint-Jean-de-Luz, and in Soule, where she resided most often. During the Civil War, she actively helped the tens of thousands of Basque refugees arriving on French soil from the spring of 1937. She met many personalities to interest them in their fate, such as philosopher Jacques Maritain in Meudon (near Paris) and Monsignor Múgica in Rome. In 1935, the General Assembly of Eskualzaleen Biltzarra took place in Tardets (Upper Soule) on September 12. Eskualerrists, especially Souletin Eskualerrists, were omnipresent; the speech of José de Ariztimuño “Aitzol” generated enthusiasm, turning the day into an example of cultural revival and Basque fraternity.
After World War II, it was necessary to wait for the Enbata movement (created in 1963) to see a new political party claiming Basque nationalism. Two of its founders, Jean-Louis Davant and Michel Eppherre, are Souletins.
Electoral Results of the “Abertzales”
Since the 1960s, there has been some “Abertzale” participation in Soule in both cantonal and legislative elections. The relatively modest results reflect the weak audience for this political current.
In cantonal elections, the results in Tardets were: 5.8% for Enbata in 1967, 4.6% for EHAS in 1979, 4.7% for the Mouvement Abertzale Unitaire in 1992. Mauléon was slightly more receptive, granting Marie-Léonie Aguergaray 9% in 1988 and 8.8% in 1994.
Over a 30-year perspective (1967–1997), the results of the Abertzale candidates in Soule’s legislative elections no real progress. In March 1967, Kristiane Etchalus, a 22-year-old student from Domezain (part of the canton of Saint-Palais), ran for Enbata, obtaining 4.7% nationally (Lower Navarre and Soule). Her results were higher in Soule: 8.3% in Mauléon and 10.6% in Tardets.
In June 1997 legislative elections, two Abertzale candidates ran in the fourth electoral constituency of Pyrénées-Atlantiques (Basque-Béarnese): Jean Goyheneche, mayor of Orsanco in Lower Navarre for Abertzaleen Batasuna, received 6.6%, and Txomin Peillen, member of Euskaltzaindia, Souletin resident of Sainte-Engrâce for Eusko Alkartasuna, received 1.1%. In Soule: Jean Goyheneche obtained 6.2% in Mauléon and 7.4% in Tardets; Txomin Peillen 1.2% in Mauléon and 2% in Tardets.
Thus, over 30 years, there has been no real progress for the Abertzales in legislative elections. Some results are particularly disappointing: in Barcus, Kristiane Etchalus obtained 100 votes (out of 708 registered) in 1967; Jean Goyheneche 50 votes (out of 673) in 1997.
The real problem for Soule is its distance from and mutual indifference with Labourd and Lower Navarre. Creating a Basque Department—with a sub-prefecture in Mauléon, a widely supported demand in Iparralde today—has the potential to bring Souletins administratively and politically closer to their Labourd and Lower Navarre brothers. Economically, this rapprochement was realized in 1990 when Soule was integrated into the Bayonne Chamber of Commerce and Industry.