13.07.2015 Views

452ºF

452ºF

452ºF

SHOW MORE
SHOW LESS

Create successful ePaper yourself

Turn your PDF publications into a flip-book with our unique Google optimized e-Paper software.

Etxeita wrote a more idealized-costumbrista novel in 1910: Jaioterrimaitia (Beloved Homeland), which no longer makes reference tohis imperialist past in the Philippines thus completing his colonialdisavowal, while rendering the Basque migrant into a fully ahistorical,representational colonial subject: the novel takes places in themountains, in a village called Ardibaso. Instead of the Philippines,Mexico becomes the new site of colonial disavowal: three couplesfrom Ardibaso migrate to Mexico, make their fortunes, and return to thevillage, without ever interacting in a meaningful way with any Mexicancharacter. The three couples only deal with each other and otherBasque emigrants in what can only be called a “Mexican Ardibaso”(mostly located in Veracruz). In short, even the Mexican postcolonialspace becomes fully Basquized in order to disavow fully colonialism/imperialism: Mexico is not the Basque Country, but just the same.In order to understand the full extent of Etxeita’s disavowal ofhistorical colonialism, it is important to resort to this very colonialhistory and, more specifically, to the colonial history of the Basquesin the Philippines. After sixty years of monopolistic activity (1728-1785) in Venezuela, the Real Compañía Guipuzcoana de Caracas, aBasque colonialist monopoly, lost its hold of the Venezuelan market,due in part to its exploitative and abusive methods, and found itselflooking for other monopolist markets. As Marciano de Borja explainsin his The Basques in the Philippines, the Spanish monarchy grantedthe same company the colonial market of the Philippines and so theReal Compañía de Filipinas was born in 1785 (2005: 66-74), whichdid not compete with the «Galeón de Acapulco» as it took the Easternroute through Cape of Good Hope.. As a result, Basque colonialisthistory took root in the Philippines. Although this company ended in1837, the Basque presence among the local Spanish elite grew. ABasque, Antonio Ayala, founded and expanded, with other Germanand Spanish partners, what became the Ayala Corporation—stilltoday the largest company in the Philippines (De Borja, 2005: 124-27). Moreover, and as Etxeita’s biography confirms, another Basquecompany, Olana, Larrinaga and Co., ran the only shipping route fromEngland to the Philippines. Historically, the Basque elite had a centralposition in Manila and, more generally, in the colony at large. As I willexplain later when analyzing Rizal’s work, it is important to emphasizethat this elite was recognized as distinctively Basque (the Spanishcolonizer of the Philippines was also Basque, Lope de Legazpi).Galdós, Etxeita, Rizal – Madrid, Mundaka, Manila: On Colonial Disavowal and (Post) Imperial Articulations of the Hispanic Pacific-Atlantic - Joseba Gabilondo<strong>452ºF</strong>. #09 (2013) 13-41.Etxeita’s biography is central to the above history of Basque colonialism.He became a sea captain at the age of 20 and started to work forthe Basque shipping company located in Liverpool, Olana, Larrinagaand Co, which ran the route between Liverpool and Manila. Etxeitaeventually settled down as the agent of the company in Manila and laterwas promoted to the position of president. After gaining membershipin several advisory boards in Manila, he also became the president of34

Hooray! Your file is uploaded and ready to be published.

Saved successfully!

Ooh no, something went wrong!