Diego de Medrano y Treviño

Don Diego de Medrano y Treviño (November 13, 1784 – July 2, 1853) was a noble from the House of Medrano serving as a Basque-Spanish military officer, a liberal politician during the reign of Ferdinand VII, and a technical essayist reformer. Medrano was the Minister of the Interior of Spain in 1822 and again in 1835 in the Government presided over by Martínez de la Rosa, Senator of Spain during the reign of Isabel II, founder of the first Royal Basque Economic Societies of Friends of the Country (1834), founder of the Savings Banks of Spain (1835) and Vice President of the Estates Proceres and Chamber of Peers (1835). Diego was active in the entire Peninsular War, obtaining the rank of lieutenant colonel of the Royal Corps of Artillery. Medrano went to war against the royal troops of the "Hundred Thousand Sons of Saint Louis" at the end of 1823. The Senate of Spain holds an important archive with 17 of Medrano's hand-written correspondences.

Biography
Diego de Medrano y Treviño was born in Ciudad Real on November 13, 1784, into a noble and landowning family. He descends from the Lords of San Gregorio in Almarza, later Counts of Torrubia. Medrano was baptized with the names Diego, María, Serapio, on November 15 in the parish church of Santa María del Prado. His baptism is recorded in book 22, folio 2, of that archive.

Diego was the older brother of Lorenzo de Medrano y Treviño, Captain, Lieutenant Colonel and Chief of Engineers. He participated, being captain and as sole representative of the Corps of Engineers, in the defense of the Sagunto castle, from September 23 to October 26, 1811.

Noble and military ancestry
Diego was the son of the noble Don José de Medrano y Monroy, born in Almagro in 1748 and the head of his house. In the late 15th century, the Medrano family held the Mayorship of Arenas de San Juan from their ancestral lands in Soria where they were Lords of San Gregorio. The House of Medrano and the House of Treviño appear in a book together concerning the estate of Pedro de Treviño, written by Pedro de Treviño and Doctor Juan de Medrano in 1601. In 1626, Diego's family moved to Almagro through marriage to the Zúñiga and Oviedo heiresses, adding the Zúñiga's band to Medrano's floriated cross coat of arms. The Medrano family stayed in Almagro until José de Medrano, Diego's father, moved to Ciudad Real through his marriage to Isabel Treviño y Treviño, Lady of Valdarachas and owner of the "house of the heads" in that city, known for the three Moorish heads from the Treviño coat of arms, still visible today on Calle de la Paloma.

José, Diego's father, was a colonel of the Provincial Militia Regiment, and his father (Diego's grandfather), Francisco de Medrano y León, had also been a colonel of the Royal Guard. Family documents mention four more of Diego's brothers who served in the Army against the French, including José de Medrano, who heroically endured the siege of Gerona and wrote a book about it. José de Medrano y Treviño was an artillery Captain of the Spanish Army, he defended Gerona and Montjuic Castle in Barcelona from the invading army of Napoleon Bonaparte during the War of Independence. With this family background, Diego also pursued a military career during the entire Peninsular War. His military service record, which begins on September 1, 1808, as a cadet, ended in 1819 with the rank of lieutenant colonel of the Royal Corps of Artillery.

The war of Independence
Throughout 1808, Diego served in the regions of Ciudad Real and Cuenca with his regiment until May 11, 1809, when he embarked from Cartagena as a second lieutenant en route to Cádiz. There, he was appointed as an aide-de-camp of the Central Army Division, participating in the battles of Ocaña (1809) and Villa Manrique. In 1810, he took part in the assault on the Sierra Morena, and later served in Niebla and in the defense of Moguer. On March 5, 1811, during the battle of Chiclana and in the fields of Torre Bermeja, he was promoted to captain. He joined the Reserve Army of Andalusia on November 1, 1812. With this army, he distinguished himself in the capture of Pancorbo Castle in Burgos, the blockade of Pamplona, and the defense of Villava, earning the praise of the General in Chief.

Defeat of the French General and promotion to Aide-de-camp
He contributed to the defeat of the French general Jean-de-Dieu Soult, which forced the French to cross the Bidasoa river. Later, he became an Aide-de-camp to the staff of the Duke of Ciudad Rodrigo, participating in the occupation of Roussillon until his return to Spain at the end of the campaign.

Return to Spain
In 1816, Medrano returned to Spain and was assigned to Barcelona, later moving to Madrid with the rank of lieutenant colonel in the Royal Artillery Corps and serving as an Aide-aide-de-camp to the General Staff. During this time, he engaged in gatherings and secret societies with constitutionalist leanings. Driven by his allegiance to constitutionalist ideals, Medrano resigned from the Army during the Liberal Triennium to take on political responsibilities alongside Martínez de la Rosa and Javier de Burgos, aligning himself with the moderate liberal faction.

Deputy, Minister of the Interior and Senator
Like many Spaniards of his time, Diego de Medrano transitioned from the military to politics. He served as a deputy to the Cortes (Parliament) for the province of La Mancha from 1820 to 1822.

In 1822, during the first ministry of Francisco Martínez de la Rosa, he became the Minister of the Interior, replacing Moscoso in the position.

He also served as a senator for the provinces of Castellón and Jaén between 1822 and 1823, at the age of thirty-nine.

In his role as Minister of the Interior in 1835, he established the Spanish Civil Engineers Corps and inaugurated schools for Mining, Geographical, and Forestry Engineers. Additionally, he implemented various measures to remove constraints on trade and industry freedom, along with abolishing privileges in new settlements in Sierra Morena, all aimed at attaining legal equality across the kingdom's population.

Diego was the Senator for the province of Castellón de la Plana in 1837-1838, and 1838-1839; he became Senator for the province of Ciudad Real in 1843 [3rd term], 1844 and 1845; and finally a lifetime Senator consecutively from 1845 until 1853.

Confronting The Hundred Thousand Sons of Saint Louis (1823)
After hundreds of years of uninterrupted and devoted service to the crown, certain nobility from the House of Medrano were divided on loyalty between an instable monarchy and a possible independent and liberal movement in the America's and Spain. On 15 September 1821, Don Gabino Gainza Fernandez de Medrano declared absolute independence from Spain for Central America during his time as Captain General of the colonial Kingdom of Guatemala, becoming the first ruler of a united and independent Central America. By the end of 1823, with the fall of the Liberal Regime in Spain during a time of significant political instability and upheaval, Diego, in the height of romantic exaltation and as a fervent defender of his liberal ideas through arms, at the risk of his own life, confronted the royal troops of the "Hundred Thousand Sons of Saint Louis" in the same year. This French army was sent by the Bourbon monarchy in 1823 to restore King Ferdinand VII of Spain to absolute power, effectively ending the Spanish attempt at establishing a liberal government during the Trienio Liberal (1820–1823). This intervention was supported by the Holy Alliance and led to the reinstatement of absolute monarchy in Spain. This confrontation led to condemned ostracism and forced Diego into internal exile during the Ominous Decade (1823–1833).

Return to Ciudad Real and preparation for Medrano's Spanish revival
Medrano returned to his hometown quite disillusioned, but during this decade, he devoted himself to political, technical, and socioeconomic reflection. As a noble descended from the lords of San Gregorio in the ancient House of Medrano, Diego de Medrano was fully aware of his family's political, military, religious and academic legacy serving the Spanish monarchy. Mainly, he reflected on his convictions and future political projects, which he planned to apply at a better opportunity to help Spanish society emerge from underdevelopment and sociopolitical decline. In this period, he organized and arranged the documents of his family's old archive, wrote several monographs on geographical, technical, and socioeconomic aspects of his land (published later), and managed his private estate, designing various genealogical trees of his own family.

Return to politics
Upon the death of King Fernando VII in 1833, Diego de Medrano regained importance when the moderate liberals took over the government and returned to high political positions. Medrano then associated himself with important constitutionalist ministers, including Javier de Burgos.

He returned to politics as a representative in the Cortes for Ciudad Real (after the province of La Mancha had been dissolved), alongside his countrymen José Vicente Baillo, Rafael Cavanillas, Ramón Giraldo, and the Marquis of Monte Nuevo. The following year, he was named Vice President of the Estate of Proceres.

In total, he served as a deputy from 1834 to 1836 and then again in 1840. From this period, there is a portrayal of Diego published by Fermín Caballero, (in the work: "Gallery of the Procurators of the Cortes from 1834 to 1836, edition Madrid 1836"). On page 10, it refers to the harshness that characterized that political era:

"This manchego defies La Mancha, because he keeps his position without being lynched and is clever enough to cover up the yarn. He is a lunatic orator, who sometimes speaks poorly and other times moderately. His consistency in patronizing those of the Blue Bank landed him in it without knowing how to read or write; and although he lasted a short time in the seat, he fell onto a feather mattress, reaping the simple benefit of the Royal Council, so he should not regret his cunning politics. He is small, tidy in dress, modest and reserved in actions and words. He acts as a military and political veteran in battles and as someone who has vegetated for ten years in the corner of Ciudad Real, skirting around and exploring his bachelorhood. As Vice President (of the Chamber of Peers) he acted with impartiality; he put the Procurators on notice with a heavy hand, and if the Deputies are careless, he will also put them on the list."

He was indeed small in stature and tidy in dress, educated and refined in his manners, just in his actions, and very fond of his family, with whom he always maintained close relationships and whom he helped and advised in their problems, as evidenced by his letters, which are still preserved, regarding family matters.

Medrano's creation of the first Royal Basque Economic Societies of Friends of the Country (1834)
Diego de Medrano was always deeply concerned about the serious economic and financial problems of that complicated Spanish era. Thus, he was the promoter and founder of the first Economic Societies of Friends of the Country (creator, in 1834, of the SEAP of Ciudad Real), shortly before drafting and signing the Royal Order on Savings Banks. Medrano was influenced by the socioeconomic experiments of this type that were emerging with the newly created English Savings Banks in the early 19th century.

Medrano's "Considerations on the economic, moral, and political state of the province of Ciudad Real" (1843) was dedicated to the Royal Basque Economic Societies of Friends of the Country. On 30 April 1841, Diego writes:

"An enlightened and industrious corporation, peaceful and averse to harmful parties, harmless in every way, without means or faculties for harm, and with a vast field in which to deploy its beneficial influence, cannot be the target of envy or base flattery, but solely and exclusively of veneration and the most sincere affection. To promote the development of material interests with activity and skill, such is the distinctive character of an Economic Society. Encouraged by these or similar reflections and motivated by the burning desire to contribute to the well-being as much as I am able, I dare to present to this worthy Society the following: Considerations on the economic, moral, and political state of the province of Ciudad Real, and indication of some of the improvements it is susceptible to for its development and prosperity." In his "Considerations on the economic, moral, and political state of the province of Ciudad Real" (1843), Diego de Medrano expressed his gratitude to the Economic Societies of Friends of the Country, a group with whom he has been associated since its inception in 1834. Medrano argues that such societies, focused on promoting material interests with diligence and skill, are worthy of admiration and affection rather than envy or flattery. Drawing from historical examples like the Moorish irrigation systems in Valencia and Granada and the Roman bridge of Alcántara, Medrano writes:

Neither the passage of centuries nor the upheavals of the most turbulent times have been sufficient to destroy these and many other enduring monuments of palpable utility: generations have succeeded, conquerors or subdued, enlightened or barbarous, all have had the same interest in utilizing, preserving, and transmitting them.

Diego de Medrano acknowledges the value of virtuous projects that benefit society. He contrasts these lasting monuments of utility with transient trends and political ideologies, asserting that initiatives aimed at improving human condition persist through various political regimes and societal changes. Ultimately, Diego de Medrano asserts that endeavors contributing to human welfare and increasing the means of subsistence withstand the test of time, transcending political differences and societal upheavals. Medrano argues that the pursuit of such initiatives is essential for progress and prosperity, as they provide a stable foundation for societal advancement irrespective of prevailing political opinions or systems.

The Medrano Project: The Creation of the Savings Banks of Spain (1835)
While serving as Minister of the Interior in 1835, Medrano signed the first Spanish decree on Savings Banks (Royal Order of April 3, 1835), with the first one being established in Madrid in 1838. The purpose of the Savings Banks was different from that of the Pawn Shops (protected by the Catholic Curia), which already existed in Madrid since 1702, serving more as pawnbrokers. The Savings Banks, on the other hand, had a liberal and mercantile origin, but would eventually merge definitively with the Pawn Shops in 1869.

Medrano's creation of the Savings Banks of Spain
Diego de Medrano's creation of the Savings Banks of Spain advocated by the Royal Order of 1835 was a consequence of the existing examples in the United Kingdom, well known to the Spanish liberals of the Regency of María Cristina. But it was also, and especially, due to the personal and decisive impulse of its Minister of the Interior, Diego de Medrano y Treviño. He was responsible for ordering the implementation of one of the processes that has profoundly and positively influenced the Spanish financial system over almost the last two centuries.

The signing of the Royal Order of April 3, 1835, was not a casual product of Medrano holding the Ministry of the Interior at that time, but a result of his reflections during the long years of forced political inactivity, as well as his experience as civil governor of Ciudad Real, and his contacts with the Economic Societies of Friends of the Country.

Medrano's objectives
The fundamental objectives of Medrano's socioeconomic project were based on the following points:

1. Savings Banks should be created to promote a culture of saving among the lower classes.

2. Savings and Savings Banks should integrate individuals into society, preventing their exclusion or marginalization.

3. Savings Banks should combat usury, competing harshly with those who practiced it.

4. The funds raised should be allocated to investments in the private sector and only to public tasks when "public funds are the safe and advantageous haven for the savings of the poor."

5. The administration of these resources should be carried out by individuals endowed with philanthropic spirit, capable of "obtaining a proportional return" and also ensuring the security of the deposits received.

For this last point, the "philanthropic spirit" was hardly understandable outside the models imposed by the Economic Societies of Friends of the Country; of dubious initial purpose (Freemasonry), but with clear foundational objectives from the creation of these Savings Banks; since the first protectors-instructors (investors) in these entities would undoubtedly be many of those philanthropists belonging to those newly created strange Economic Societies.

Death and heirs
Diego de Medrano y Treviño died unmarried in Ciudad Real on July 2, 1853 (book 18, folio 21, of the Archive of La Merced). He died of a stroke at the age of sixty-eight, with the three parishes of his city attending his funeral, receiving Christian burial the next day in the same cemetery that exists today in the capital of Guadiana; where the family pantheon remains. He made a will, under the Military Code, in the Captaincy General of Madrid on December 1, 1826, naming his brothers Francisco and Lorenzo de Medrano as universal heirs.

Books by Diego de Medrano y Treviño
Diego de Medrano drafted some of his more specialized monographs, which, in the form of essays, also described the economic, technical, and moral peculiarities of Ciudad Real. He dedicated these to the Economic Society of Friends of the Country of that province (edition of April 30, 1841).


 * Considerations on the economic, moral, and political state of the province of Ciudad Real. Madrid: Imp. Carrera de San Gerónimo; 1843.
 * In this work, the shortcomings and needs of his region are reflected, and by extension, those of an entire country eager for urgent plans and projects of innovation and development, referring to: mining, agriculture, thermal waters, surface waters, wells, lagoons, rivers, droughts, education, energy, communications, etc. Without being a manual of perfect solutions, it came to be a compendium of precise technical and historical problems pending resolution. This was indicative not only of Diego's good understanding of his society but also of his excellent and eminent knowledge of the scientific and technical advances of his time.


 * Prolegómenon, 1825, manuscrito.
 * ''Book Calfskin containing the entailments, endowments, patronages, memories, chaplaincy, and rights belonging to the Medrano and Treviño family in this city of Ciudad Real, Almagro, Yllescas, Arenas, Oropesa, Ávila, San Esteban de los Patos, Membrilla, and other towns with a detailed list of the properties that make up each foundation and the burdens to which they are respectively subject. 1825, manuscript.

Palace of Medrano
A neorenaissance-style building erected in the 19th century on the Marquess of Treviño's palace. Also known as the "House of the Heads," due to the three Moorish heads on the Treviño coat of arms, prominent on its 16th-century facade. It features an elegant columned courtyard. Today, it houses the Delegation of the Regional Government of Castilla-La Mancha. It is located at number 9 Calle Paloma in the city of Ciudad Real, in Castilla-La Mancha. It also faces Calle de la Cruz. The building consists of two floors and was the residence of Juan de Medrano and his wife, Josefina de Aguirre, who had no children, with the upper floor rooms being used for servants' quarters. The construction reflects the ostentatious character of its former owner.

The main walls are made of rammed earth, with the facades covered with sandstone slabs, imitating ashlar stone. Sandstone columns in the patio and the staircase leading to the upper floor were also used. Wooden beams, windows, shutters, balconies, doors, and coffered ceilings in the galleries were made of wood. The main facade facing Calle de la Paloma features a prominent entrance with pilasters, a pediment with a coat of arms, and a balcony above it. Through this entrance, there is a gate leading to a spacious courtyard, with a lower gallery of Doric columns and segmental arches supporting the upper gallery, enclosed by glass panels on a blind balustrade. The courtyard is covered by a glass roof, and in its center, there is a small fountain with Renaissance-style tiles, similar to those in the portal and the kitchen-dining room. All the openings are framed by finely crafted Renaissance-style motifs, bordering on Plateresque, and protected by abundant bulbous ironwork and sturdy bars. The wooden eaves on both facades, with dentilated corbels, are beautifully crafted. Finally, it's worth mentioning that the typology of this mansion can be described as "neo," being quite unique and distinct from the sobriety that characterizes similar buildings in the region.

On October 27, 1988, a process was initiated for its declaration as a Cultural Heritage Site, with the category of monument, in a resolution published on November 15 of that same year in the Official Gazette of Castilla-La Mancha.