The Mallorcan who did not bow his head in the face of a coup d'état
It marks 150 years since the imprisonment of Antoni Villalonga, who refused to leave his seat when General Manuel Pavía dissolved the Cortes of the First Republic.
PalmWhen a group of armed Civil Guards stormed the Congress of Deputies on February 23, 1981, very few remained in their seats upon hearing the volley of gunfire in the air, which has been forever etched in the ceiling of the plenary hall: Suárez, Carrillo, Gutiérrez Mellado, and only a few people. A century earlier, something very similar happened: the entrance of General Pavía—also with Civil Guards—to dissolve the Cortes of the First Republic. At that time, one Mallorcan stood with his head held high and refused to leave his seat: Antoni Villalonga Pérez. We remember this singular figure on the 150th anniversary of his imprisonment (1875) for his loyalty to his ideas.
Not only Antoni Villalonga but also his family, known as the 'Villalonga d'Escalada', were singular figures. This branch of this illustrious lineage dates back to Francesc Villalonga Brondo, who was mayor of the city around 1675. At that time, he was not the highest municipal authority but rather a sort of official of the crown. The family mansion was the current Can Bordils, on Almudaina Street in Palma, which now houses the municipal Department of Culture.
His descendant Francesc Villalonga Bordils (born in 1762) married Joana de Escalada, hence the addition by which they would be known from then on. Francisco and Juana were engaged, but they wanted to marry him off to a cousin. His frustrated father-in-law, Tomás de Escalada, moved heaven and earth to stop the canonical dispensation that was to be granted due to close kinship. That Escalada must have been a fearsome character—he was even prosecuted for a challenge. The fact is that he got his way, and Francisco walked his daughter down the aisle.
Their son was Francesc Villalonga Escalada, and with him began a succession of rather unorthodox figures. He was the first Voltairian in Mallorca—the first enthusiastic reader of the French philosopher, known for his fierce criticism of Catholic doctrine. He amassed a fine library, with books sent to him from Paris, and traveled throughout Europe, to the point that his circle knew him as 'the traveler'. He was distinguished by his neat appearance, even at 86 years of age, a record age for the time. He was a captain in the urban militia and a judge. His collaboration with Palma City Council's tribute to the Brotherhoods who rebelled against Charles I (1870) is a good indication of his political ideas.
A Marquis and a Library
The open and liberal nature of this Francisco Villalonga was clearly evident when he was one of the few Mallorcans who agreed to welcome the couple Frederic Chopin and George Sand into his home during the famous winter of 1838-1839: he, a tubercular man, without her, going to the wedding without smoking, and, to top it off, on Sundays. Apparently, they had met before, on one of the Mallorcan nobleman's trips to Paris.
Neither Francesc Villalonga nor his son Antoni distinguished themselves by their involvement in the administration of the family estates, although they were abundant: they had estates and land in Manacor, Capdepera (Torre de Canyamel), Alaró, Escorca, and Sóller. Places that Francisco never visited until he decided to go to Canyamel. Upon arriving, after an exhausting journey—using the means of transportation of the time—the owner thanked him for his efforts: "Your father never came this way." "Once he's gone, I'll be nothing more than my father," the gentleman replied, and immediately set off back toward Palma.
Alfonso Enseñat tells of Francisco Villalonga's constant presence at his disposal, always providing a table to welcome guests who might show up, and beds covered with Manila shawls. He was also known for his generosity toward the underprivileged: when epidemics struck—which was still common at the time—his servants would throw gold coins under the doors of the homes of those affected, and anyone who came to his house would be served free chicken broth.
Joan Villalonga Escalada was his brother. He also became involved in politics, forcing him to emigrate to France in 1825. Seven years later, according to José Luis Isabel, he had to flee again to the neighboring country, accused of being "exalted and a Freemason." However, thanks to his performance in the Carlist Civil Wars, Queen Isabella II granted him the title of Marquis of Maestrazgo, and he became a respectable man and senator for life.
The son of the "traveler" Francesc Villalonga and his first cousin Maria Carme Pérez, the most relevant figure in this saga was Antoni, born in 1821, who would far surpass his father's heterodoxies. A Freemason, democrat, republican, autonomist, pioneer of the labor movement, and owner of a library of 4,000 titles, full of "dangerous" copies, such as erotic literature and authors like Zola, Proudhon, and—of course—Voltaire. Although he did not study at university, he was a man of solid culture, who spoke and read several languages and, like his father, traveled throughout Europe.
The Rebellious Deputy
Antoni Villalonga Pérez was one of those exceptional Mallorcans who accomplished more than would fill a lifetime. He was a member of the Primera Luz and Reforma Masonic lodges, librarian of the Balearic Athenaeum, administrator of the Mallorcan Railways, vice president of the Agricultural and Industrial Society, and president of the Círculo Mallorquín, the Casino Artístico, the La Protectora Society, and the Gas Lighting Society. At a time when people were emigrating from Mallorca, he wanted to create an agricultural colony on his estate in Carroja (Manacor), although this project never came to fruition.
Throughout his life, he was a leading figure in Mallorcan republicanism. When the Glorious Revolt (1868) overthrew Isabel II, he served on the revolutionary junta. The following year, he was elected to Congress in Madrid, where his vote proved decisive in abolishing slavery in Puerto Rico, then a Spanish colony. In 1872 he became mayor of Palma, a position from which he promoted – to the horror of the right-thinking – the construction of a secular cemetery.
When General Pavía's Civil Guards – known as 'Pavia's Horse', although the soldier was on foot – entered Congress on January 3, 1874, to dissolve the Cortes and, with them, put an end to the brief life of the First Republic, Antoni Villalonga. Despite the general stampede, the Mallorcan refused to leave his seat. "We are deputies of the Nation," he stated, "and I am not moving from here until the Nation tells me to."
A few months later, the monarchy – supposedly pacifying and reconciling – of Alfonso XII was restored, and one of the first leaders to fall – metaphorically – was Antoni Villalonga. He was imprisoned in Valencia in 1875—and later in Albacete. He was one of the few Mallorcans punished for his republican loyalty.
Prison did not break his ideals. He kept the flame of republicanism alive under the restoration of the monarchy, despite the difficulty of confronting the caciquismo system, and even though he returned to being a councilor in Palma City Council. He supported the creation of the Balearic Workers' Union (UOB) to demand workers' rights and was responsible for the school. He died in 1910, and his funeral was attended by many people.
However, economic difficulties took their toll on the family. His wife, Teodora Fàbregues, offered in a letter to Archduke Luis Salvador the sale of the library and part of the property. Miquel dels Sants Oliver proposed that the City Council buy the books to form the current Cort library. But when this acquisition was carried out, only half remained; the rest had been dispersed.
Francesc Villalonga Fàbregues, son of Antoni and Teodora, continued the family's progressive and forward-thinking line: as a councilor in Palma, he cried out against the governor's ban on the use of Catalan in 1902. He became mayor of Palma during the Second Republic and accompanied the president in 1932. Only four years later, disaster struck. The Escaladas had dreamed of something better.
Antoni Villalonga Pérez was the real-life character who inspired—even his name—Don Toni de Béarn, the protagonist of Llorenç Villalonga's novel. Some of his traits are very recognizable: outrageously advanced ideas for the time, with Masonic ties, tight on money despite his possessions, a book lover, and a traveler. His grandson explained to Alfonso Enseñat that, upon learning of his death in Germany, a group of Freemasons traveled to Mallorca to search his house and obtain all the incriminating material, such as books, letters, and ritual objects. This is very similar to the novel's ending.
However, other features of the Lord of Béarn correspond to his father, Francisco Villalonga Escalada. He not only married his cousin—a common practice among the nobility—but also traveled to France with his niece Teresa, like Don Toni and Doña Xima. Francisco Villalonga of the Escalada family is mentioned, as Enseñat observes, in Muerte de dama (Death of a Lady ), another Villalonga narrative.
Lorenzo Villalonga wasn't the only one who immortalized the Escaladas in literature. It seems that the Febreros in Blasco Ibáñez's novel Los muertos mandan (The Dead Mandan) , set in Mallorca and Ibiza, are that same family. The Valencian writer, a notorious republican, stayed at their house when visiting Mallorca. Blasco describes Horacio Febrero (Francisco Villalonga) as a man of methodical habits: so much so that some neighbors would follow his walks to calculate the time. Much like the philosopher Kant, whose neighbors set their clocks according to his daily itinerary.
Information prepared from texts by Alfonso Enseñado de Villalonga, Catalina Martorell, Pedro Gabriel, Antonia Morey Tous, Jaime Pomar, Antonio Tugores, Pedro de Montaner, Gabriel Bibiloni, Eduardo Montagut, Antonio Marimón and José Luis Isabel Sánchez.