{L}a Reconquista

For over a century, the French and the British have struggled for political dominance over Spain. Yet seeing itself as more than conquerable land, Iberia is burning with an angry fire, and smoke can be seen seeping through the tears of warfare. Smoke with a strange scent of Amazonian wood.

Urki Aguirre became a revolutionary by accident. Considered a shy man by his peers, he would rather be found writing subversive (and never-published) poetry in Basque and the calm of his aunt and uncle’s attic. He did however show exuberant and violent tendencies while inebriated, a state referred to as his “real self” by those who knew him best. It is to that state that witnesses have attributed the burning of a few of his neighbors’ haystacks in the fall of 1936. In doing so, it probably did not occur to the intoxicated romantic that the farmers, the Salazar brothers, were employed by one Fabrice de Lambois, one of the most prominent landowners in Northern Spain at the time – and the most despised.

That which could have been blamed on stupidity (or the inconsequential achievement of getting drunk on txakoli) was unfortunately blamed on rivalry. De Lambois and his associates were known to exploit conflict between the locals to put as much of the Spanish land under a French name as possible, and the Salazars’ long-standing claims on Aguirre land had been no exception. As the French nobleman spoke words of agresividad through the mouth of his vassals to try and take advantage of the situation, Aguirre was forced to take a position of strength, or yield.

It was to the surprise of many that the reserved barrel-maker found the stimulation under pressure to turn his writing into an active and outspoken ideology against the interference of invaders. Favored by local instability due to the (corrupt) mayor’s inaction regarding a problem with Basque land that overlapped British and French territory (as well as by the population’s overall feelings for the land-owner), Aguirre quickly rose as a local political figure, his anti-interference ideals gathering more supporters by the day. The “means of pressure” used by the rebellion ultimately led to De Lambois’ early retirement, and to his replacement with a more… flexible man.

The Basques were not the only ones to suddenly seed revolution rather than corn. On the other side of the Atlantic, the Brazilians were finding something half-forgotten in the dust of political tensions: a feeling of uprootedness. The Portuguese pride of having conquered a large piece of South America had been short-lived and was waning. The historical victories over the native populations tasted sour when paralleled with a native country lost to the victory of another. Ever since they had crossed the ocean, eyes had been turning back towards the rising sun, to a homeland that was not anymore. Especially after the discovery, in 1927, of a posthumous work attributed to writer Gonçalves Dias, A Diáspora Esquecida (The Forgotten Diaspora), Brazilians came to see themselves as a population displaced by the French and British conquests in Europe. In reality, of course, the conquest of Brazil predated that of Iberia – but it did make for a convenient scapegoat. The resentment and bitterness about the “new” country reached new heights. And just as tides are strongest when the Sun and the Moon are aligned, it would also be worsened by aether psychosis episodes; as space deepened, the need for an earthly connection could become almost intolerable.

Ultimately, this resulted in the emergence of national nostalgia as a political concern in Brazil. Some advocated renaming the South American country to Portugal or Lusitania in order to remind of the people’s identity and put a victorious mask onto the growing identitarian dread; but the idea consoled few, and most saw it as betrayal of their origins. As for the mixed population, who competed in numbers with the White population and whom some observers considered neutral, it actually found itself torn apart between two ideologies, none reflecting accurately their cultural sentiment. This caused internal issues as well. In the face of such dilemmas, the Brazilian empire found itself pushed towards a decision, but begrudged engaging in direct conflict overseas. This left covert operations as an evident option.

By the time the dissatisfaction of the Brazilian (…or Portuguese) people became important enough to be dubbed the Movimento para a Reconquista in November 1936, Urki Aguirre had been facing his own share of ordeals back in French Spain. Having veered off his initial anti-interference views, he and a small but energetic group of followers had been warming up to more extreme measures. Mentions of armed insurrection intimidated his fellow countrymen, who threatened him with exile lest he spark a situation worse than cohabitation with the enemy. Tired of the inaction of simple discourse, Aguirre rather opted to join one the separatist groups that had recently become known throughout the peninsula, the most prominent of which was in Castelo Branco, Portugal.

On June 3rd 1937, a group of 80 Basque insurrectionists led by Aguirre were entering the town. There, they were met with mockery for their peasantly manners and their exaggerated readiness for immediate guerilla action. From the Basque leader’s point of view however, the Portuguese separatist movement was hardly a movement at all. Lack of organization or clear goals made it obvious to him that any military effort would “fizzle and ridicule the revolt to such a degree that no man would have the heart to reignite it for 25 years at least, for fear of being associated with the buffoonish ranks of Castelo Branco”. Aguirre was upfront with his qualms to the organization, which soon retaliated against him and his men (he insisted on calling them his troops), having them reconsider their presence in Portugal. However, after a couple weeks of idly planning operations that seemed unlikely to ever occur, news came from over the Atlantic that would shuffle the cards.

The day was August 31st of 1937 and the Emperor of Brazil Pedro III was offering his help. Weapons for 400 men, 20 guerilla instructors, 15 espionage experts, and funding over time. As a condition, the insurrectionists would have to be formalized as an independentist entity loyal to the emperor, whose territorial gains would automatically be put under Brazilian rule as Portugal. In exchange (and in addition to the military support), the Castelo Branco insurrection would be given much freedom in terms of administration and hierarchy, meaning that its leaders were virtually free to rule reconquered Portugal as subjects of the Brazilian emperor.

Despite the promised support, tensions in the Basque-Portuguese ranks peaked. A few of the most respected men within them had come to the conclusion that the Basque would make the best commanders, but most resented the idea for fear that the newly reclaimed land would fall in the hands of foreign leaders. Others tried to point out the premature nature of such concerns, as they had the advantage of common goals, and the possibility for later arrangements. However the situation had gotten past the point of no-return – mostly due to Aguirre’s lack of tact. As a result, the insurrection broke apart early on, with only a few dozen men staying in Castelo Branco. This, however, turned out to be a blessing in disguise.

On September 10th 1937 the Castelo Branco Treaty was signed, officiating the alliance of the separatists with Brazil – with an additional clause. That clause was the agreement to spread the supplies and funding evenly within the cause, no matter the ideological differences or cultural origins within the movement. Now, as smaller, more cohesive groups of men left to other Portuguese towns, the word spread that revolt was in the air. The more competent and motivated leaders and experts roamed the peninsula with indomitable efficiency, over time recruiting even Spanish, Catalan, Corsican and North African separatists. Exhilarated by the feeling of a great empire backing them, young folk in particular were eager to join the ranks, leading to an estimated total force of 1,500 to 11,000 people calling themselves the Free Iberians. By nature the movement was volatile, and officers themselves never fully grasped who or how many were under their command at any given time. Accountants, being in charge of fair retribution for everyone, had a better look at the big picture, but had no organizational or authoritative responsibilities themselves. Thus, exact numbers were never available.

Acknowledging what separated the separationists and embracing such a chaotic structure was later held to be the best move from the Castelo Branco Treaty. As the western part of the peninsula began to ignite with operations that ranged from blackmail or espionage to outright terrorism, the French and British-aligned occupants found themselves faced with an extremely elusive enemy. Unapproachable by local authorities (who were sometimes sympathetic to the movement anyway), they were nearly impossible to bribe or spy on. The little information the nations were able to gather about them was often contradictory, and quickly turned stale. In short, the two great powers proved surprisingly helpless against small-scale rebellion, and became the subject of international ridicule for their inability to counter the fluid chain of command of the Free Iberians. A famous caricature published in the Russian Pravda on July 20th 1938, wherein Great Britain and France are represented as giants with enormous boots trying (and failing) to crush gun-carrying ants swarming across the peninsula, captured the situation well. The drawing would inspire the creation of the far-left newspaper (L)A Reconquista (The Reconquest – A Reconquista in Portuguese, La Reconquista in Spanish) a month later. With its focus on news about the insurrection, as well as denouncing the contradictions of “laxist” French communism, it advocated for a fraternal unity between the Portuguese and Spanish people.

While disruptive, the Iberian insurrection is often overly advertized by the enemies of France and Great Britain and consists of relatively mild hostilities that have so far resulted in no decisive territorial handovers, although a few towns have been claimed to independent Portugal, Spain, or Brazil at different points since the conflict started. Quite notably however, a handful of rebels have schemed or bought their way to key administrative or political positions. The conflict is regularly fueled by Brazilian money and supplies, particularly after quieter phases that threaten to turn it into a stalemate. This, added to the difficulties for the Brazilian government to supervise the operations, has caused embezzlement issues, with some members of the insurrection turning into quiet war profiteers who divert the funds to entertain their own lavish lifestyle.

Some of the most impressive feats of the insurrection were conducted under Basque leadership. They have unfortunately caused a number of casualties, with various degrees of purposefulness. It is estimated that 329 people have lost their lives in the context of the Castelo Branco Treaty, mostly British and French officials or their direct executives. The more reckless leaders take pride in the amount. Judge Mario Coutinho fell victim to one of the most gruesome attacks, a public beheading in a theater. According to several witnesses, the sight of the stupefied head rolling down the balcony and spraying part of the public with blood was more remarkable than the theatrical performance itself. The Free Iberians have expressed that Coutinho's ruling in favor of automatic inheritance to the British government upon the death of a Portuguese owner without a nuclear family heir had been the motive for the assassination. As for the insurrection itself, it has officially lost 18 men and women, but a number of them have also inexplicably disappeared.

Aguirre is an ambivalent figure of the rebellion that is difficult to understand through the blur of the organization. Once the poet, once the terrorist, he never publicly endorsed the spilling of blood, but analysts attribute some of the most daring initiatives to him, such as the bombing of the Coimbra town hall that almost utterly destroyed the building. Executed by night, it remains the most impactful and non-lethal action undertaken by the Free Iberians to this day. Lately Aguirre has more rarely been associated with field operations, and has been said to organize a mafia-like coalition in Porto. This coincides with the departure, in November 1938, of several ships from Fortaleza to Porto whose cargo was kept secret, as reported by British naval surveillance. Some observers question Aguirre’s involvement in the events, or his existence altogether, claiming that he was fantasized as a shy writer turned blunt revolutionary to give the hopeless cause a hero. Those who ever pass through Ziortza-Bolibar, however, would tell you the locals miss the Aguirre boy that rid them of De Lambois, and usually they describe him as being full of surprises.