Luis Gonzaga María Antonio Carlos Ramón Miguel de Llauder y de Dalmases, de Freixas, de Bufalá y de Camín, 1st marquis of Valldeix (1837–1902)full list of his given names in Jordi Canal, Lluís M. de Llauder, cap del carlisme catalá (1888–1902), [in:] L’Erol 76 (2003), p. 30. Present-day Catalan language publications keep Catalanizing his name as "Lluís Llauder i Dalmases"; since he preferred to have been referred to with the Spanish version, compare his signature on Carta abierta al Excmo. Sr. General Martínez Campos, [in:] Correo Catalán 1 October 1993, p. 15, quoted after Jordi Canal, El carlisme català dins l’Espanya de la Restauració, Vic 1998, , p. 263, this spelling is followed also here was a Spanish Catholic publisher and a Carlist politician. He is known as leader of Catalan Carlism of the late nineteenth century. He is also recognized as founder and the moving spirit behind Barcelona-based Catholic media initiatives, especially a publishing house, a daily , and a weekly .
Family and youth
The Llauder family was first recorded in the late 15th century, its representatives noted as blacksmiths based in the Catalan town of Argentona.Enric Subińà i Coll, La Torre Llauder: La masia i els seus propietaris, [in:] XV Sessió Estudis Mataronins. Comunicacions presentades, Mataró 1998, p. 81 In course of the next two centuries the family grew into prominence and wealth, accumulating a number of estates in Mataró and Barcelona; since mid-17th century its senior was honorary citizen of the Catalan capital.Subińà 1998, p. 82; the city ceased to recognise the title in the early 19th century In the late 18th century the family built an iconic Mataró mansion known as the mansion was sold by Llauder family in 1915 and changed hands a number of times, gradually falling into decrepit condition; though it was declared part of national heritage, half-abandoned it was demolished in 1970, Subińà 1998, pp. 79, 94. Since the early 1960s the plot was site of archeological works; declared remnants of ancient Roman village, in 1980 it was re-arranged as a museum and kept living there interchanging with the residence at intersection of the Hèrcules and Arlet streets in Barcelona.Subińà 1998, p. 85 Luis' great-grandfather, José Antonio Llauder y Duran, commenced industrial activities upon receiving concession to exploit water springs;Subińà 1998, p. 87 despite damages suffered during the Peninsular War, the business was developed further on by his son José Francisco Llauder y Camín, who died in 1824 already as the first taxpayer of Mataró.Subińà 1998, p. 90
José Francisco's son and the father of Luis, Ramón de Llauder y Freixes (1807–1870), inherited the family wealth and prestige. He fell in love with María Mercedes de Dalmases y de Bufalà (died 1885),Subińà 1998, p. 92; for her death date see La Hormiga de Oro 07.06.85, available here also a Catalan native of Sant Martí Sesgueioles,Canal 2003, p. 30 descendant to a wealthy bourgeoisie family.El fons del llinatge Massot-Dalmases, [in:] Lo Carranquer blog 31.03.15, available here The couple married in 1837Subińà 1998, p. 92; the 1837 date of marriage seems somewhat odd, given their son Luis was born in May 1837 and initially settled in Madrid,though most sources claim that Llauder was born in Madrid, according to one author it was in Mataró, Francisco de Paula Oller, Album de Personajes Carlistas con sus Biografias, volume II, Barcelona 1888, vol. 2, p. 183 but they soon moved to the Llauder residence in Barcelona; Ramon remained the first taxpayer of Mataró.Subińà 1998, p. 92 Apart from integration and further development of the family businesses, he made his name as a lawyer and became member of Tribunal Supremo. He is known as a fervent Catholic who donated large sums to the Church, including financing of a newly set up Poor Clares convent. Ramon demonstrated interest in charity, further developed also by Luis, e.g. founding and financing a school for the poor.Subińà 1998, pp. 92-3
Ramon and María had 6 children, except Luis all of them daughters;María Candelària, María Assumpció, María del Àngels, María Ignàcia and Pilar they were brought up in fervently Catholic ambience. One of them, Pilar, became nun of the Handmaids of the Sacred Heart of Jesus order.Subińà 1998, p. 93, El Siglo Futuro 22.03.82, available here It is not clear where the young Luis received his schooling; he obtained bachillerato in 1851.Canal 1998, p. 253 He then enrolled at the Civil and Canon law faculty of the Universitat de Barcelona, graduating as licenciado in 1858;La Corona 18.12.58, available here one source claims he received technical education and graduated as engineer.Begoña Urigüen, Orígenes y evolución de la derecha española: el neo-catolicismo, Madrid 1986, , p. 323 As he inherited a real estate fortune and the industry enterprises, it is not clear whether he has ever practiced as a lawyer. He has never married and had no children.Subińà 1998, p. 93 He was grandnephew of Manuel de Llauder y Camín, first Viscount de Llauder and Marqués del Valle de Ribas. A little known poet of the early 20th century, Lorenzo de Llauder y de Bonilla, was his distant relative.he was grandson of Luis’ grandfather's brother, see Enrique Toral y Fernández de Peñaranda, Vida y obra del poeta giennense de los floreos, don Lorenzo de Llauder y de Bonilla, quinto Marqués del Valle de Ribas, [in:] Boletín del Instituto de Estudios Giennenses 180 (2002), pp. 545-572
Early public activity
There is little information on Llauder's public activity in the 1860s. He was certainly active in various Catholic groupings; having inherited from his father vivid interest in social issues and a penchant for charity, in 1863 he was acknowledged as engaged in Caridad Cristiana, a Barcelona philanthropic institution specializing in education; in the early 1864 he rose to deputy treasurer of the organization.La Corona 05.02.64, available here Llauder was also noted as active in regional realm in-between economy and public management: in 1865 he was secretary of comisión organizadora preparing an agricultural exposition in Mataró; within this body he represented the proprietors.La Corona 24.07.65, available here There is a source which claims that in his youth he practiced as a lawyer, though the information is not confirmed elsewhere."durante su juventud había sido un abogado distinguido", El Deber 14.06.02, available here He was probably engaged also in the family business; at unspecified time and under his guidance the number of family operated watermills rose from 2 to 5; he also upgraded some of them by mounting auxiliary steam engines.
It is not clear when Llauder commenced his lifelong career of a publisher and a journalist.a hagiographic piece claims that "en 1866 empezó a distinguirse ya como periodista", B. de Artagan [Reynaldo Brea], Políticos del carlismo, Barcelona 1912, p. 105 One author maintains that it was "shortly after" graduation when he tried his hand in letters, starting co-operation with local periodicals.Canal 2003, p. 30; some authors claim he commenced writing in 1866, see Artagan 1912, p. 105 The first titles named are popular Catholic reviews La Sociedad Católica,a Madrid based daily launched in 1865; he managed it at unspecified time before it ceased in 1867, José Navarro Cabanes, Apuntes bibliográficos de la prensa carlista, Valencia 1917, p. 51 El Amigo del Pueblo and El Criterio Católico,a Barcelona based daily launched in 1866, Navarro 1917, p. 51 and the time is specified as "second half of the 1860s".El Deber 14.06.02, available here, Canal 2003, p. 30, Canal 1998, p. 256 It seems that at that time he was formatted as a militant Catholic author rather than a partisan of any specific party. His opinion on politics of the era, especially on the crumbling rule of Isabel II, is not known. It was only the Glorious Revolution of 1868 and declaration of the First Spanish Republic that triggered Llauder's political career.
There were no known Carlist antecedents in Llauder's family. Political views of his father are unclear, while his paternal uncle, Carlos de Llauder y Freixes, was well established in the Isabelline system as a Partido Moderado politician and a Cortes deputy.see official Cortes service, available here It was rather the brother of his paternal grandfather, , who gained nationwide recognition as a Carlist foe; when capitán general of Catalonia he made his name for engineering anti-Carlist repressions during and after the First Carlist War.Artagan 1912, p. 105; for his own account see Memorias documentadas del teniente coronel don Manuel Llauder, Madrid 1844, available here Hence, it is not clear how Llauder approached the Carlists in the late 1860s. Later party propaganda claimed that it was his bright intelligence that made him conclude, somewhat against the family background, that Traditionalism was the only way forward."sobrino del famoso general Llauder, uno de los que más persiguieron a los legitimistas en la guerra civil, habiéndose educado al lado de parienres moderados, su inteligencia previsora, su gran conocimiento de las cosas y de los hombres a pesar de los pocos anos que cuenta, le hicieron comprender que la única salvación del pais estaba en la bandera legitimista", El Vizconde de la Esperanza [Julio Nombela ], La Bandera Carlista en 1871, Madrid 1871, p. 305, quoted after Canal 2003, pp. 33-4 This became evident in his 1869 booklet, El desenlace de la revolución españoIa. The work compared regimes of liberal monarchy, republic and traditionalist monarchy. Stemming mostly from Catholic principles, it declared Traditionalism the only viable option, advocating leadership of the Carlist claimant Carlos VII. Desenlace was focused on politics; the work by no means endorsed violence, the position that Llauder was to maintain through all later life.Canal 1998, pp. 253-4 According to his own later accounts, the book was the first attempt "to fly the Carlist standard in Catalonia" during the Sexenio Democrático.
Approach to, Third Carlist War and aftermath
Desenlace earned Llauder his name in Catalan public discourse. He was welcomed in Asociación Católico-Monárquica,by the Carlist veteran Ramón Cabrera it was envisioned as a Carlist legal outpost and possibly a Spanish version of the English Tories, Urigüen 1986, p. 312 an agglutinatory force attracting far-Right opposition. The formation was an alliance of , Conservatives and Carlists; though Llauder's non-belligerent stance was similar to that of the neos, a contemporary scholar clearly identifies him as a Carlist.Urigüen 1986, p. 323 In the supplementary 1870 elections to Cortes Constituentes Llauder appeared on candidatura católico-monárquica in his native district of Vich.Urigüen 1986, p. 320 When electedsee the 1870 mandate at official Cortes service, available here. he joined the 23-member Carlist minority.Urigüen 1986, p. 327 In the successive 1871 campaign he ranaccording to his later account, the objective was not to govern or share power, but to protest Republican injustice towards religion and society, Urigüen 1986, pp. 429-30 on the same ticket from Berga, elected with 97% of all votes cast.see the 1871 mandate at official Cortes service, available here In the spring of 1872 he again stood in Berga;La Esperanza 22.03.72, available here though initially reported victorious,El Imparcial 09.04.72, available here in unclear circumstances he was finally declared defeated.the victorious candidate gained only 34% of the votes cast, see the 1872 Berga mandate at official Cortes service, available here also La Epoca 10.04.72, available here