Teodoro de Mas y Nadal

Teodoro de Mas y Nadal (; 1858–1936) was a Spanish engineer and politician. He contributed to the development of railway, road, hydrological and energy infrastructure, mostly in Catalonia, though also in other regions of Spain and in Argentina. Politically he supported the Traditionalist cause. Prior to 1919 and after 1931 he remained active in the Carlist ranks; in 1917–1919 he was member of the regional Catalan party executive. In the 1920s he headed regional Catalan structures of the breakaway Traditionalist grouping known as the Mellistas.

Family and youth

The landowner Mas family has been for centuries related to Osona. Teodoro's great-grandfather, Teodoro de Mas Solá (1774–1816), distinguished himself commanding anti-French insurgency during the Peninsular War.New Catholic Encyclopedia, vol. 2, Washington 2003, , p. 429 However, he is better known as husband of Joaquina de Vedruna, Teodoro's great-grandmother; already a widow, in 1825 she founded the Carmelite charity order and was declared saint in 1959.Gran Enciclopedia Rialp, vol. 13, Madrid 1981, p. 478 Their son and Teodoro's grandfather, Joaquín José de Mas y de Vedruna (1801–1873), sided with the legitimists during the First Carlist War and then went on exile. His son and Teodoro's father, Luis de Mas y Poudevida (1824–1895),Luis de Mas y de Poudevida entry, [in:] Geneanet genealogical service, available here as a 13-year-old joined his parent in the legitimist ranks.the boy was nominated “oficial auxiliar” of his father, who at the time was the Carlist comisario de guerra He then studied geodesy and topography in France, was involved in another Carlist attempt of 1848 and went on exile again.Francisco de Paula Oller, Album de personajes carlistas con sus biografías, vol. 3, s.l. 1887, p. 20 Author of a geodetic manual,El Ancora 29.12.51, available here back in Spain he engaged in hydraulic engineeringLa Epoca 03.01.56, available here and in the 1860s ran a technical college in Barcelona, an institution he founded himself;Diario de Avisos 01.10.66, available here he also managed a local railway line.La Corona 06.09.84, available here

Luis de Mas married Elvira Nadal Valls (1833–1912);Elvira Nadal y Valls entry, [in:] Geneanet genealogical service, available here the couple lived at the Manso Escorial estate near Vich.de Paula Oller 1887, p. 25 They had at least 8 children, born between 1853 and the 1870s; Teodoro was the third in sequence, but the first son. Nothing is known of his early education. As a 14-year-old he escaped from home to join the legitimists during the Third Carlist War; twice rejected due to his age, he was eventually admitted to Real Cuerpo de Ingenieros; the structure was commanded by his own father.Mas’ possessions were embargoed in 1867, which suggests that already at the time he was considered a potential rebel, El Pensamiento Español 02.09.67, available here. In 1868 he was nominated (Carlist) Subcomisario Regio de Cataluña, de Paula Oller 1887, p. 21 Already as an adolescent nominated alférez following the battle of Ripoll,El Correo Español 10.08.16, available here he took part in various skirmishes in Cataloniahe is noted as engaged in action by Campdevánol, Berga, San Hilario, Anglés, Prats de Llusanés, Olot, Seo de Urgel and Bañolas, El Correo Español 10.08.16 until transferred to the Northern Front; he entered personal guard of the claimant and after the 1875 battle of Lumbier he was awarded Cruz del Mérito Militar. He was then sent on an unspecified mission to France, but was detained when trying to cross back to Spain and interned in Montauban until the end of hostilities.El Correo Español 10.08.16

None of the sources consulted provided information on Mas’ fate after the war, except that together with his father they spent a few years on exile. At unspecified time though probably in the late 1870s or early 1880s he studied engineering, most likely in France.Tornafoch 2003, p. 408 He returned to Spain in 1883 latest,in 1883 Teodoro Mas was noted as active organizing a local Vich feast, La Vey de Montserrat 14.04.83, available here reportedly to take over the family economy.El Correo Español 10.08.16, available here In 1884 he married Josefa Bach Puig (1865–1930),Josefa Bach Puig entry, [in:] Geneanet genealogical service, available here descendant to a Vich Liberal family.her father, José Bach Serra, was counted among “republicanos federales” in 1871, La Epoca 01.04.71, available here. He practiced as a lawyer, Anuario-Almanaque del Comercio 1879, available here. In the late 1880s he was considered a liberal fusionista, La Dinastía 01.07.87, available here The couple settled at the Mas estate and had at least 7 children, born between 1885 and 1904.Teodoro de Mas y Nadal entry, [in:] Geneanet genealogical service, available here Two of his sons died in youth in 1910–1911, another one perished in 1937;circumstances of his death are not clear. It is not known whether he died in combat, was victim of repression of passed away regardless of the civil war none of the remaining brothers and sisters became a public figure. Among Teodoro's sons-in-law Juan Travería Pubill was the alcalde of Vich, while Manuel Gaus Ripoll gained his name as an architect.Es cedeix a l’Ajuntament de Taradell l’arxiu documental de l’arquitecte Manel Gausa Raspall, [in:] Taradell service 10.10.18, available here Teodoro's brother Luis was manager of El Legitimista Español, issued in Buenos Aires.La Tradicion 08.10.98, available here. He returned to Spain in 1908 and the daily was taken over by Francisco de Paula Oller, El Tradicionalista 01.01.09, available here Teodoro's brother-in-law, Antonio Bach Puig, was involved in Macia's conspiracy of 1924.La Libertad 19.09.25, available here, El Sol 03.04.26, available here Among 17 grandchildren the best known one is Manel Gausa de Mas, an architect and photographer.Es cedeix a l’Ajuntament de Taradell l’arxiu documental de l’arquitecte Manel Gausa Raspall, [in:] Taradell service 10.10.18, available here

Engineer

It is not known exactly what discipline of engineering Mas has studied. He practiced in civil engineering, though he tried his hand at many sub-disciplines: railways, roads, hydro technical works, power generation and industrial facilities. He was first noted as engaged in construction works in 1884, the last such note comes from the 1910s. His projects focused mostly on Catalonia, though he was recorded also in León, La Mancha and in Argentina. A hagiographic note maintains that some of his endeavors were unsuccessful due to factors beyond his control;El Correo Español 10.08.16, available here no independent source is available to confirm this claim.

The field which attracted most of Mas’ attention was hydro technical projects. Most of these works were focused on Catalonia; the only exception were the 1880s works at Saltos del Duero in the province of Salamanca.Galería de vicenses caídos por Dios y por España. D. Teodoro de Mas, [in:] Ausona 248 (1946), p. 2 At unspecified time he engaged in a project related to the Monellots fonts, located near Vich;Tornafoch 2003, p. 408 since the 1860s works supposed to use it as supply of water for domestic Vich usage were dragging on.Francesc Roma i Casanovas, Canvi social i conflictivitat als segles XVIII i XIX. El cas d’Osona, [in:] Ausa 174 (2017), p. 937 Much more ambitious was a plan focused on the Noguera Pallaresa river; its waters were to be piped to Barcelona over a distance of some 100 km.Tornafoch 2003, p. 408 None of the sources consulted provides information either on outcome of both projects or about commercial format of the enterprises. In 1901 Mas was granted a license to exploit waters of the Ter river, flowing through the Northern Catalonia;El Heraldo Toledano 12.10.06, available here the business ran into difficulties, was re-defined commerciallyEl Ingeniero 522 (1906), available here and continued at least into the early 1910s.El Norte 29.07.10, available here It was the most successful of Mas’ projects; on his own real estate Molí de Sau he constructed a hydro power plant;Tornafoch 2003, p. 408 using 15,000 V lines and on a distance of some 13 km it delivered electricity to Vich, where power was further distributed for domestic use via 500 V lines.Francesc de Rocafiguera i García, Nomenclator. Els noms dels carrers de Vic, Vic 2012, p. 151

Railway transport kept Mas busy from the 1880s to the 1900s. Already in 1884 he was recorded as engaged in development of local network in the province of Salamanca, though no details are available.Tornafoch 2003, p. 408 In the late 1880s he contributed to the buildup of railway infrastructure in the Argentinean province of Corrientes,Rocafiguera i García 2012, p. 151 vaguely noted as engrossed with “varios ferrocarriles”.Galería de vicenses caídos por Dios y por España. D. Teodoro de Mas, [in:] Ausona 248 (1946), p. 2 In the early 1890s he was among promoters of a narrow-gauge railway line supposed to plug Vich into the already existent network; the track was to cross the Guilleries massif and join the Girona – Olot line in Pasteral d’Amer.Xavier Martí i Ylla, El ferrocarril a la Selva, historia d’una frustració, [in:] Quaderns de la Selva 26 (2014), p. 44 He was granted the license for both construction and operation of the railway, but the project moved on grudgingly; in 1901 the license was renewed,Heraldo de Gerona 12.12.01, available here but eventually the so-called Ferrocarril a la Selva failed to materialize. Another transport engineering discipline that Mas engaged in was road construction; in the mid–1880s he contributed to development of local network in the province of Albacete.Nuestros mártires: Teodoro de Mas y Nadal (1858-1936), [in:] La Tradició de Catalunya service 07.08.18, available here Last but not least, he was engaged in construction of other industrial facilities; he is credited for design and construction of a La Fé ceramics factory in Buenos Aires.El Correo Español 10.08.16, available here

Politician: from inactivity to Carlist regional executive