Tomás Domínguez Romera Pérez de Pomar, 11th Marquess of San Martín, Count consort of Rodezno, Count consort of Valdellano (1848–1931) was a Spanish aristocrat, landholder and politician. He supported the Carlist cause. His political climax fell on the years of 1905–1916, when during 4 consecutive terms he represented the district of Aoiz in the Congress of Deputies, the lower chamber of the Cortes. In the 1910s he held the Carlist regional jefatura first in New Castile and Extremadura, and then briefly in Andalusia; at that time he was also member of the nationwide party executive.
Family and youth
Tomás was descendant to a few well-off Andalusian landholder families. The Domínguez and the Trigueros have long been noted as distinguished figures in the city of Carmona (Seville province);see José Manuel Navarro Domínguez, Carmona en vísperas de la Guerra de Independencia, [in:] Carel 6 (2008), pp. 2673-2716 one representative of the Domínguez branch was regidor of the municipality in the late 18th century.Navarro Domínguez 2008, p. 2695 Apart from large rural estates, the Domínguez family owned also a large house in the city.The Domínguez Palace-House, [in:] Turismo Carmona service, available here/ The father of Tomás, José Domínguez TriguerosDomínguez: Indice de Nacimientos de Carmona, Seville, entre 1841 y 1871, [in:] Dateas service, available here. His paternal grandparents were probably José Domínguez and Ana Trigueros, Domínguez: Indice de Defunciones de Carmona, Seville, entre 1841 y 1871, [in:] Dateas service, available here (died 1888),La Correspondencia de España 23.06.88, available here rose to high positions as well; in the 1840s he was the mayor of Carmona,El Heraldo 26.04.54, available here the post which later went to his brother, Manuel Domínguez Trigueros.El Correo 13.05.82, available here At unspecified time he married a distant relative akin because of their common Trigueros ascendants,Carmen Romera Pomar was daughter to Tomás Romera Trigueros, see Carmen Romera y Pomar, [in:] Geni genealogical service, available here. It appears that in case of Tomás Domínguez Romera, his paternal grandmother (Ana Trigueros) was cousin to his maternal grandfather (Tomás Romera Trigueros) Carmen Romera Pomar.Domínguez: Indice de Nacimientos de Carmona, Seville, entre 1841 y 1871, [in:] Dateas service, available here She descended from another terrateniente family from Carmona, prestigious especially along her maternal line; since 1681 it was holding the title of Marqués de AriñoMarqueses de Ariño, [in:] Geneall genealogical service, available here and her maternal grandfather Vicente Pomar y Cavero was the 6. Marqués.Vicente de Pomar y Cavero, 6. marqués de Ariño, [in:] Geneall genealogical service, available here
José and Carmen had at least two sons, ManuelManuel Domínguez Romera was the older one, born in 1846, see Domínguez D: Indice de Nacimientos de Carmona, Seville, entre 1841 y 1870, [in:] Dateas service, available here. Over decades he has never been mentioned in the press and it seems that the younger Tomás inherited the family estates. However, Manuel is missing on the list of defunciones in Carmona until 1870 and Tomás Domínguez Romera. It is not clear what was the size of combined rural estates owned by the couple; upon inheriting their possessions, Tomás was mentioned in the press as a very wealthy man.El Arga 22.10.81, available here None of the sources consulted provides any information on his early education. Later he followed the path typical for males of his class: some time in the mid-1860s he enrolled in the faculty of law at the University of Sevillein 1868 latest he was already involved in academic life, Artagan 1912, p. 93 and graduated in 1873.Artagan 1912, p. 93, also El Correo Español 01.04.18, available here Some official sources have later listed him as "abogado",compare Dominguez Romera Perez de Pomar, Tomas entry, [in:] official Cortes service, available here but there is no evidence that he has ever practiced; he lived off the real estate ownedone of his estates identified was named "Campo de la Plata", Jorge Maier, Jorge Bonsor, 1855-1930: un académico correspondiente de la Real Academia de la Historia y la Arqueología Española, Madrid 1999, ISBN 9788489512306, p. 551 and was referred to as “rico propietario”.El Arga 22.10.81, available here
In 1881El Arga 22.10.81, available here Domínguez Romera married María de los Dolores de Arévalo y Fernandez de Navarrete (1854-1919).María de los Dolores de Arévalo y Fernandez de Navarrete, 6º condessa de Rodezno, 6º condessa de Valdellano, [in:] Geneall genealogical service, available here She descended from an aristocratic Riojan-Navarrese Arévalo family. Her father, Justo Arévalo Escudero, was a conservative politician; in the 1850s and the 1860s he served in the lower chamber of the Cortes,Arevalo y Escudero, Justo, [in:] official Cortes service, available here while between the 1870s and the 1890s he held a chair in the senate.Arévalo y Escudero, Justo. Conde viudo de Rodezno, [in:] official Senate service, available here In 1877 María inherited the titles of Condesa de Rodezno and Condesa de Valdellano;María Arévalo Fernandez was daughter to Maria de los Angeles Fernandez de Navarrete y Jiménez Navarro, condesa de Rodezno and condesa de Valdellano. Upon her death in 1856 the widower turned from conde consorte to conde viudo. The titles passed to their son, who died childless in 1877; at this point María Arévalo Fernandez inherited the titles, see Guia de Titulos [in:] the official royal service, available here upon marriage Domínguez Romera became conde consorte.it is not clear how Tomás Domínguez, who originated from the very south of Spain, met María Arévalo, who originated from the very north. The most likely possibility is that they came to know each other due to his Carlist engagements, which eventually led him to France and perhaps to Navarre In 1908 she inherited large landholdings around Villafranca;El Eco de Navarra 10.11.08, available here the Andalusian and the Riojan-Navarrese estates of the couple were separated by some 600 km. In 1911 Domínguez Romera claimed and was granted the title of marqués de San Martin.El Liberal 05.06.11, available here. In 1915 he claimed also the title of Conde de Colomera with Grandeza de España, but apparently was unsuccessful, Revista de Historia y Genealogia Española 7/8 (1915), p. 352, available here Tomás and María lived mostly in their apartment in Madrid and in Villafranca.in Madrid they owned an apartment at calle de Jovellanos 6, La Epoca 12.05.31, available here They had two sons; Tomás Domínguez Arévalo inherited the Rodezno and San Martín titles, while José María Domínguez Arévaloborn 1886, José María Domínguez y Arévalo, VII Count of Valdellano, [in:] Geneall genealogical service, available here, and died 1952, José Domínguez Arévalo, [in:] Geni genealogical service, available here took over this of Valdellano.La Epoca 12.05.31, available here Both became Carlist politicians. In 1932-1934 the former held the nationwide party leadership and later became one of key politicians of early Francoism; the latter briefly headed regional party structures in New Castile.Melchor Ferrer, Historia del tradicionalismo español, vol. XXIX, Sevilla 1960, p. 115
Early Carlist engagements
Political preferences of Domínguez’ ancestors are not clear and it is obscure how he became related to Carlism, the movement which enjoyed little appeal among the Andalusian landholders.for brief summary of Carlism in Andalusia, see first paragraphs of Leandro Álvarez Rey, El Carlismo en Andalucía durante la Segunda República (1931-1936), [in:] Sevilla 36: Sublevación Fascista y Represión, Sevilla 1990, ISBN 8486335663, pp. 17-79 It is not known whether as mayor of Carmona his father represented any political current; however, some sources suggest that he might have nurtured a Traditionalist inclination.in 1885 José Domínguez Trigueros was noted as involved in charity action in a key Traditionalist newspaper, El Siglo Futuro 22.01.85, available here Already as a student Tomás got involved in right-wing para-political engagements; he was among co-founders of Juventud Católica of Seville and became secretary of the local Asociación de Católicos.Artagan 1912, p. 93 During final years of the Isabelline monarchy in the late 1860s he reportedly "took active part in the battle of ideas",”tomó parte active en las luchas de ideas”, Artagan 1912, p. 93 the turmoil which eventually ended up in so-called Glorious Revolution.Artagan 1912, p. 93 During the Third Carlist War of the mid-1870s Domínguez was busy developing the clandestine Carlist network in Andalusia, but no details are available.Artagan 1912, p. 93 His labors caught attention of the authorities and as a result, he decided to leave Spain. For some time he lived on exile in Parisno further details are provided, Artagan 1912, p. 93 but returned either in the late 1870s or in the early 1880s.he married in Madrid in 1881 and in the early 1880s was already active in Madrid structures, Juan Sebastián Elián, El gran libro de los apellidos y la heráldica, Barcelona 2001, ISBN 9788479275495, p. 100
Once back in Spain Domínguez did not return to his family Carmona estate, but together with his newly wed wife they settled in Madrid. He engaged in reconstruction of shattered Carlist structures in the capital, which soon translated into attempts to animate the local branch of Comunión Católico-Monárquica, the pre-war party organization.Artagan 1912, p. 93 In the mid-1880s he was among co-founders of Círculo Carlista de Madrid;Artagan 1912, pp. 93-94 in 1887 he became president of Secretaría General of the Madrid branch of the revamped party structure,Artagan 1912, p. 93 now known as Comunión Tradicionalista.El Correo Español 01.04.18, available here In 1888 Domínguez assumed the role of president of Comisión de Propaganda of the Madrid party organization;Agustín Fernández Escudero, El Marqués de Cerralbo (1845-1922): biografía política [PhD thesis Universidad Complutense], Madrid 2012, pp. 84-85 the same year he rose to Secretario General of the Madrid executive, the body at the time led by Marqués de Cerralbo.Fernández Escudero 2012, p. 118
Since the mid-1880s Carlism was increasing paralyzed by a conflict between the claimant Carlos VII and the chief theorist of the movement, the charismatic Ramón Nocedal; apart from personal rivalry, it was conditioned by different visions of political priorities and the strategy to be adopted. In 1888 the strife climaxed in open rebellion of the so-called Nocedalistas, soon to be known as Integrists. Within the Madrid organization Domínguez sided with Cerralbo against Nocedal and opted for loyalty to his king.for details of the breakup see Fernández Escudero 2012, pp. 99-123 As the breakaways controlled two key Traditionalist newspapers, La Fé and El Siglo Futuro, the loyalists remained with no Madrid-based daily which could serve as the semi-official national party mouthpiece. Domínguez Romera and Cerralbo labored to create an alternative press platform; their works were crowned with success in 1889, when the new Carlist daily El Correo Español was launched.Fernández Escudero 2012, p. 126
Parliamentary career