Syntactic Trees

Letter from María Joaquina Mazarrasa y Cobo to her brother José Mazarrasa y Cobo, high-rank army officer and district attorney.

The author advises her brother José Mazarrasa y Cobo not to trust his associate Cañizo.

In 1834 Felipe Mazarrasa y Cobo, attorney and consultant of the local government, was accused by the governor of Santander of treason, because he was suspected of collaboration with the Carlists in the context of the First Carlist War (1833-1840). He was arrested and his house was searched. Fifty-nine letters were seized and joined to the proceedings. During the interrogatory he was accused of treason because of his connections with important members of the Carlist party (among them, don Pedro Francisco de la Barana), and in particular because of his relation with his brother José Mazarrasa, who had participated to the uprising in Vizcaya and declared his loyalty to the Infante Carlos. He was interrogated about his relationship with his brother, about their meetings, and about the hospitality he had given his brother before the uprising.

Although he had declared his loyalty to queen Isabel, Felipe Mazarrasa was hated by a lot of people in Santander, because during the reign of Fernando VII he had severely persecuted the Constitutional Party. That persecution had caused the human and economic impoverishment of the city of Santander, because many people had had to go away from the city. In the folio 19r he is described as «hypocrite, fanatic absolutist, enemy of the Queen Isabel, partial of the Infante Carlos, apparently he is modest and righteous, in reality he is cruel and vicious».

Felipe Mazarrasa declared himself innocent, and declared that the proof did not demonstrate anything and that he could not be blamed for what his brother did or think. He said that the letters joined to the proceedings were about familiar matters of scarce importance. Moreover, he did not deny that he had acquaintances among the Carlists, but he underlined that he maintained also good relationships with people of the party loyal to queen Isabel: among them, one of his brothers, who was captain of a regiment in Mallorca. About what was said by many people from Santander, he added that it was absurd to persecute him for what had happened in the past and in exceptional circumstances.

The process was dismissed. He was condemned to banishment in the city of La Coruña. From that city, he tried to appeal his case. In 1846 the cause was definitively closed and Felipe Mazarrasa was freed from the banishment.