Lordship of Biscay Señorío de Vizcaya Bizkaiko jaurerria | |||||||
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c.1040–1876 | |||||||
Status | Vassal first of the Kingdom of Navarre, then of the Crown of Castile | ||||||
Capital | Bermeo (1476–1602) Bilbao (1602–1876) | ||||||
Government | Lordship | ||||||
Historical era | Middle Ages | ||||||
• Established | c.1040 | ||||||
• Abolition of the Juntas Generales | 1876 | ||||||
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The Lordship of Biscay (Spanish: Señorío de Vizcaya, Basque: Bizkaiko jaurerria) was a region under feudal rule in the region of Biscay in the Iberian Peninsula between c.1040 and 1876, ruled by a political figure known as the Lord of Biscay. One of the Basque señoríos, it was a territory with its own political organization, with its own naval ensign, consulate in Bruges and customs offices in Balmaseda and Urduña, from the 11th century until 1876, when the Juntas Generales were abolished. Since 1379, when John I of Castile became the Lord of Biscay, the lordship was integrated into the Crown of Castile, and eventually the Kingdom of Spain.