The Philippine Aranetas

Sunday, 6 January 2002

THE FIRST PHILIPPINE ARANETAS
According to historical accounts obtained from the elders in the family, the Philippine Aranetas originated from the Basque region of Northern Spain.

In 1723, during the Galleon Trade, two brothers named Baltazar de Araneta and Don Jose de Araneta arrived in Manila aboard the Spanish Fleet,”La Sacra Familia”. They came from the Basque region of Spain by way of Acapulco, Mexico. This was, however, not conclusive as some members of the family, disputed that the two are not brothers and Don Jose de Araneta must have been born in Gipuzkoa, but not Baltazar de Araneta, who was born in Mexico.

There are many conflicting stories about the beginning of the first Philippine Aranetas. Many of these stories were passed down verbally from one generations to another, it is more likely than not, that these stories have changed along the way. Some have it that Don Jose de Araneta was born in Zamboanga. If he was born in Zamboanga, therefore, he can not be the same person who arrived in Manila in 1723. Another stories has it that an Aranetas from the Basque region of Spain settled in Zamboanga.While others have their beginning with two brothers, who were priest, from Mexico. Until documentations to substantiate all these stories are found, the true facts remain unknown.

From articles written by Santiago Gomez [El Galeón de Manila en el siglo XVIII, Navios de la Carrera de Filipinas.] In reference to Baltazar de Araneta and Juan de Araneta. To wit; ”The Galeón Nuestra Senora del Pilar de Zaragosa”, under the command of General Baltazar de Araneta and his master Captain Jose Antonio de la Madrid, sailed from Cavite on July 31, 1736, accompanied by the flagship N.S. Cavadonga, it arrived in Acapulco, Mexico, four months after. The same ship returned to Manila on August 20, 1739, (on board the ship was the newly appointed governor to the Philippines Gaspar Antonio de la Torre.)

Later, Baltazar de Araneta served the Spanish government as a Regidor of the Cabildo and Secretary of the Charitable Fraternity of the Mesericordia in Manila. He married Manuela de Aguirre. Baltazar died in Manila in 1750. “One line of the Araneta family descended from him.”

Also there, was the Galeón Santisima Trinidad y Nuestra Senora del Buen Fin, familiarly known as El Pederoso (The mighty.) The governor, Jose Francisco Ovando y Solis ordered its construction, in the yards of Bagatao (island of Luzon), to replace the Nuestra Senora de Cavadonga, which was captured by British Admiral George Anson, commander of the frigate, HMS Centurion. Built in 1751, it was one of the largest ships in the islands. its first trip departed in mid – 1751, under the command of General D. Francisco Ustariz, with its master Captain Juan de Araneta. Without any setbacks, it returned to the Philippines in the spring of 1752.

Another articles written in Maguindanao which was translated in Chabacano dialect revealed that in 1725, Don Jose de Araneta joined and served the Spanish Politico-Military Government of Mindanao based at Zamboanga City. He served also as interpreter of the Government and the Sultan of Maguindanao, together with Placido Alberto de Saavedra. According to some historians, he was executed on or before 1746, at Sulugan, Mindanao, nowadays known as Anuling in Cotabato. The date of his death is not conclusive because of conflicting information drawn from translations of various documents pertaining to him.

Before the turn of the century, two of his sons, Mathias Araneta and Vicente Araneta, left Zamboanga province for Iloilo. They settled in Parian [Molo]. Don Jose’s other son Benito, followed them afterwards. Years later, Vicente Araneta, together with his family, moved to the province of Negros Occidental and established his residence there. This started the Negros branch of the family.

The Philippine Aranetas of today are descendants of Don Jose de Araneta and Baltazar de Araneta.

References:

Portal Archivos General de Indies (Por Santiago Gomez)
Islas Filipinas: Mindanao (Por Benito Francia and Julian G. Parredo)

Copyright 1997

All Rights Reserved: Unauthorized reproduction, in any manner, is prohibited.

Footnote: The Galleon, Nuestra Senora de Guia, arrived in Manila from Acapulco, Mexico six years later in August 9, 1729 and not 1723, as circulated from a leaflet during the Araneta grand reunion in Iloilo in 1973. (Source Archivo General de Indies, pp.32-33, Ruta Acapulco – Filipinas). The Galleon La Sacra Familia arrived in Manila in 1723. (See source Overview of Galleons to / from Philippines,

Family Name History & Origin

FAMILY NAME HISTORY & ORIGIN

The Araneta family dates back from earlier times when aristocracy was still prevalent. The family traces their ancestral roots back to ancient times in Aragon Spain.

According to the historians, “Baron de Cobos” of Belchite, Aragon, One branch of this family established their household in the province of Gipuzkoa, in Vasconia, now known as “Pais Vasco”, or the Basque Country. Basques, first known to history as natives of modern – day Navarre and Aragon in the first century BC are now prodominanly found in an area known as the Basque Country. The Basques live on the western end of the Pyrenees Mountains on the Iberian Peninsula. down to the Bay of Biscay. For as long as anyone can remember, they have had seven provinces, the oldest is called Gipuzkoa ( Gu-iz-puzk-ko-ak ), which means “we whose language was broken”.

The family dwelled mostly near the mountain, surrounded by valleys. Hence the name Araneta, with its etymology derived from the Basque term “aran”, meaning valley, and in addition, the locative suffix “eta”, which denotes a “place of”. Thus, the initial bearer of the surname Araneta would have been someone who dwelled in a valley. There are very few towns in the Basque Country. People did not live in towns but in disperse farms, so most of the villages had not any “casco urbano”. In the part of the Basque Country where the surname Araneta was originated, surnames are not usually names of villages or towns, but the name of the house or farm. Families took as surname the name of their house, that is the reason of why Basque surnames used the DE before them. For instance Fernando de Araneta means Fernando from the Araneta House.

During the Middle Ages, before the hereditary family name system was instituted, it was a practice to adopt a second name to be able to differentiate one individual from other with the same personal name. Surnames, as with languages in general, undergo spelling changes over time. This can be the result of exchanging letters which sound similar, or of scribes altering a name as it is recorded.

From the diverse unity which characterise Spain, came the distinguished Araneta family surname. Historians have studied available records to reveal the original family ancestral seat originated in Aragon, an ancient kingdom of Spain. One of the earliest records bearing the name Araneta is that of Martin de Araneta, who came from an aristocratic family of Basque origin. His name was recorded in the Castillian document dated 1227. Martin de Araneta was a Knight during the era of the Reconquest. He served and escorted Ferdinand III, king of Castile and Leon, in the conquest of Cordova, Murcia, Jean and Seville from the Moors in 1217. He was granted innumerable amounts of lands when Ferdinand divided the conquered territories between his Knights, the Church and the Nobility, whom he endowed with great latifundia. The era of the reconquest was completed in 1492, when the Moors lost Granada to King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella. Religion had an important role in this age of reconquest, serving as a rallying point for military and political efforts which were a part of recovering Arab occuppied terretories.

According to Garcia Garafa, a Basque scholar and historian from Vasco (Navarro), the Aranetas had ancestral homes in the valley of Gainza and Andoain in Gipuzkoa. A notable member of this household, Juan Francisco de Araneta, was ennobled in Gainza, circa 1683. While the use of hereditary family names began in the Iberian peninsula on the thirteenth century, it was not until the sixteenth century that the practice became firmly established among the general populace. The Basque Country is filled with the heritage of families from aristocratic and noble origins, who in the ancient times of shields and swords, earned their nobility by protecting their king and country from foreign invaders. The Spanish Crown, in granting the family a decree of the coat-of-arms, recognized the nobility of the Araneta family. It is found in the compilation of “The Land of “Basque and Navarres” and can be depicted by the “Coat-OF-Arms” of the Hispanic Communities”.

REFERENCE:

Historical Research & Archives Center