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The abolition of the Basque Country's Statutory Rights on 21 July, 1876, drastically
reduced the number of Miņones. After the last Civil War (1936), the duties of the Miņones Corps were reduced to surveillance and building guarding tasks, as well as official
protocol duties and the management of the Provincial Savings Bank Branches. At the end of the Dictatorship period and with the coming of a democratic regime, it became possible
to restore and update the historical rights and privileges, by means of the First Additional Provision of 1978's Constitution. The Basque Country's Autonomous Police Force was
established under article 17, paragraph five, of the Statute of Autonomy, which agreed with Royal Decree of 22 December, 1980, in regards to restoring the Foral (Territorial Statutory) Corps. |
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Since the end of the 18th
century, the Diputaciones forales (Provincial Governments) of Alava, Guipuzcoa and Vizcaya had created armed police corps which were the jurisdiction of the provincial governments, and which had similar duties: the maintenance of public order and provincial administration.
In Alava, these corps were initially called "Cuadrilleros" in 1793, and in 1800 they became known as "Miqueletes" and finally Miņones. The name Miņones has
lasted until today. As the Corps subsisted exclusively on the provincial treasury, its existence was directly affected by the greater or lesser availability of these funds,
which in turn affected the number of members which could be kept at a any time, which resulted in its extinction and subsequent new "creations" according to the circumstances. |
