Juan Bautista Soler Martí

File:Baldomer Gili Roig. Borriana, 1915 - 1925 (2).jpg, early 20th century]]

The names of Soler and Martí are fairly popular on the Levantine coast and both are supposed to be of French origin, recorded already respectively in the 12th and 13th century.in the 12th century the Solers were already known as local magnates in Aragón and Catalonia, while the noble Martí family, owners of many estates ranging from Barcelona to Alicante, was first noted in the 13th century; Soler entry, [in:] Blasonari service, available [http://www.blasonari.net/apellido.php?id=848 here] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190201013445/http://www.blasonari.net/apellido.php?id=848 |date=1 February 2019 }}, Martí entry, [in:] Heráldica Valenciana service, available [https://heraldica.levante-emv.com/marti/ here] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190201013601/https://heraldica.levante-emv.com/marti/ |date=1 February 2019 }} However, there is nothing certain about distant ancestors of Juan Bautista. His great-grandfather José Soler Mallent originated from the town of Albuixech, few miles north of Valencia;José Soler Mallent entry, [in:] Geneanet service, available [https://gw.geneanet.org/sanchiz?lang=en&p=jose&n=soler+mallent here] he married Ramona Torrent Rois, yet there is no information on his occupation. At some point the couple moved to the Levantine coastal town of Burriana, the birthplace of Juan Bautista's grandfather, Vicente Soler Torrent (1798–1871).Juan Bautista Soler Martí entry, [in:] Geneanet service, available [https://gw.geneanet.org/sanchiz?lang=en&n=soler+marti&oc=0&p=juan+bautista here] He worked as petty merchant and perhaps as a farmer, busy with collecting and sale of fodder for the local livestock.María Dolores Agustí Soler, Juan Bautista Soler Martí, representante del comercio naranjero en Burriana (1879–1936), [in:] Rosa Monlleó (ed.), Castelló al segle XX, Barcelona 2006, {{ISBN|9788480215640}}, p. 238 Married to Ramona Torrent Rios, he had 12 children, born between 1810s and 1840s.Vicente Soler Torrent entry, [in:] Geneanet service, available [https://gw.geneanet.org/sanchiz?lang=en&p=vicente&n=soler+torrent here] One of them was the father of Juan Bautista, Ramón Soler Marco.

Ramón Soler Marco married Francisca Martí Perez (1844–?)Juan Bautista Soler Martí entry, [in:] Geneanet service, available [https://gw.geneanet.org/sanchiz?lang=en&n=soler+marti&oc=0&p=juan+bautista here] and the couple remained in Burriana. They lived off the same fodder trade, though Ramón also tried to breed horses; his family is counted among the agrarian working class and because of the occupation they were known as "pallasos"."sus padres son labradores", Agustí Soler 2006, p. 238 They had 6 children, 3 sons and 3 daughters,Agustí Soler 2006, p. 238 Juan Bautista probably born as the youngest one.Ramón Soler Marco entry, [in:] Geneanet service, available [https://gw.geneanet.org/sanchiz?lang=en&p=ramon&n=soler+marco here] Soler Marco died prematurely as victim to a work accident, due to injuries suffered when harmed by a horse in his stable.Agustí Soler 2006, p. 238 It seems that Juan Bautista and his siblings were raised in poverty; he learnt to read and write in the army, as in 1898 he volunteered to spare conscription to his older brother Manuel, who apparently was more needed in the family economy.Bellés, Alcalde de Burriana con la creación del puerto y el Círculo Frutero, [in:] El Periodico Mediterraneo 15.12.02, available [https://www.elperiodicomediterraneo.com/noticias/castellon/alcalde-burriana-creacion-puerto-circulo-frutero_786973.html here] It is not clear whether he served on the peninsula or overseas.

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Having terminated military service in 1900 Juan Bautista commenced working in a petty merchant business of his older brother Ramón.Agustí Soler 2006, p. 239 In 1901 he married a local girl, Francisca Maria Antonia Martínez Chiva (1880–1970),Bellés 2012 daughter to another Burriana trader Blas Martínez Sales.Francisca María Martínez Chiva entry, [in:] Geneanet service, available [https://gw.geneanet.org/sanchiz?lang=en&p=francisca+maria&n=martinez+chiva here] It is not clear how many children the couple had; according to one source there were 3 boys and 2 daughters,Agustí Soler 2006, p. 246 according to another they had 4 children.Juan Bautista Soler Martí entry, [in:] Geneanet service, available [https://gw.geneanet.org/sanchiz?lang=en&n=soler+marti&oc=0&p=juan+bautista here] Either 2 or 3 of them died prematurely; Francisca and Dolores perished in the early infant age. There is confusing information on a José, who allegedly died at the early age; he reportedly shot himself when playing with a pistol of his father, yet it is not clear whether he was indeed Soler's son.according to one source "otro hijo, Pepito, que muere también de pequeño al disparársele una pistol de su padre", Agustí Soler 2006, p. 246. From a press note it appears that the boy was rather the brother of Soler Martí, as it was noted that a boy of 15 named José Soler Martí in 1898 committed "suicidio por imprudencia", El Estandarte Católico 22.07.98, available [http://prensahistorica.mcu.es/en/catalogo_imagenes/grupo.cmd?path=1026652&interno=S&posicion=3&presentacion=pagina here] Of the two surviving sons both held important local Burriana roles. Juan Bautista Soler Martínez, a Carlist like his father, after the Civil War emerged as the provincial Falange secretary in Castellón;Andreu Ginés i Sànchez, La instauració del franquisme al País Valencià, Valencia 2011, {{ISBN|9788437083261}}, p. 57 until death in 1970 he was concejal of the Burriana ayuntamiento.Mediterraneo 27.10.70, available [http://prensahistorica.mcu.es/es/catalogo_imagenes/grupo.cmd?path=5077240&interno=S&posicion=4&presentacion=pagina here] José Soler Martinez served as police operative in Almeria the early 1940s;Óscar J. Rodríguez Barreira, Poder y actitudes sociales durante la postguerra en Almería (1939–1953), Almeria 2007, {{ISBN|9788482408460}}, p. 59 both were engaged in orange business inherited from their father.Ginés i Sànchez 2011, p. 66

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In the early 1900s Soler kept working in petty merchant company run by his older brother; in a building which earlier hosted a sugar refinery "El Ingenio"Agustí Soler 2006, p. 239 and then a "Calaix" manufacture,Bellés 2012 Ramón Soler Martí set up headquarters of his orange trade business. The venture proved extremely successful commercially, mostly due to changing international market conditions. Since the very late 19th century the Levantine orange exports soared, chiefly because of growing demand in Western Europe.Vicente Abad García, Historia de la naranja, 1781–1939, Valencia 1984, p. 57 Burriana turned into the key export port of the region, leaving behind Gandia, Castellón and Vinaròs;Joaquín Peris Fuentes, El Puerto de Burriana, Burriana 1910, p. 7 in the first decade of the 20th century its exports grew by 226% in terms of tonnage and 179% in terms of value.Agustí Soler 2006, p. 241 Though coming of the Great War temporarily impaired the Levantine orange trade, exports started to grow again in the late 1910s.Francesco Roca y Alcaide, Historia de Burriana, Castellón 1932, p. 520 In 1917 Juan Bautista decided to leave the family business; banking on his 15-year-experience of "comprador de naranjas",Agustí Soler 2006, p. 239 he set up an own export company.Bellés 2012

When Juan Bautista Soler Martí launched his venture the golden era in the Levantine orange business was just about to begin.Agustí Soler 2006, p. 243 The exports kept soaring; in the very early 1920s around 70% of Burriana oranges were shipped to Britain, but some went as far as to Gothenburg or Danzig.Agustí Soler 2006, p. 246 The local harbor infrastructure, barely more than a makeshift wooden pier, was no longer able to handle the cargo traffic. In the early 1920s Soler and other local entrepreneurs led by Jaime Chicharro were busy lobbying for financial aid; in 1921 their efforts resulted in a Royal Order which marked significant state resources for development of the harborBellés 2012 and envisaged also major investments which would connect the port with the national railway network.Biografia sucinta de D. Jaime Chicharro, [in:] Buris-Ana. Boletín de la Agrupación Burrianense de Cultura 77 (1958), pp. 2, 13

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In the mid-1920s Soler Martí emerged as one of key local entrepreneurs. In 1924 he became president of Círculo Frutero,Agustí Soler 2006, p. 247 association of some 140 local orange exporters, and held the post during various strings also later on. Not unrelated to the orange business was his post of president of Banco de Burriana, the institution he co-founded earlier in the decade.Agustí Soler 2006, pp. 247–248 In the 1930s he started to tune down his local Burriana engagements, e.g. in Círculo Frutero he limited himself to president of Sección de Embarques y Exportación.Candidatos carlistas de ayer y de hoy por Castellón y la Tradición, [in:] Carlistas. Historia y Cultura blog 19 February 2008, available [http://carlistas-historiaycultura.blogspot.com/2008/02/candidatos-carlistas-de-ayer-y-de-hoy.html here] Instead, Soler got increasingly engaged in provincial Castellón and regional Valencian organizations; he served as director of Ponencia Naranjera de Levantesee e.g. Heraldo de Castellón 17.08.26, available [http://prensahistorica.mcu.es/es/catalogo_imagenes/grupo.cmd?path=1000381132&interno=S&posicion=3&presentacion=pagina here] and in the early 1930s entered the executive of Confederación Frutera de Levante;Las Provincias 21.10.32, available [http://prensahistorica.mcu.es/en/catalogo_imagenes/grupo.cmd?path=1000319042&interno=S&posicion=3&presentacion=pagina here] as its lobbyist he kept visiting ministers already during the Republican era.Heraldo de Castellón 03.10.32, available [http://prensahistorica.mcu.es/en/catalogo_imagenes/grupo.cmd?path=1000382980&interno=S&posicion=2&presentacion=pagina here] Soler tried also to diversify his assets; he invested in paper industry as co-owner of Papelera del Mijares, known also as Timbrado Burrianense.Agustí Soler 2006, p. 248 Soler also got engaged in show-business; he was among major shareholders of CifesaAgustí Soler 2006, p. 247 and held stakes in Plaza de Toros and in Teatro Principal, both in Valencia.Bellés 2012 In some 25 years he turned from barely literate employee in petty family enterprise into a provincial trade tycoon running an international business and operating commercial offices in London.

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None of the sources consulted provides any information on political preferences of Soler's ancestors. One clearly partisan account claims that he was a Carlist from his childhood days,Candidatos carlistas de ayer y de hoy por Castellón y la Tradición, [in:] Carlistas. Historia y Cultura blog 19 February 2008, available [http://carlistas-historiaycultura.blogspot.com/2008/02/candidatos-carlistas-de-ayer-y-de-hoy.html here] yet there is no confirmation available. His biographer does not refer to any Soler's political engagements of his youth.compare Agustí Soler 2006 First press notes which point to his public endeavors flavored with politics are these from the early 1920s, though they are related to lobbying for Burriana investments rather than to any party politics. In 1924 he co-fathered a large Memorandum, which outlined further infrastructure needs of the harbor. It was intended for the military Directorio; in early 1924 Soler and other local lobbyists led by Chicharro travelled to Madrid to present the document. Their mission was successful; Miguel Primo de Rivera himself demonstrated some interest and in April 1924 he visited Burriana. As a prominent local entrepreneur and co-author of Memorandum, Soler effusively welcomed the dictator. At this opportunity he was among these who co-founded the local Somatén, an auxiliary civil militia promoted by the regime,Agustí Soler 2006, p. 247 and contributed to extensive implantation of primoderiverismo in the Castellón province.compare Raul González Devis, Católicos y autoritarios: la dictadura de Primo de Rivera en las comarcas castellonenses, [in:] Carlos Navajas, Diego Iturriaga (eds.), Novísima. Actas del II Congreso Internacional de Historia de Nuestro Tiempo, Logroño 2010, {{ISBN|9788469365571}}, pp. 235–244

Since the early 1920s Soler was close business collaborator and personal friend to Jaime Chicharro,Agustí Soler 2006, p. 248 provincial Castellón jefé of Unión Patriótica.González Devis 2010, p. 241 However, it is not clear what position he assumed during the mid-1920s internal squabbles among the Burriana primoderiveristas. Some local upetistas accused Chicharro of building local structures chiefly around his personal supporters, usually related to Traditionalism; the conflict climaxed in 1925, when Chicharro in protest resigned from the provincial presidency and moved to Madrid.González Devís 2010, p. 241 (see also footnote) The conflict did not prevent further Soler's political career; in 1927 he entered the executive of the Burriana branch of UPHeraldo de Castellón 29.08.27, available [http://prensahistorica.mcu.es/en/catalogo_imagenes/grupo.cmd?path=1000381441&interno=S&posicion=4&presentacion=pagina here] and in 1928 he temporarily held the post of acting president of the organization;Heraldo de Castellón 24.09.8, available [http://prensahistorica.mcu.es/en/catalogo_imagenes/grupo.cmd?path=1000381769&interno=S&posicion=4&presentacion=pagina here] in early 1929 he ceded the post to a newly elected candidate and himself was voted into the board.as "asesor", Heraldo de Castellón 08.01.29, available [http://prensahistorica.mcu.es/es/catalogo_imagenes/grupo.cmd?path=1000381852&interno=S&posicion=4&presentacion=pagina here] In 1928 he entered the local self-government, appointed by the regime a concejal of the Burriana ayuntamiento;Mediterraneo 11.02.78, available [http://prensahistorica.mcu.es/es/catalogo_imagenes/grupo.cmd?path=5082491&interno=S&posicion=7&presentacion=pagina here], also Las Provincias 05.02.28, available [http://prensahistorica.mcu.es/en/catalogo_imagenes/grupo.cmd?path=1000316742&interno=S&posicion=6&presentacion=pagina here] his term was renewed in early 1930.Las Provincias 16.02.30, available [http://prensahistorica.mcu.es/es/catalogo_imagenes/grupo.cmd?path=1000319836&interno=S&posicion=5&presentacion=pagina here]

File:Visita del general Miguel Primo de Rivera a la localidad de Pasai Donibane (5 de 6) - Fondo Car-Kutxa Fototeka.jpg

The climax of Soler's public career fell on the dictablanda period. Following some sort of consultations with the Burriana "vox populi", which most likely stood for local business and political elites,Heraldo de Castellón 28.02.30, available [http://prensahistorica.mcu.es/en/catalogo_imagenes/grupo.cmd?path=1000382191&interno=S&posicion=4&presentacion=pagina here] in February 1930 the Berenguer regime appointed him the mayor of the city.Agustí Soler 2006, p. 248 In January 1931 members of the city council confirmed his post during an internal voting,Las Provincias 28.01.31, available [http://prensahistorica.mcu.es/en/catalogo_imagenes/grupo.cmd?path=1000316127&interno=S&posicion=9&presentacion=pagina here] but there is little known about his tenure, except that liberal press lambasted his appointment as demonstration of reactionary caciquismo.Heraldo de Castellón 16.03.31, available [http://prensahistorica.mcu.es/es/catalogo_imagenes/grupo.cmd?path=1000382231&interno=S&posicion=1&presentacion=pagina here] However, during final days of the monarchy Soler seemed rather politically bewildered; he entered the Castellón provincial board of a republican partyEl Pueblo 09.04.30, available [http://prensahistorica.mcu.es/es/catalogo_imagenes/grupo.cmd?path=1000182891&interno=S&posicion=7&presentacion=pagina here] but in the April 1931 local elections to the town hall he ran as a Conservative.Heraldo de Castellón 21.04.31, available [http://prensahistorica.mcu.es/en/catalogo_imagenes/grupo.cmd?path=1000382534&interno=S&posicion=4&presentacion=pagina here] His bid proved successful,Roca y Alcaide 1932, pp. 534, 551 yet in the new ayuntamiento he failed to gain enough support and his mayorship came to an end.Federico Martínez Roda, Valencia y las Valencias: su historia contemporánea (1800–1975), Valencia 1998, {{ISBN|9788486792893}}, p. 221 Upon the advent of the Republic Soler's served as concejal, but it is not clear when his term finished.

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Though some sources refer to him as "Traditionalist mayor"Bellés 2012 there is no evidence of Soler's links to the Carlists in 1930–1931. However, it appears that from the early 1930s he was already engaged in the newly united Carlist political organization, Comunión Tradicionalista; most likely he was introduced by one of the pre-1919 Jaimista leaders in Castellón, Chicharro.Gerard Llansola, Estructura organizativa i participació electoral del carlisme castellonenc en la decadéncia de la Restauració (1914–1918), [in:] Rosa Monlleó Peris, Castelló al segle XX, Valencia 2006, {{ISBN|9788480215640}}, p. 212 In 1933 Soler co-sponsored Carlist propaganda publications by placing adverts of his fruit export business.see Juan María Roma (ed.), Album histórico del carlismo, Barcelona 1933, p. 201 However, neither press of the era nor present-day historians note him as engaged in Carlist activities; he was not noted as speaking at public rallies, negotiating electoral deals or forging political line in central Carlist executive bodies.for general overview see e.g. Martin Blinkhorn, Carlism and Crisis in Spain, 1931–1939, Cambridge 2008, {{ISBN|9780521207294}}; for specific Catalan review see Robert Vallverdú i Martí, El carlisme català durant la Segona República Espanyola 1931–1936, Barcelona 2008, {{ISBN|9788478260805}} It is not exactly clear what mechanism produced his 1933 nomination to head of the provincial Carlist organization in Castellón; it was probably the result of his wealth, prestige and personal friendship with Chicharro.Candidatos carlistas de ayer y de hoy por Castellón y la Tradición, [in:] Carlistas. Historia y Cultura blog 19 February 2008, available [http://carlistas-historiaycultura.blogspot.com/2008/02/candidatos-carlistas-de-ayer-y-de-hoy.html here]. Chicharro was nominated president honorary and Juan Granell Pascual was representing Burriana, Agustí Soler 2006, p. 248

As a provincial Carlist jefésome sources claim that the provincial Carlist jefe was Juan Granell Pascual, Vicent Sampedro Ramo, Los hijos de la viuda: La masonería en la ciudad de Alicante (1893-1939), Alicante 2017, ISBN 9788497175494, p. 385 Soler was not particularly active; his best known public appearance was this at a funeral of Chicharro in 1934.Las Provincias 25.01.34, available [http://prensahistorica.mcu.es/en/catalogo_imagenes/grupo.cmd?path=1000317321&interno=S&posicion=14&presentacion=pagina here] In the mid-1930s he rather engaged in the increasingly bitter social conflict; international crisis produced decline in orange exports, which in turn resulted in reduced demand for labor and lower pay. The year of 1933 saw strikes of orange workers, which continued in 1934 and 1935;Abad García 1984, p. 250, see also Julia Hudson-Richards, The Orange Proletariat: Social Relations in the Pais Valenciano, 1860—1939, Phoenix 2008, {{ISBN|054968333X}} in 1936 UGT and CNT workers formed Consejo Levantino Unificado de Exportación de Agrios, which sought to exercise control not only on working conditions but also on exports.Agustí Soler 2006, pp. 249–250 Some started to occupy plots as first step towards collectivization; Soler gained their hostility which would soon seal his fate. In the 1936 general elections he ran in Castellón on the Candidatura Católico-Tradicionalista ticket,Heraldo de Castellón 07.02.36, available [http://prensahistorica.mcu.es/es/catalogo_imagenes/grupo.cmd?path=1000384003&interno=S&posicion=1&presentacion=pagina here] part of the general Levantine Derecha Regional Agraria alliance. He made it into history of electoral campaigning in Spain as the first one to use aircraft for propaganda purposes,Agustí Soler 2006, p. 250 but with 11,800 votes gained he failed to earn the Cortes mandate.El Sol 18.02.36, available [http://hemerotecadigital.bne.es/issue.vm?id=0000571533&page=6 here]

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It is not clear whether Soler Martí engaged in Carlist conspiracy against the Republic or whether he was aware of it.none of the sources consulted notes him as involved in the plot. For general approximation to Carlist conspiracy in the region of Valencia see Luis Pérez Domingo, El carlismo valenciano y el 18 de julio, [in:] Carlistas. Historia y Cultura service 19.10.11, available [http://carlistas-historiaycultura.blogspot.com/2011/10/el-carlismo-valenciano-y-el-18-de-julio.html here]. See also Luis Pérez Domingo, Martires carlistas del reino de Valencia 1936–1939, Madrid 1990, {{ISBN|9788497390422}} However, as the provincial party leader he must have been informed about the Carlist paramilitary buildup in Castellón; there were some 2,500 volunteers enlisted to Requeté in the province, 400 of them in Burriana alone.Historia carlista, [in:] Tradición Viva service 21.10.12, available [http://www.lavoz.circulocarlista.com/historia-del-carlismo/historia-2/elcarlismoencastellonel18dejuliode1936 here] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190201065301/http://www.lavoz.circulocarlista.com/historia-del-carlismo/historia-2/elcarlismoencastellonel18dejuliode1936 |date=1 February 2019 }} In mid-July 1936 he was with his family and friends, the Derecha Regional Valenciana leader Luis Lucia among them, on holiday in Benassal. When it became clear that in Levante the rebels had failed Soler did not feel much threatened; on the advice of Lucia he decided to stay in Benassal.Agustí Soler 2006, p. 250 However, having learnt that Burriana workers, grouped in Centro Obrero de Burriana, launched search for him, he eventually decided to seek shelter in the nearby town Vilafranca.Agustí Soler 2006, pp. 250–251 The locals tipped the Burriana search squad and Soler was soon detained. He was placed in the Castellón prison, yet his stay behind bars lasted no longer than 2 months. In mid-September he was extracted from jail and executed by the Anarchist Iron ColumnAgustí Soler 2006, p. 251 at the Almassora cemetery.Bellés 2012

• Traditionalism (Spain)
• Carlism
• Jaime Chicharro Sánchez-Guió

{{Reflist|3}}

• María Dolores Agustí Soler, Juan Bautista Soler Martí, representante del comercio naranjero en Burriana (1879–1936), [in:] Rosa Monlleó (ed.), Castelló al segle XX, Barcelona 2006, {{ISBN|9788480215640}}, pp. 237–252

• [https://www.elperiodicomediterraneo.com/noticias/castellon/alcalde-burriana-creacion-puerto-circulo-frutero_786973.html Soler Marti in El Periodico Mediterraneo]
• [https://gw.geneanet.org/sanchiz?lang=en&n=soler+marti&oc=0&p=juan+bautista Soler Marti at Geneanet service]
• [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uhK1ER3B4Hg Por Dios y por España; contemporary Carlist propaganda]

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