17th and 18th centuries: Enlightenment

The gatherings which were held in the Insausti Azkoitia Palace at the instigation of the Count of Peñaflorida after his return from France in 1746 gave rise to the Royal Basque Society of Friends of the Country which, mimicking the erudite academic societies that were beginning to emerge in Europe, was created with the aim of “cultivating a taste for the sciences and arts, correcting and refining customs, and eradicating idleness and ignorance”. As members of the Gipuzkoan, Biscayan and Alavese oligarchies, their spheres of reflection and action ranged from economic to cultural.