Editing Bilbao (section)

==== Napoleonic invasion and Carlist wars ====
[[File:Ataque al Puente de Luchana.jpg|thumb|left|The Battle of Luchana]]
The [[First French Empire|French]] invasion of Spain saw the occupation of several Basque cities, but Bilbao was not among them. The first open uprising against [[Kingdom of Spain under Joseph Bonaparte|Napoleonic rule]] took place on 6 August 1808, a month after the [[Battle of Bailén]]. French troops sieged and sacked the city, alongside the neighbouring towns of Deusto and Begoña on 16 August. Beginning in February 1810, the city was under the command of [[Pierre Thouvenot]], general of the French army and [[Nobility of the First French Empire|Baron of the Empire]], who had become the head of the Military Government of ''Vizcaya'', which included the three Basque provinces. Thouvenot intended to move forward with the plan of total annexation of the Basque provinces into France,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.bilbao.net/castella/residentes/vivebilbao/publicaciones/periodicobilbao/200701/pag36.pdf |title=Los hospitales militares y civiles de Bilbao durante la Guerra de la Independencia |last=Gondra |first=Juan |date=January 2007 |website=Bilbao City Hall |access-date=15 October 2008 |archive-date=24 January 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090124082807/http://www.bilbao.net/castella/residentes/vivebilbao/publicaciones/periodicobilbao/200701/pag36.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref> but the [[Peninsular War]] and ultimately the [[Battle of Vitoria]] made those plans impossible.
[[File:Bilboko irudi historikoa.jpg|thumb|right|Engraving depicting the city in the 18th century]]
The [[Basque Country (greater region)|Basque Country]] was one of the main sites of battles during the [[First Carlist War]], a civil war between supporters of the Spanish regent [[Maria Christina of the Two Sicilies|Maria Christina]], known as liberals, and those of the late king's brother [[Infante Carlos, Count of Molina|Carlos of Borbón]], known as Carlists. The [[Carlism|Carlists]] were particularly focused on capturing Bilbao, a liberal and economic bastion in northern Spain.<ref>Quiroga 2001: 68</ref> The Carlist general [[Tomás de Zumalacárregui]] tried to take the city during the siege of Bilbao of 1835, but he was wounded during a battle near [[Begoña]] and died some time after in the town of [[Zegama]]. The next year, the city resisted a second siege during which the liberal general [[Baldomero Espartero, Prince of Vergara|Baldomero Espartero]] defeated the Carlists in the [[Battle of Luchana]].<ref>{{Harvnb|Sánchez-Beaskoetxea|2006|p=42}}</ref> The city was untouched by the [[Second Carlist War]], which took place mostly in [[Catalonia]], but was again an important scenario during the [[Third Carlist War]]; in April 1874 the city suffered a third siege which lasted two months.<ref name=autogenerated3>{{Harvnb|Sánchez-Beaskoetxea|2006|p=44}}</ref>

Despite the warfare, Bilbao prospered during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, when it rose as the economic centre of the Basque Country. It was during this time that the railway first arrived to the city and the Bank of Bilbao (which later would go on to become the [[BBVA]]) was founded, as well as the Bilbao Stock Exchange. Steelmaking industries flourished with the creation of many new factories, including the Santa Ana de Bolueta and the [[Altos Hornos de Vizcaya]] in 1902. The city was modernised with new avenues and walkways, as well as with new modern buildings such as the [[Bilbao City Hall|City Hall building]], the Basurto Hospital and the [[Teatro Arriaga|Arriaga Theatre]].<ref name=autogenerated3 /> The population increased dramatically, from 11,000 in 1880 to 80,000 in 1900. Social movements also arose, notably [[Basque nationalism]] under [[Sabino Arana]], which in the subsequent decades would grow to become the [[Basque Nationalist Party]].<ref>{{cite web|author=Montero, Manuel |title=Crónica de siete siglos |work=Bilbao 700 |page=48 |url=http://www.periodistasvascos.com/imagenes/cap_2.pdf |access-date=15 October 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080724095226/http://www.periodistasvascos.com/imagenes/cap_2.pdf |archive-date=24 July 2008  }}</ref>