From the Merchant Marine to the Naval Forces: Íñigo de Arteita, Captain in the Catholic Monarchs’ Fleet

The figure of Íñigo Ibáñez de Arteita exemplifies military and social advancement during the transition from the 15th to the 16th century. Drawing upon archival materials from Lequeitio, notarial records from Valencia and Barcelona, and royal sources such as the Registro General del Sello and the proceedings of the Royal Chancery, this study examines his multifaceted profile. It introduces his family roots in the Basque town of Lequeitio and traces his trajectory—from his roles as merchant, transporter, and pirate in the Mediterranean and Atlantic, to his service as captain in the Catholic Monarchs’ fleet stationed in the Strait of Gibraltar, and as second-in-command in the 1495 expedition to Italy. His paradigmatic evolution enables an analysis of the rise of an extraordinary figure from one of the leading bourgeois families of Biscay, who—thanks to substantial real estate holdings, influential social and political networks, and remarkable nautical expertise—came to command one of the earliest permanent war fleets of his time.