Nafarroa under the French crown Araba, Gipuzkoa and Bizkaia were
gradually formed territorially during the Middle Ages,
incorporating territories and managing to unify each territory
politically. Until the 11th century, these territories, with
their own institutions and laws based on customs, were governed
by lords who offered vassalage to the monarch who exercised his
dominion in the territory. At the end of the 11th century, the
monarchs of Nafarroa and Castile followed a policy of founding
towns in which to settle the royal dominion. Araba, Bizkaia,
which was a Manor from the 11th century under the authority of
the Haros, and Gipuzkoa fluctuated under the influence of
Nafarroa and Castile, but became part of the Castilian crown in
1200. These territories conserved their autonomy, later based on
the provincial privileges. In the 14th and 15th centuries, the
unification and political consolidation of the provinces of
Araba, Bizkaia and Gipuzkoa were produced. In Gipuzkoa this
processor was lead by the towns,