Ernst Moritz Heinrich Bark Schultz (1858–1922), also known as Ernesto Bark, was a

Livonia Livonia, known in earlier records as Livland, is a historical region on the eastern shores of the Baltic Sea. It is named after the Livonians, who lived on the shores of present-day Latvia. By the end of the 13th century, the name was extende ...

n writer, journalist and political activist based in Spain. He took part in the Bohemian scene in Madrid.

Biography

Born on 23 March 1858 in Kaava, Laiuse, in the vicinity of Dorpart in

Estonia Estonia, officially the Republic of Estonia, is a country in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, and to the east by Ru ...

, then part of the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire that spanned most of northern Eurasia from its establishment in November 1721 until the proclamation of the Russian Republic in September 1917. At its height in the late 19th century, it covered about , roughl ...

. Regarding his self-identification, aside from presenting himself as a Livonian, he declared to have three nationalities: "the German one from an ethnographic standpoint, the Russian one from a political standpoint (and unfortunately) and the Spanish one because of affection and love". In any case, he also contextually self-identified as a

Baltic German Baltic Germans ( or , later ) are Germans, ethnic German inhabitants of the eastern shores of the Baltic Sea, in what today are Estonia and Latvia. Since Flight and expulsion of Germans (1944–1950), their resettlement in 1945 after the end ...

in his writings. He even declared to be "Polish" on some occasions.

Pío Baroja Pío Baroja y Nessi (28 December 1872 – 30 October 1956) was a Spanish writer, one of the key novelists of the Generation of '98. He was a member of an illustrious family. His brother Ricardo was a painter, writer and engraver, and his ne ...

dubbed him as a "Latvian revolutionary". He took studies in

Riga Riga ( ) is the capital, Primate city, primate, and List of cities and towns in Latvia, largest city of Latvia. Home to 591,882 inhabitants (as of 2025), the city accounts for a third of Latvia's total population. The population of Riga Planni ...

, Leipzig,

Munich Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...

and

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

. Involved in Baltic nationalist propaganda, he founded the clandestine newspaper ''Der Baltische Föderalist'' in

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

in 1883, whose success reportedly led to a deportation to Siberia. He settled in Spain circa 1884 (after a previous brief stay in 1882). He lived for a time in

Alicante Alicante (, , ; ; ; officially: ''/'' ) is a city and municipalities of Spain, municipality in the Valencian Community, Spain. It is the capital of the province of Alicante and a historic Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean port. The population ...

, then in

Madrid Madrid ( ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in Spain, most populous municipality of Spain. It has almost 3.5 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 7 million. It i ...

. He worked as writer for ', as well as correspondent for ''Köln Zeitung'' and . He also earned a living in Spain as teacher of foreign languages. During his time in Madrid, he supported, along his friend , Jewish immigrants coming from Russia. A noted polemicist vis-à-vis his political activity, espousing republican-socialist ideas, Bark held feuds with

Pablo Iglesias Posse Pablo Iglesias Posse (17 October 1850 – 9 December 1925) was a Spanish socialist and Marxist labour leader. He is regarded as the father of Spanish socialism, having founded the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE) in 1879 and the Sp ...

and Juan Montseny Carret (Federico Urales). A close acquaintance of Alejandro Sawa, the character ''Basilio Soulinake'' in Ramón María del Valle-Inclán's '' Luces de bohemia'' is based on Bark. He became a member of the Radical Party circa 1910, developing a close friendship with

Alejandro Lerroux Alejandro Lerroux García (4 March 1864, in La Rambla, Córdoba – 25 June 1949, in Madrid) was a Spanish politician who was the leader of the Radical Republican Party. He served as Prime Minister three times from 1933 to 1935 and held sever ...

. Several tentative death dates, ranging from 1914 to 1924 have been reported in sources. He actually died in his home in Madrid located at Calle de Ayala 57 on 24 October 1922, as it is reported in several obituaries published in newspapers such as '' La Libertad'' or ''El Liberal''. Instead of the , he was buried on the next day in the Almudena Cemetery following the Catholic rite professed by his wife Matilde Cabello, with whom he had six children. He was the uncle of

Pyotr Bark Pyotr Lvovich Bark (; ; 18 April 1869 – 16 January 1937), later Sir Peter Bark was a Russian government official and later a banker. Biography Bark was born in Novotroitskoye village in Yekaterinoslav Governorate. He descended from a B ...

, minister of Finance of Nicholas II from 1914 to 1917.

References

;Citations ;Bibliography * * * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Bark, Ernesto Baltic-German people from the Russian Empire Spanish journalists 1922 deaths 1858 births People from Livonia Immigrants to Spain Emigrants from the Russian Empire Journalists from the Russian Empire