Until its consolidation with the Castilian crown by inheritance in 1370, Vizcaya was a _behetría de linaje_ (free town within a family), electing its lord from a determinate family, but both before and after that date there was a marked lack of regional solidarity, for various groups were to a great degree autonomous. There were two principal types of jurisdiction: the seigniorial estates, with the usual incidents found elsewhere; and the indigenous Basque settlements, which pretended to the nobility of their inhabitants, even to the point of refusing to permit foreigners to dwell among them unless they too were of noble rank. The indigenous element was to be found in rural districts, and was ruled by customs, which were written down for the first time in 1452. The patriarchal form of family life continued to exist here, as evidenced by the requirement that lands should return to the family from which they proceeded in case of a failure of direct heirs, and by the right to leave virtually one’s entire estate to a single descendant. Custom recognized a right of way over the lands of others, even when enclosed,--which would seem to indicate backwardness in the development of means of communication. In government the king was represented principally by a _corregidor_. The inhabitants of Vizcaya were exempt from any taxes of Castilian origin, but paid certain other contributions to the king, were subject to both military and naval service, and acknowledged the right of high justice in the royal officials. The general assembly of Vizcaya, like that of Álava, had a right to inspect royal decrees. [Sidenote: The social and political system in Guipúzcoa.]