Several coins from the 2nd and the 1st centuries BC found in the Basque Country bear the inscriptionbarscunes. The place in which they were minted is not certain but is thought to be somewhere nearPamplona, in the heartland of the area that historians believe was inhabited by theVascones. Some scholars have suggested a Celtic etymology based onbhar-s-, meaning "summit", "point" or "leaves", according to whichbarscunes may have meant "themountain people", "the tall ones" or "the proud ones", and others have posited a relationship to aProto-Indo-European root*bar- meaning "border", "frontier", "march".[12]
In Basque, people call themselves theeuskaldunak, singulareuskaldun, formed fromeuskal- (i.e. "Basque (language)") and-dun (i.e. "one who has");euskaldun literally means a Basque-speaker. Not all Basques are Basque-speakers. Therefore, theneologismeuskotar, pluraleuskotarrak, was coined in the 19th century to mean a Basque person, whether Basque-speaking or not. Alfonso Irigoyen posits that the wordeuskara is derived from an ancient Basque verbenautsi "to say" (compare modern Basqueesan) and the suffix-(k)ara ("way (of doing something)"). Thus,euskara would mean literally "way of saying" or "way of speaking". One item of evidence in favour of that hypothesis is found in the Spanish bookCompendio Historial, written in 1571 by the Basque writerEsteban de Garibay. He records the name of the Basque language asenusquera. That may, however, be a writing mistake.
In the 19th century, the Basque nationalist activistSabino Arana posited an original rooteuzko, which he thought came fromeguzkiko ("of the sun", related to the assumption of an originalsolar religion). On the basis of that putative root, Arana proposed the nameEuzkadi for an independent Basque nation, composed of seven Basque historical territories. Arana's neologismEuzkadi (in the regularized spellingEuskadi) is still widely used in both Basque and Spanish since it is now the official name of theAutonomous Community of theBasque Country.[13]
Sorginetxedolmen next to the stream and cave Leze, home to legends featuring mythological characterMari
The distinctiveness noted by studies of classical genetic markers (such asblood groups) and thepre-Indo-European of the Basque language has resulted in a popular and long-held view that Basques are "living fossils" of the earliestmodern humans who colonised Europe.[14] Partly for these reasons, anthropological and genetic studies from the beginning and the end of the 20th century theorized that the Basques are the descendants of the originalCro-Magnons.[15][16]
But although they are genetically distinctive in some ways due to isolation, the Basques are still very typically European in theirY-DNA andmtDNA sequences, and in some other geneticloci. These same sequences are widespread throughout the Western half of Europe, especially along the Western fringe of the continent.[17][18]
Basque tribes were mentioned in Roman times by Strabo and Pliny, including theVascones,Aquitani, and others. There is enough evidence to support the hypothesis that at that time and later they spoke old varieties of the Basque language (see:Aquitanian language).
The Kingdom of Pamplona, a central Basque realm, later known asNavarre, underwent a process of feudalization and was subject to the influence of its much larger Aragonese, Castilian and French neighbours. Castile deprived Navarre of its coastline by conqueringkey western territories (1199–1201), leaving the kingdom landlocked. The Basques were ravaged by theWar of the Bands, bitter partisan wars between local ruling families. Weakened by the Navarrese civil war, thebulk of the realm eventually fell before the onslaught of the Spanish armies (1512–1524). However,the Navarrese territory north of the Pyrenees remained beyond the reach of an increasingly powerful Spain.Lower Navarre became a province of France in 1620.
The autonomous community (a concept established in theSpanish Constitution of 1978) known asEuskal Autonomia Erkidegoa or EAE in Basque and asComunidad Autónoma Vasca or CAV in Spanish (in English:Basque Autonomous Community or BAC),[22] is made up of the three Spanish provinces ofÁlava,Biscay andGipuzkoa. The corresponding Basque names of these territories areAraba,Bizkaia andGipuzkoa, and their Spanish names areÁlava,Vizcaya andGuipúzcoa.
The BAC only includes three of the seven provinces of the currently called historical territories. It is sometimes referred to simply as "the Basque Country" (orEuskadi) by writers and public agencies only considering those three western provinces, but also on occasions merely as a convenient abbreviation when this does not lead to confusion in the context. Others reject this usage as inaccurate and are careful to specify the BAC (or an equivalent expression such as "the three provinces", up to 1978 referred to as "Provincias Vascongadas" in Spanish) when referring to this entity or region. Likewise, terms such as "the Basque Government" for "the government of the BAC" are commonly though not universally employed. In particular in common usage the French termPays Basque ("Basque Country"), in the absence of further qualification, refers either to the wholeBasque Country ("Euskal Herria" in Basque), or not infrequently to thenorthern (or "French") Basque Country specifically.
Under Spain's present constitution, Navarre (Nafarroa in present-day Basque,Navarra historically in Spanish) constitutes a separate entity, called in present-day BasqueNafarroako Foru Erkidegoa, in SpanishComunidad Foral de Navarra (the autonomous community of Navarre). The government of this autonomous community is the Government of Navarre. In historical contexts Navarre may refer to a wider area, and that the present-day northern Basque province ofLower Navarre may also be referred to as (part of)Nafarroa, while the term "High Navarre" (Nafarroa Garaia in Basque,Alta Navarra in Spanish) is also encountered as a way of referring to the territory of the present-day autonomous community.
There are three other historic provinces parts of the Basque Country:Labourd,Lower Navarre andSoule (Lapurdi, Nafarroa Beherea andZuberoa in Basque;Labourd, Basse-Navarre andSoule in French), devoid of official status within France's present-day political and administrative territorial organization, and only minor political support to the Basque nationalists. A large number of regional and local nationalist and non-nationalist representatives have waged a campaign for years advocating for the creation of a separate Basquedépartement, while these demands have gone unheard by the French administration.
There are 2,123,000 people living in the Basque Autonomous Community (279,000 in Alava, 1,160,000 in Biscay and 684,000 in Gipuzkoa). The most important cities in this region, which serve as the provinces' administrative centers, areBilbao (in Biscay),San Sebastián (in Gipuzkoa), andVitoria-Gasteiz (in Álava). The official languages are Basque and Spanish. Knowledge of Spanish is compulsory under the Spanish constitution (article no. 3), and knowledge and usage of Basque is a right under the Statute of Autonomy (article no. 6), so only knowledge of Spanish is virtually universal. Knowledge of Basque, after declining for many years duringFranco's dictatorship owing to official persecution, is again on the rise due to favorable official language policies and popular support. Currently about 33 percent of the population in the Basque Autonomous Community speaks Basque.
Navarre has a population of 601,000; its administrative capital and main city, also regarded by many nationalist Basques as the Basques' historical capital, is Pamplona (Iruñea in modern Basque). Only Spanish is an official language of Navarre, and the Basque language is only co-official in the province's northern region, where most Basque-speaking Navarrese are concentrated.
About a quarter of a million people live in theFrench Basque Country. Nowadays Basque-speakers refer to this region asIparralde (Basque for North), and to the Spanish provinces asHegoalde (South). Much of this population lives in or near the Bayonne-Anglet-Biarritz (BAB) urban belt on the coast (in Basque these areBaiona,Angelu andMiarritze). The Basque language, which was traditionally spoken by most of the region's population outside the BAB urban zone, is today rapidly losing ground to French. The French Basque Country's lack of self-government within the French state is coupled with the absence of official status for the Basque language in the region. Attempts to introduce bilingualism in local administration have so far met direct refusal from French officials.
Large numbers of Basques have left the Basque Country to settle in the rest of Spain, France or other parts of the world in different historical periods, often for economic or political reasons. Historically the Basques abroad were often employed in shepherding and ranching and by maritime fisheries and merchants. Millions of Basque descendants (seeBasque American andBasque Canadian) live in North America (the United States; Canada, mainly in the provinces ofNewfoundland[23] andQuebec), all over Latin America, South Africa, and Australia.
Spanish authorMiguel de Unamuno said: "There are at least two things that clearly can be attributed to Basques: theSociety of Jesus and theRepublic of Chile."[24] Chilean historian Luis Thayer Ojeda estimated that 48 percent of immigrants to Chile in the 17th and 18th centuries were Basque.[25] Estimates for the number ofBasque descendants living in Chile range between 2.5 and 5 million; the Basque have been a major, if not the strongest, influence in the country'scultural andeconomic development.
InBolivia, theWar of the Vicuñas and Basques (Spanish: Guerra de Vicuñas y Vascongados), was an armed conflict inCharcas Province that lasted between June 1622 and March 1625, fought between Basques and "Vicuñas" (an informal term for non-Basque Spaniards in Upper Peru, a name obtained through the habit of wearing hats made of vicuña skins). Competition over the control of the silver mines in Potosí, Lípez and Chichas surged in the early 17th century, pitting Basques and Vicuñas against each other.The Vicuñas had initially employed legal and political measures attempting to block the Basque attempts to monopolize control over the cabildo (municipal government) of Potosí and the silver mining sector. The war pitted different sectors of the viceregal administration against each other, as some supported the Basque claims for hegemony whilst others had a conciliatory approach to the Vicuña rebels. Personalities involved in the conflict included the president and oidores of the Royal Audiencia of Charcas, treasury officials and the corregidor of Potosí and the visitador (sent to the area in order to audit fiscal accounts).
Basque place names are to be found in the Americas, such asNueva Vizcaya (nowChihuahua andDurango, Mexico),New Navarre (nowSonora andSinaloa, Mexico),Biscayne Bay (United States), andAguereberry Point (United States).[26] Nueva Vizcaya was the first province in the north of the Viceroyalty of New Spain (Mexico) to be explored and settled by the Spanish. It consisted mostly of the area which is today the states of Chihuahua and Durango (the originalDurango is a known city in Biscay).
In Colombia, a large number of Basques settled mainly inAntioquia and theCoffee Axis. In 1955, Joaquín Ospina said: "Is there something more similar to the Basque people than the "antioqueños".[27] Also, writer Arturo Escobar Uribe said in his book "Mitos de Antioquia" (Myths of Antioquia) (1950): "Antioquia, which in its clean ascendance predominates the peninsular farmer of the Basque provinces, inherited the virtues of its ancestors. ... Despite the predominance of the white race, its extension in the mountains ... has projected over Colombia's map the prototype of its race; inMedellín with the industrialpaisa, entrepreneur, strong and steady ... in its towns, the adventurer, arrogant, world-explorer. ... Its myths, which are an evidence of their deep credulity and an indubitable proof of their Iberian ancestor, are the sequel of the conqueror's blood which runs through their veins".[28]Bambuco, a Colombian folk music, has Basque roots.[29][30]
The largest of several important Basque communities in the United States is in the area aroundBoise, Idaho, home to theBasque Museum and Cultural Center, host to an annual Basque festival, as well as a festival for the Basque diaspora every five years.Reno, Nevada, where the Center for Basque Studies and the Basque Studies Library are located at theUniversity of Nevada, is another significant nucleus of Basque population.Elko, Nevada, sponsors an annual Basque festival that celebrates the dance, cuisine and cultures of the Basque peoples of Spanish, French and Mexican nationalities who have arrived inNevada since the late 19th century.
Texas has a large percentage of Hispanics descended from Basques who participated in the conquest ofNew Spain. Many of the originalTejanos had Basque blood, including those who fought in theBattle of the Alamo alongside many of the other Texans. Along the Mexican/Texan border, many Basque surnames can be found. The largest concentration of Basques who settled on Mexico's north-eastern "frontera", including the states ofChihuahua,Durango,Coahuila,Nuevo León, andTamaulipas, also settled along Texas'Rio Grande fromSouth Texas toWest Texas. Many of the historichidalgos, or noble families from this area, had gained their titles and land grants from Spain and Mexico; they still value their land. Some of North America's largest ranches, which were founded under these colonial land grants, can be found in this region.
California has a major concentration of Basques, most notably in theSan Joaquin Valley betweenStockton,Fresno andBakersfield. The city of Bakersfield has a large Basque community and the city has several Basque restaurants, including Noriega's which won the 2011 James Beard Foundation America's Classic Award. There is a history of Basque culture inChino, California. In Chino, two annual Basque festivals celebrate the dance, cuisine, and culture of the peoples. The surrounding area ofSan Bernardino County has many Basque descendants as residents. They are mostly descendants of settlers from Spain and Mexico. These Basques in California are grouped in the group known asCalifornios.
Cover of the first Basque language book, written byBernard EtxepareCultural identity according to the 1981 and 1991 census based on the questionDo you consider yourself Basque? 1 - Yes 2 - Yes, in some ways 3 - No 4 - Don't know / Don't answer
The identifying language of the Basques is called Basque orEuskara, spoken today by 25%-30%[31] of the region's population. An idea of the central place the language has in cultural terms is given by the fact that Basques identify themselves by the termeuskaldun and their country asEuskal Herria, literally "Basque speaker" and "Country of the Basque Language" respectively. The language has been made a political issue by official Spanish and French policies restricting its use either historically or currently; however, this has not stopped the teaching, speaking, writing, and cultivating of this increasingly vibrant minority language. This sense of Basque identity tied to the local language does not only exist in isolation. For many Basques, it is juxtaposed with a sense of either Spanish or French identity tied with the use of the Spanish andFrench languages among other Basques, especially in the French Basque Country. Regarding the Spanish Basque Country, Basques that don't have a sense of Spanish identity make up an important part of the population.[32] As with many European states, a regional identity, be it linguistically derived or otherwise, is not mutually exclusive with the broader national one. For example, Basquerugby union player for France,Imanol Harinordoquy, has said about his national identity:
"I am French and Basque. There is no conflict, I am proud of both. ... I have friends who are involved in the political side of things but that is not for me. My only interest is the culture, the Euskera language, the people, our history and ways."[33]
As a result of state language promotion, school policies, the effects of mass media and migration, today virtually all Basques (except for some children below school age) speak the official language of their state (Spanish or French). There are extremely few Basque monolingual speakers: essentially all Basque speakers are bilingual on both sides of the border. Spanish or French is typically the first language of citizens from other regions (who often feel no need to learn Basque), and Spanish or French is also the first language of many Basques, all of which maintains the dominance of the state tongues of both France and Spain. Recent Basque Government policies aim to change this pattern, as they are viewed as potential threats against mainstream usage of the minority tongue.[34]
The Basque language is thought to be ageneticlanguage isolate in contrast with other European languages, vast majority of which belong to the broadIndo-European language family. Another peculiarity of Basque is that it has probably been spoken continuouslyin situ, in and around its present territorial location, for longer than most other modern European languages, which are typically thought to have been introduced in historic or prehistoric times through population migrations or other processes of cultural transmission.[35]
However, popular stereotypes characterizing Basque as "the oldest language in Europe" and "unique among the world's languages" may be misunderstood and lead to erroneous assumptions.[36] Over the centuries, Basque has remained in continuous contact with neighboring western European languages with which it has come to share numerous lexical properties and typological features; it is therefore misleading to exaggerate the "outlandish" character of Basque. Basque is also a modern language, and is established as a written and printed one used in present-day forms of publication and communication, as well as a language spoken and used in a very wide range of social and cultural contexts, styles, and registers.
The Aranguren baserri inOrozko, converted from a fortified towerThe Lizarralde baserri (Bergara)
Basques have a close attachment to their home (etxe(a) 'house, home'), especially when this consists of the traditional self-sufficient, family-run farm orbaserri(a). Home in this context is synonymous with family roots. SomeBasque surnames were adapted from oldbaserri orhabitation names. They typically related to a geographical orientation or other locally meaningful identifying features. Such surnames provide even those Basques whose families may have left the land generations ago with an important link to their rural family origins:Bengoetxea "the house of further down",Goikoetxea "the house above",Landaburu "top of the field",Errekondo "next to the stream",Elizalde "by the church",Mendizabal "wide hill",Usetxe "house of birds"Ibarretxe "house in the valley",Etxeberria "the new house", and so on.[37]
In contrast to surrounding regions, ancient Basque inheritance patterns, recognised in thefueros, favoured survival of the unity of inherited land holdings. In a kind of primogeniture, these usually were inherited by the eldest male or female child. As in other cultures, the fate of other family members depended on the assets of a family: wealthy Basque families tended to provide for all children in some way, while less-affluent families may have had only one asset to provide to one child. However, this heir often provided for the rest of the family (unlike in England, with strict primogeniture, where the eldest son inherited everything and often did not provide for others). Even though they were provided for in some way, younger siblings had to make much of their living by other means. Mostly after[38] the advent of industrialisation, this system resulted in the emigration of many rural Basques to Spain, France or the Americas. Harsh by modern standards, this custom resulted in a great many enterprising figures of Basque origin who went into the world to earn their way, from Spanishconquistadors such asLope de Aguirre andFrancisco Vásquez de Coronado, to explorers, missionaries and saints of the Catholic Church, such asFrancis Xavier.
A widespread belief that Basque society was originallymatriarchal is at odds with the current, clearlypatrilineal kinship system and inheritance structures. Some scholars and commentators have attempted to reconcile these points by assuming that patrilineal kinship represents an innovation. In any case, the social position of women in both traditional and modern Basque society is somewhat better than in neighbouring cultures, and women have a substantial influence in decisions about the domestic economy. In the past, some women participated in collective magical ceremonies. They were key participants in a rich folklore, today largely forgotten.
Basque cuisine is at the heart of Basque culture, influenced by the neighboring communities and produce from the sea and the land. A 20th-century feature of Basque culture is the phenomenon ofgastronomical societies (calledtxoko in Basque), food clubs where men gather to cook and enjoy their own food. Until recently, women were allowed entry only one day in the year. Cider houses (Sagardotegiak) are popular restaurants in Gipuzkoa open for a few months while the cider is in season.
Artzaiak eta inudeak festival,Donostia, Basque Country.
At the end of the 20th century, despiteETA violence (ended in 2010) and the crisis of heavy industries, the Basque economic condition recovered remarkably. They emerged from theFranco regime with a revitalized language and culture. The Basque language expanded geographically led by large increases in the major urban centers of Pamplona, Bilbao, and Bayonne, where only a few decades ago the Basque language had all but disappeared. Nowadays, the number of Basque speakers is maintaining its level or increasing slightly.
A sprout ofProtestantism in the continental Basque Country produced the first translation of the new Testament into Basque byJoanes Leizarraga. QueenJeanne III of Navarre, a devoutHuguenot, commissioned the translation of the New Testament into Basque andBéarnese for the benefit of her subjects. By the timeHenry III of Navarre converted to Catholicism in order to become king of France, Protestantism virtually disappeared from the Basque community.
Nowadays, according to one single opinion poll, only slightly more than 50% of Basques profess some kind of belief inGod, while the rest are eitheragnostic oratheist. The number of religious skeptics increases noticeably for the younger generations, while the older ones are more religious.[39] Catholicism is, by far, the largest religion in theBasque Country. In 2019, the proportion of Basques that identify themselves as Roman Catholic was 60%,[40] while it is one of the most secularized communities of Spain: 24.6% were non-religious and 12.3% of Basques wereatheist.
Anboto mountain is one of sites whereMari was believed to dwell
TheChristianisation of the Basque Country has been the topic of some discussion. There are, broadly speaking, two views. According to one, Christianity arrived in the Basque Country during the 4th and 5th centuries but according to the other, it did not take place until the 12th and 13th centuries. TheEncyclopaedia Britannica says that the Basques were not Christianized until the tenth century, however, and that their earlier animism survives in their folklore.[41] The main issue lies in the different interpretations of what is considered Christianisation. Early traces of Christianity can be found in the major urban areas from the 4th century onwards, a bishopric from 589 inPamplona and three hermit cave concentrations (two inÁlava, one inNavarre) that were in use from the 6th century onwards. In this sense, Christianity arrived "early".
Pre-Christian belief seems to have focused on a goddess calledMari. A number of place-names contain her name, which would suggest these places were related to worship of her such asAnbotoko Mari who appears to have been related to the weather. According to one tradition, she travelled every seven years between a cave on MountAnboto and one on another mountain (the stories vary); the weather would be wet when she was in Anboto, dry when she was inAloña, orSupelegor, orGorbea. One of her names,MariUrraca possibly ties her to an historical Navarrese princess of the 11th and 12th century, with other legends giving her a brother or cousin who was a Roman Catholic priest. So far the discussions about whether the name Mari is original and just happened to coincide closely with the Christian name María or if Mari is an early Basque attempt to give a Christian veneer to pagan worship have remained speculative. At any rate, Mari (Andramari) is one of the oldest worshipped Christian icons in Basque territories.
Mari's consort isSugaar. Thischthonic couple seems to bear the superior ethical power and the power of creation and destruction. It's said that when they gathered in the high caves of the sacred peaks, they engendered the storms. These meetings typically happened on Friday nights, the day of historicalakelarre orcoven. Mari was said to reside in MountAnboto; periodically she crossed the skies as a bright light to reach her other home at MountTxindoki.
It is unclear whetherNeolithic stone structures calleddolmens have a religious significance or were built to house animals or resting shepherds. Some of the dolmens andcromlechs are burial sites serving also as border markers.
Ioaldunak dancers of Navarre.
Thejentilak ('Giants'), on the other hand, are a legendary people which explains the disappearance of a people ofStone Age culture that used to live in the high lands and with no knowledge of iron. Many legends about them tell that they were bigger and taller, with a great force, but were displaced by theferrons, or workers of ironworks foundries, until their total fade-out. They were pagans, but one of them,Olentzero, accepted Christianity and became a sort of BasqueSanta Claus. They gave name to several toponyms, asJentilbaratza.
Senior Basque women during the 16th century; the attire was forbidden onPierre de Lancre's intervention in the Basque Country (1609–1612)
Historically, Basque society can be described as being somewhat at odds with Roman and later European societal norms.Strabo's account of the north of Spain in hisGeographica (written between approximately 20 BC and 20 AD) makes a mention of "a sort of woman-rule—not at all a mark of civilization" (Hadington 1992), a first mention of the—for the period—unusual position of women: "Women could inherit and control property as well as officiate in churches." The evidence for this assertion is rather sparse however.[42]
This preference for female dominance existed well into the 20th century:
...matrilineal inheritance laws, and agricultural work performed by women continued in Basque country until the early twentieth century. For more than a century, scholars have widely discussed the high status of Basque women in law codes, as well as their positions as judges, inheritors, and arbitrators through ante-Roman, medieval, and modern times. The system of laws governing succession in the French Basque region reflected total equality between the sexes. Up until the eve of the French Revolution, the Basque woman was truly 'the mistress of the house', hereditary guardian, and head of the lineage.[43]
While women continued to have a higher position in Basque than other western European societies, it is highly unlikely that any point the society was 'matriarchal', as is often falsely claimed about pre-Indo-European peoples in general. The 'Basque matriarchy' argument is typically tied to 20th century nationalism and is at odds with earlier accounts of the society.[44]
Although theKingdom of Navarre did adopt feudalism, most Basques also possessed unusual social institutions different from those of the rest of feudal Europe. Some aspects of this include theelizate tradition where local house-owners met in front of the church to elect a representative to send to thejuntas andJuntas Generales (such as theJuntas Generales de Vizcaya orGuipúzcoa) which administered much larger areas. Another example was that in the medieval period most land was owned by the farmers, not the Church or a king.[35][page needed][45]
The great family of ball games has its unique offspring among Basque ball games, known generically aspilota (Spanish:pelota). Some variants have been exported to the United States andMacau under the name ofJai Alai.
Theencierro (bull run) inPamplona'sfiestasSanfermines started as a transport of bulls to the ring. These encierros, as well as other bull andbullock related activities are not exclusive to Pamplona but are traditional in many towns and villages of the Basque country.
There are several clubs within the Basque Country, such asAthletic Bilbao,Real Sociedad,Deportivo Alavés,SD Eibar and, as Navarre club, theCA Osasuna (the only club inLa Liga that has a Basque name—osasuna means "health"). In the 2016–17 season these five clubs played together in La Liga, the first instance where five Basque clubs have reached that level at the same time. Athletic'srecruitment policy has meant the club refuses to sign any non-Basque players, with "Basque" currently defined to include either ethnic Basques or players of any ethnicity trained by a Basque club.[46] Real Sociedad also previously employed such a policy.
The Basque Country also features several professional basketball teams, the most notable of which isSaski Baskonia from Vitoria-Gasteiz, one of the 11 clubs that own stakes inEuroleague Basketball, the company that operates the continent-wideEuroLeague andEuroCup. They are currently joined in the Spanish top flight,Liga ACB, byBilbao Basket, with the two clubs involved in alongstanding rivalry. Another club from the Basque Country,Gipuzkoa Basket from Donostia, currently plays in the second-levelLEB Oro.
Cycling is popular and theEuskaltel–Euskadi professional cycling team, partly sponsored by the Basque Government participated in the UCI World Tour division until 2014. Known for their orange tops and hill-climbing ability, their fans were famous for lining the famous Pyrenean climbs in the Tour de France, in support of their compatriots.
While there is no independent Basque state, Spain'sautonomous community of the Basque Country, made up of the provinces of Álava (Araba), Biscay (Bizkaia) and Gipuzkoa, is primarily a historical consequence and an answer to the wide autonomy claim of its population.
Navarre has a separate statute of autonomy, a contentious arrangement designed during Spanish transition to democracy (theAmejoramiento, an 'upgrade' of its previous status during dictatorship). It refers back to the kingdom status of Navarre (up to 1841) and their traditional institutional and legal framework (charters). Basque, the original and main language of Navarre up to the late 18th century, has kept family transmission especially in the northern part of Navarre and central areas to a lesser extent, designated as Basque speaking or mixed area in Navarrese law. Questions of political, linguistic and cultural allegiance and identity are highly complex in Navarre. Politically some Basque nationalists would like to integrate with the Basque Autonomous Community.
TheFrench Basque Country today does not exist as a formal political entity and is officially simply part of the Frenchdepartment ofPyrénées Atlantiques, centered inBéarn. In recent years the number of mayors of the region supporting the creation of a separate Basque department has grown to 63.87%.[47] So far, their attempts have been unsuccessful.
Both the Spanish and French governments have, at times, suppressed Basquelinguistic and cultural identity. TheFrench Republics, the epitome of thenation-state, have a long history of attempting the complete cultural absorption of cultural minority groups. Spain has, at most points in its history, granted some degree of linguistic, cultural, and even political autonomy to its Basques, but under theregime of Francisco Franco, the Spanish government reversed the advances of Basque nationalism, as it had fought in the opposite side of theSpanish Civil War: cultural activity in Basque was limited to folkloric issues and theCatholic Church.
Today, theSouthern Basque Country within Spain enjoys an extensive cultural and political autonomy. The majority of schools under the jurisdiction of theBasque education system use Basque as the primary medium of teaching. However, the situation is more delicate in theNorthern Basque Country within France, where Basque is not officially recognized, and where lack of autonomy and monolingual public schooling in French exert great pressure on the Basque language.
In Navarre, Basque was declared an endangered language, since the conservative government of theNavarrese People's Union restricted its use.[48]
Basque is also spoken by immigrants in the major cities of Spain and France, inAustralia, in many parts ofLatin America, and in theUnited States, especially in Nevada, Idaho, and California.[35]: 1
Since its articulation by Sabino Arana in the late 19th century, the more radical currents ofBasque nationalism have demanded the right ofself-determination and evenindependence. Within the Basque country, this element of Basque politics is often in balance with the conception of the Basque Country as just another part of the Spanish state, a view more commonly espoused on the right of the political spectrum. In contrast, the desire for greater autonomy or independence is particularly common amongleftist Basque nationalists. The right of self-determination was asserted by theBasque Parliament in 2002 and 2006.[49] Since self-determination is not recognized in theSpanish Constitution of 1978, a wide majority of Basques abstained (55%) and some even voted against it (23.5%) in the ratification referendum of 6 December that year. However, it was approved by clearmajority overall in Spain (87%). The autonomous regime for the Basque Country was approved in a 1979 referendum but the autonomy of Navarre (Amejoramiento del Fuero: "improvement of the charter") was never subject to a referendum but only approved by the Navarrese Cortes (parliament).
As with their language, the Basques are clearly a distinct cultural group in their region. They regard themselves as culturally and especially linguistically distinct from their surrounding neighbours. Some Basques identify themselves as Basques only whereas others identify themselves both as Basque and Spanish.[50] Many Basques regard the designation as a "cultural minority" as incomplete, favouring instead the definition as a nation, the commonly accepted designation for the Basque people up to the rise of the nation-states and the definition imposed by the1812 Spanish Constitution.
In modern times, as a European people living in a highly industrialized area, cultural differences from the rest of Europe are inevitably blurred, although a conscious cultural identity as a people or nation remains very strong, as does an identification with their homeland, even among many Basques who have emigrated to other parts of Spain or France, or to other parts of the world.
The strongest distinction between the Basques and their traditional neighbours is linguistic. Surrounded byRomance-language speakers, the Basques traditionally spoke (and many still speak) a language that was not only non-Romance but non-Indo-European. The prevailing belief amongst Basques, and forming part of their national identity, is that their language has continuity with the people who were in this region since not only pre-Roman and pre-Celtic times, but since the Stone Age.
Don Diego María de Gardoqui y Arriquibar (1735–1798) was also a Basque, who became Spain's first Ambassador to the United States, andMiguel de Unamuno was a noted novelist and philosopher of the late 19th and the 20th century, was also a Basque.
Another well-known Basque wasFather Alberto Hurtado, S.J. (1901–1952), a Jesuit priest who founded the charitable housing systemHogar de Cristo, meaning hearth, or home, of Christ, in Chile. El Hogar provided a home-like milieu for the homeless. Hurtado also founded the Chilean Trade Union Association to promote a union movement based on the social teachings of the Catholic Church. He was a friend and savior to all the poor and homeless, and was beatified byPope John Paul II on 16 October 1994. He was canonized byPope Benedict XVI on 23 October 2005.[51]
^"Canada Census Profile 2021".Census Profile, 2021 Census. Statistics Canada Statistique Canada. 7 May 2021.Archived from the original on 3 January 2023. Retrieved3 January 2023.
^Estadísticas Enseñanzas no Universitarias – Resultados Detallados – Curso 2007–2008, Ministry of Education, educacion.es – Compiled by Fernando Bravo. FP: Formación Profesional (Vocational training).
^"Basque".Britannica Online for Kids.Archived from the original on 11 March 2016. Retrieved16 March 2013.
^"Basque".Oxford Reference online.Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved3 November 2016.
^de la Granja Sainz, José Luis; Santiago de Pablo; Coro Rubio Pobes (2011).Breve historia de Euskadi : de los fueros a la autonomía (1st ed.). Madrid: Debate.ISBN978-84-9992-039-9.OCLC947160667.
^Wells, H. G.The Outline of History. New York: Doubleday & Co., 1920, Volume I, Chapter XI "The Races of Mankind," pp. 131-144. Compare pp. 98, 137 and 139.
^Cavalli-Sforza, L. Luca; Menozzi, Paolo; and Piazza Alberto.The History and Geography of Human Genes. Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press, 1994, p. 280.
^Laín Entralgo, Pedro (January 1949)."Chile al trasluz" [Chile held up to the light] (in Spanish). Filosofia.org.Archived from the original on 14 May 2019. Retrieved2 November 2016.'La Compañía de Jesús y la República de Chile son las dos grandes hazañas del pueblo vascongado', solía decir don Miguel de Unamuno...[TRANS] Miguel de Unamuno used to say, 'The Company of Jesus and the Republic of Chile are the two great achievements of the Basque people...'
^Resolution of the General Assembly of the European Bureau for Lesser Used Languages, 13 September 2003 (Helsinki), on the situation of the Basque language in the Autonomous Community of Navarre. Reported in MERCATOR Butlleti 55: "Speakers of a regional or minority language should have the right to use their language in private and public life. Contrary to these principles, local authorities from Iruña/Pamplona (capital city of the Autonomous Community ofNavarre in Spain) have been implementing a series of reforms to the Autonomous Community legislation limiting the use of the Basque language. Basque is the only endangered language in the Autonomous Community of Navarre..."
Hamilton, Carrie (2000). "Re-membering the Basque nationalist family: Daughters, fathers and the reproduction of the radical nationalist community".Journal of Spanish Cultural Studies.1 (2):153–71.doi:10.1080/713683438.S2CID144135906.
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