The Basque Country ( eu, Euskal Herria; es, País Vasco; french: Pays basque) is the name given to the home of the Basque people. Trask, R.L. ''The History of Basque'' Routledge: 1997 The Basque country is located in the western

Pyrenees The Pyrenees (; es, Pirineos ; french: Pyrénées ; ca, Pirineu ; eu, Pirinioak ; oc, Pirenèus ; an, Pirineus) is a mountain range straddling the border of France and Spain. It extends nearly from its union with the Cantabrian Mountains to ...

, straddling the border between

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

and

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

on the coast of the Bay of Biscay. ''Euskal Herria'' is the oldest documented Basque name for the area they inhabit, dating from the 16th century. It comprises the

Autonomous Communities eu, autonomia erkidegoa ca, comunitat autònoma gl, comunidade autónoma oc, comunautat autonòma an, comunidat autonoma ast, comunidá autónoma , alt_name = , map = , category = Autonomous administra ...

of the Basque Country and Navarre in Spain and the Northern Basque Country in France. The region is home to the Basque people ( eu, Euskaldunak), their

language Language is a structured system of communication. The structure of a language is its grammar and the free components are its vocabulary. Languages are the primary means by which humans communicate, and may be conveyed through a variety of ...

( eu, Euskara), culture and traditions. The area is neither linguistically nor culturally homogeneous, and certain areas have a majority of people who do not consider themselves Basque, such as the south of Navarre. The concept is still highly controversial, and the Supreme Court of Navarre has ruled against scholarly books that include the Navarre community within the Basque Country area.

Etymology

The name in

Basque Basque may refer to: * Basques, an ethnic group of Spain and France * Basque language, their language Places * Basque Country (greater region), the homeland of the Basque people with parts in both Spain and France * Basque Country (autonomous co ...

is ''Euskal Herria''. The name is difficult to accurately translate into other languages due to the wide range of meanings of the Basque word ''herri''. It can be translated as ''nation; country, land; people, population'' and ''town, village, settlement''.Aulestia, G. ''Basque-English Dictionary'' (1989)

University of Nevada The University of Nevada, Reno (Nevada, the University of Nevada, or UNR) is a public land-grant research university in Reno, Nevada. It is the state's flagship public university and primary land grant institution. It was founded on October 12 ...

Press The first part, ''Euskal'', is the adjectival form of ''Euskara'' "the Basque language". Thus a more

literal translation Literal translation, direct translation or word-for-word translation, is a translation of a text done by translating each word separately, without looking at how the words are used together in a phrase or sentence. In translation theory, anoth ...

would be "country/nation/people/settlement of the Basque language", a concept difficult to render into a single word in most other languages. The two earliest references (in various spelling guises) are in

Joan Perez de Lazarraga Juan Pérez de Lazarraga ( eu, Joan Perez Lazarraga; 11 April 1605) was a Basque writer, who was born and died in Larrea, Álava. Lazarraga, member of a family of the lower nobility originating in Oñati, was the Lord of Larrea. He is known for ...

's manuscript, dated around 1564–1567 as and and ('in the Basque Country') and ''Heuscal-Herrian'' in

Joanes Leizarraga Joanes Leizarraga (1506–1601) was a 16th-century Basque priest. He is most famous for being the first to attempt the standardisation of the Basque language and for the translation of religious works into Basque, in particular the first Basque t ...

's Bible translation, published in 1571.

Territory

The term Basque Country refers to a collection of regions inhabited by the Basque people, known as ''Euskal Herria'' in Basque language, and it is first attested as including seven traditional territories in

Axular Pedro Agerre, best known as ''Axular'', was one of the main Basque writers of the 17th century. His main work was '' Gero'' (''Later''), published in 1643, an ascetic book written with elaborate prose and composed following the traumatic period of ...

's literary work ''Gero'' (he goes on to suggest that Basque language is spoken "in many other places"), in the early 17th century. Some Basques refer to the seven traditional districts collectively as ''

Zazpiak Bat Zazpiak Bat is a heraldic nickname for the Basque coat of arms which includes the arms of the seven provinces mentioned, stressing their unity. It was designed by the historian Jean de Jaurgain in 1897 for the ''Congrès et Fêtes de la Tradition ...

'', meaning "The Seven reOne", a motto coined in the late 19th century.

Northern Basque Country

The Northern Basque Country, known in Basque as ''Iparralde'' (literally, "the northern part"), is the part of the Basque Country that lies entirely within

, specifically as part of the

Pyrénées-Atlantiques Pyrénées-Atlantiques (; Gascon Occitan: ''Pirenèus Atlantics''; eu, Pirinio Atlantiarrak or ) is a department in the southwest corner of France and of the region of Nouvelle-Aquitaine. Named after the Pyrenees mountain range and the Atlant ...

département In the administrative divisions of France, the department (french: département, ) is one of the three levels of government under the national level (" territorial collectivities"), between the administrative regions and the communes. Ninety ...

'' of France. As such it is usually known as French Basque Country (''Pays basque français'' in French). In most contemporary sources, it is defined as covering the

arrondissement An arrondissement (, , ) is any of various administrative divisions of France, Belgium, Haiti, certain other Francophone countries, as well as the Netherlands. Europe France The 101 French departments are divided into 342 ''arrondissements ...

of Bayonne and the cantons of

Mauléon-Licharre Mauléon-Licharre (; , Occitan: Maulion e Lisharra), or simply Mauléon, is a commune in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department in southwestern France. It is the capital of the Soule (''Zuberoa'') historical Basque province. It is home to t ...

and

Tardets-Sorholus Tardets-Sorholus (; eu, Atharratze-Sorholüze)ATHARRATZE-SORHOLÜZE

, but sources disagree on the status of the village of

Esquiule Esquiule (; eu, Eskiula)ESKIULA
San Sebastian from Igeldo

The French Basque Country is traditionally subdivided into three provinces: * Labourd, historical capital Ustaritz, main settlement today Bayonne *

Lower Navarre Lower Navarre ( eu, Nafarroa Beherea/Baxenabarre; Gascon/Bearnese: ''Navarra Baisha''; french: Basse-Navarre ; es, Baja Navarra) is a traditional region of the present-day French ''département'' of Pyrénées-Atlantiques. It corresponds to the ...

, historical capitals Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port and Saint-Palais, main settlement today Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port * Soule, historical capital Mauléon (also current main settlement) This summary presentation suggests difficulty in justifying the inclusion of a few

communes An intentional community is a voluntary residential community which is designed to have a high degree of social cohesion and teamwork from the start. The members of an intentional community typically hold a common social, political, relig ...

in the lower Adour region. Jean Goyhenetche suggests it would be more accurate to depict the region as the reunion of five entities: Labourd, Lower Navarre, Soule but also Bayonne and Gramont.

Southern Basque Country

The

Southern Basque Country The Southern Basque Country ( eu, Hegoalde, Hego Euskal Herria; es, Hegoalde, País Vasco y Navarra, País Vasco peninsular) is a term used to refer to the Basque territories within Spain as a unified whole. Name In Basque language, natives h ...

, known in Basque as ''Hegoalde'' (literally, "the southern part"), is the part of the Basque region that lies completely within

. It is frequently known as Spanish Basque Country (''País Vasco español'' in

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Can ...

). It is the largest and most populated part of the Basque Country. It includes two main regions: the

Basque Autonomous Community The Basque Country (; eu, Euskadi ; es, País Vasco ), also called Basque Autonomous Community ( eu, Euskal Autonomia Erkidegoa, links=no, EAE; es, Comunidad Autónoma del País Vasco, links=no, CAPV), is an autonomous community of Spain. It ...

( Vitoria-Gasteiz is the capital) and the Chartered Community of Navarre (capital city Pamplona). The

(7,234 km²)Area figures for Spanish Autonomous Communities have been found on the Instituto Geográfico Nacional website consists of three

provinces A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or state. The term derives from the ancient Roman '' provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire's territorial possessions ou ...

, specifically designated "historical territories": * Álava (capital: Vitoria-Gasteiz) * Biscay (capital:

Bilbao ) , motto = , image_map = , mapsize = 275 px , map_caption = Interactive map outlining Bilbao , pushpin_map = Spain Basque Country#Spain#Europe , pushpin_map_caption ...

) *

Gipuzkoa Gipuzkoa (, , ; es, Guipúzcoa ; french: Guipuscoa) is a province of Spain and a historical territory of the autonomous community of the Basque Country. Its capital city is Donostia-San Sebastián. Gipuzkoa shares borders with the French depa ...

(capital: Donostia-San Sebastián) The Chartered Community of Navarre (10,391 km²) is a single-province autonomous community. Its name refers to the charters, the ''

Fueros of Navarre The Fueros of Navarre ( es, Fuero General de Navarra, eu, Nafarroako Foru Orokorra, meaning in English ''General Charter of Navarre'') were the laws of the Kingdom of Navarre up to 1841, tracing its origins to the Early Middle Ages and issued from ...

''. The Spanish Constitution of 1978 states that Navarre may become a part of the Autonomous Community of the Basque Country if it is so decided by its people and institutions (the ''Disposicion transitoria cuarta'' or "Fourth Transitory Provision"). To date, there has been no implementation of this law. Despite demands for a referendum by minority leftist forces and Basque nationalists in Navarre, it has been opposed by mainstream Spanish parties and the

Navarrese People's Union The Navarrese People's Union ( es, Unión del Pueblo Navarro), abbreviated to UPN, is a regional conservative political party in Navarre, Spain. Until 2008, it was a fraternal party of the People's Party (PP), acting as the latter's Navarrese bran ...

, which was the ruling party until 2015. The Union has repeatedly asked for an amendment to the Constitution to remove this clause. In addition to those, two enclaves located outside of the respective autonomous community are often cited as being part of both the Basque Autonomous Community and also the Basque Country (greater region). * The Treviño enclave (280 km²), a Castilian enclave in Álava * Valle de Villaverde (20 km²), a

Cantabria Cantabria (, also , , Cantabrian: ) is an autonomous community in northern Spain with Santander as its capital city. It is called a ''comunidad histórica'', a historic community, in its current Statute of Autonomy. It is bordered on the east ...

n exclave in Biscay * Navarre holds two small administrative strips in Aragon, organised as Petilla de Aragón.

Climate

The Basque Country region is dominated by a warm, humid and wet oceanic climate. The coastal area is part of

Green Spain Cantabrian Coast is the name given to a lush natural region in Northern Spain, stretching along the Atlantic coast from the border with Portugal to the border with France. The region includes nearly all of Galicia, Asturias, and Cantabria, in ...

and by extension, the climate is similary for Bayonne and Biarritz as well. Inland areas in Navarre and the southern regions of the autonomous community are transitional, with continental

mediterranean climate A Mediterranean climate (also called a dry summer temperate climate ''Cs'') is a temperate climate sub-type, generally characterized by warm, dry summers and mild, fairly wet winters; these weather conditions are typically experienced in the ...

, with somewhat wider temperature swings between seasons. The list only sources locations in Spain, but Bayonne/Biarritz have a very similar climate to nearby Hondarribia on the Spanish side of the border. The values do not apply to San Sebastián, since its weather station is at a higher elevation than the urban core, where temperatures are higher year-round and similar to those in Bilbao and Hondarribia.

History

Ancient period

According to some theories, Basques may be the least assimilated remnant of the Paleolithic inhabitants of Western Europe (specifically those of the Franco-Cantabrian region known as

Azilian The Azilian is a Mesolithic industry of the Franco-Cantabrian region of northern Spain and Southern France. It dates approximately 10,000–12,500 years ago. Diagnostic artifacts from the culture include projectile points (microliths with ro ...

) to the Indo-European migrations. Basque tribes were mentioned by Greek writer Strabo and Roman writer

Pliny Pliny may refer to: People * Pliny the Elder (23–79 CE), ancient Roman nobleman, scientist, historian, and author of ''Naturalis Historia'' (''Pliny's Natural History'') * Pliny the Younger (died 113), ancient Roman statesman, orator, w ...

, including the Vascones, the Aquitani, and others. There is considerable evidence to show their Basque ethnicity in Roman times in the form of place-names, Caesar's reference to their customs and physical make-up, the so-called Aquitanian inscriptions recording names of people and gods (approx. 1st century, see Aquitanian language), etc. Geographically, the Basque Country was inhabited in Roman times by several tribes: the Vascones, the

Varduli The Varduli were a pre-Ancient Rome, Roman tribe settled in the north of the Iberian Peninsula, in what today is the eastern region of the autonomous community of the Basque Country (autonomous community), Basque Country and western Navarre, in n ...

, the Caristi, the Autrigones, the

Berones The Berones were a pre-Roman Celtic people of ancient Spain, although they were not part of the Celtiberians, they lived north of the Celtiberians and close to the Cantabrian Conisci in the middle Ebro region between the Tirón and Alhama rivers ...

, the Tarbelli, and the

Sibulates The Suburates (also named ''Sibulates'') were a pre-Roman tribe of the Aquitani, settled in what today is the historical territory of Soule (in Basque ''Xiberoa''), in the Northern Basque Country. From their name come the French and Occitan name f ...

. Some ancient place-names, such as Deba, Butrón, Nervión,

Zegama Zegama, popularly known as "The shadow of Aizkorri", is a town and municipality in the Goierri region of the province of Gipuzkoa, in the autonomous community of the Basque Country, northern Spain. Nature and culture Zegama's main characterist ...

, suggest the presence of non-Basque peoples at some point in

protohistory Protohistory is a period between prehistory and history during which a culture or civilization has not yet developed writing, but other cultures have already noted the existence of those pre-literate groups in their own writings. For example, in ...

. The ancient tribes are last cited in the 5th century, after which track of them is lost, with only Vascones still being accounted for, while extending far beyond their former boundaries, e.g. in the current lands of Álava and most conspicuously around the Pyrenees and

Novempopulania Novempopulania (Latin for "country of the nine peoples") was one of the provinces created by Diocletian (Roman emperor from 284 to 305) out of Gallia Aquitania, which was also called ''Aquitania Tertia''. Early Roman period The area of Novemp ...

The territory of the Cantabri encompassed probably present-day Biscay, Cantabria, Burgos and at least part of Álava and La Rioja, i.e. to the west of Vascon territory in the Early Middle Ages, but the ethnic nature of this people, often at odds with and finally overcome by the Visigoths, is not certain. The Vascones around Pamplona, after much fighting against Franks and Visigoths, founded the Kingdom of Pamplona (824), inextricably linked to their kinsmen the Banu Qasi. All other tribes in the Iberian Peninsula had been, to a great extent, assimilated by Roman culture and language by the end of the Roman period or early period of the Early Middle Ages, while ethnic Basques inhabited well east into the lands of the Pyrenees (Pallars, Val d'Aran) from the 8th to the 11th century.

Middle Ages

In the Early Middle Ages (up to the 9th century) the territory between the

Ebro , name_etymology = , image = Zaragoza shel.JPG , image_size = , image_caption = The Ebro River in Zaragoza , map = SpainEbroBasin.png , map_size = , map_caption = The Ebro ...

and Garonne rivers was known as Vasconia, a blurred ethnic area and polity struggling to fend off the

Frankish Frankish may refer to: * Franks, a Germanic tribe and their culture ** Frankish language or its modern descendants, Franconian languages * Francia, a post-Roman state in France and Germany * East Francia, the successor state to Francia in Germany ...

feudal authority from the north and the pressure of the Iberian

Visigoths The Visigoths (; la, Visigothi, Wisigothi, Vesi, Visi, Wesi, Wisi) were an early Germanic people who, along with the Ostrogoths, constituted the two major political entities of the Goths within the Roman Empire in late antiquity, or what is ...

and Andalusi Cordovans from the south. By the turn of the millennium, a receding Carolingian royal authority and establishing feudalism left Vasconia (to become Gascony) fragmented into a myriad of counties and viscounties, e.g. Fezensac, Bigorre, Astarac, Béarn, Tartas, Marsan, Soule, Labourd, etc., out of former tribal systems and minor realms ( County of Vasconia), while south of the Pyrenees, besides the above Kingdom of Pamplona, Gipuzkoa, Álava and Biscay arose in the current lands of the

from the 9th century onward. These westerly territories pledged intermittent allegiance to Navarre in their early stages, but were annexed to the Kingdom of Castile at the end of the 12th century, so depriving the Kingdom of Navarre of direct access to the ocean. In the Late Middle Ages, important families dotting the whole Basque territory came to prominence, often quarreling with each other for power and unleashing the bloody

War of the Bands The War of the Bands ( eu, Bando gerrak, es, Guerra de los Bandos) was a civil war, really an extended series of blood feuds, in the western Basque Country, Gascony, and Navarre in the Late Middle Ages. The main primary source for the War is '' ...

, only stopped by royal intervention and the gradual shift of power from the countryside to the towns by the 16th century. Meanwhile, the viscounties of Labourd and Soule under English suzerainty were finally incorporated to France after the Hundred Years' War, with Bayonne remaining the last

Plantagenet The House of Plantagenet () was a royal house which originated from the lands of Anjou in France. The family held the English throne from 1154 (with the accession of Henry II at the end of the Anarchy) to 1485, when Richard III died in ...

stronghold up to 1453.

Modern period

In Navarre, the civil wars between the Agramont and the Beaumont confederacies paved the way for the Spanish conquest of the bulk of Navarre from 1512 to 1524. The independent Navarre north of the Pyrenees was largely absorbed by France in 1620, despite the fact that King Henry III of Navarre had decreed Navarre's permanent independence from France (31 December 1596). In the decades after the Spanish annexation, the Basque Country went through increased religious, ideological and national homogenization, encouraged by new national ideas embraced by the rising Spanish and French absolutist monarchies during the Renaissance. From 1525, witchcraft allegations originating in a number of Pyrenean valleys on the rearguard of the Lower Navarre front and recent theatre of war (Salazar, Roncal, Burguete, etc.) were followed by the intervention of newly reformed and recent institutions, such as Spain's central tribunal Inquisition, the (Navarrese) Royal Tribunals, and the Diocesan Tribunal, who organized a series of trials for alleged witchcraft and heretical practices. In the heat of the Wars of Religion and the struggle for Navarre, persecution came to a head in the hysteria of the 1609–1611

Basque witch trials The Basque Witch Trials of the seventeenth century represent the last attempt at rooting out supposed witchcraft from Navarre by the Spanish Inquisition, after a series of episodes erupted during the sixteenth century following the end of milita ...

on both sides of the Spanish-French border, easing afterwards. In the

French Basque Country The French Basque Country, or Northern Basque Country ( eu, Iparralde (), french: Pays basque, es, País Vasco francés) is a region lying on the west of the French department of the Pyrénées-Atlantiques. Since 1 January 2017, it constitu ...

, its provinces underwent an ever-shrinking self-government status until the French Revolution, when the traditional provinces were reshaped to form the current Basses-Pyrénées department along with Béarn. In the

, the regional Charters were upheld until the Carlist Wars, when the Basques supported heir-apparent Carlos and his descendants to the cry of "God, Fatherland, King" (The Charters were finally abolished in 1876). The ensuing centralized ''status quo'' bred dissent and frustration in the region, giving rise to

Basque nationalism Basque nationalism ( eu, eusko abertzaletasuna ; es, nacionalismo vasco; french: nationalisme basque) is a form of nationalism that asserts that Basques, an ethnic group indigenous to the western Pyrenees, are a nation and promotes the poli ...

by the end of the 19th century, influenced by European Romantic nationalism. Since then, attempts were made to find a new framework for self-empowerment. The occasion seemed to have arrived on the proclamation of the

2nd Spanish Republic The Spanish Republic (), commonly known as the Second Spanish Republic (), was the form of government in Spain from 1931 to 1939. The Republic was proclaimed on 14 April 1931, after the deposition of King Alfonso XIII, and was dissolved on 1 A ...

in 1931, when a draft statute was drawn up for the

Statute of Estella
, but was discarded in 1932. In 1936 a short-lived statute of autonomy was approved for the Gipuzkoa, Álava and Biscay provinces, but war prevented any progress. After

Franco Franco may refer to: Name * Franco (name) * Francisco Franco (1892–1975), Spanish general and dictator of Spain from 1939 to 1975 * Franco Luambo (1938–1989), Congolese musician, the "Grand Maître" Prefix * Franco, a prefix used when ref ...

's dictatorship, a new statute was designed that resulted in the creation of the current

and Navarre, with a limited self-governing status, as settled by the Spanish Constitution. However, a significant part of Basque society is still attempting higher degrees of self-empowerment (see

), sometimes by acts of violence ( ETA's permanent ceasefire in 2010). The French Basque Country, meanwhile, lacks any political or administrative recognition whatsoever, while a majority of local representatives have lobbied to create a Basque department, to no avail.

Demographics

The Basque Country has a population of approximately 3 million as of early 2006. The population density, at about 140/km² (360/sq. mile) is above average for both Spain and France, but the distribution of the population is fairly unequal, concentrated around the main cities. A third of the population is concentrated in the

Greater Bilbao Greater Bilbao ( Basque: ''Bilboaldea'', Spanish: ''Gran Bilbao'') is an administrative division of the province of Biscay, in the Basque Country, Spain. It is one of the seven comarcas of Biscay and the most populated one. The capital city of ...

metropolitan area, while most of the interior of the French Basque Country and some areas of Navarre remain sparsely populated: density culminates at about 500/km² for Biscay but falls to 20/km² in the northern inner provinces of

and Soule. A significant majority of the population of the Basque country live inside the

(about 2,100,000, or 70% of the population) while about 600,000 live in Navarre (20% of the population) and about 300,000 (roughly 10%) in Northern Basque Country. José Aranda Aznar writes"La mezcla del pueblo vasco", ''Empiria: Revista de metodología de ciencias sociales'', ISSN 1139-5737, Nº 1, 1998, pags. 121–180. that 30% of the population in the Basque Country Autonomous Community were born in other regions of Spain and that 40% of the people living in that territory do not have a single Basque parent. Most of these peoples of Galician and Castilian stock arrived in the Basque Autonomous Community in the late 19th century and throughout the 20th century, as the region became more and more industrialized and prosperous and additional workers were needed to support the economic growth. Descendants of immigrants from other parts of Spain have since been considered Basque for the most part, at least formally. Over the last 25 years, some 380,000 people have left the Basque Autonomous Community, of which some 230,000 have moved to other parts of Spain. While certainly many of them are people returning to their original homes when starting their retirement, there is also a sizable tract of Basque natives in this group who have moved due to a Basque nationalist political environment (including ETA's killings) which they perceive as overtly hostile. These have been quoted to be as high as 10% of the population in the Basque Community.

Largest cities

Metropolitan areas

* Greater Bilbao: 984 745 inhabitants (2014) * Greater San Sebastian: 447 844 inhabitants (2014) * Greater Pamplona: 346 716 inhabitants (2012) * Metropolitan area of Vitoria: 277 812 inhabitants (2015) * Metropolitan area of Eibar: 70 000 inhabitants (2012) * Agglomération Côte Basque Adour: 126 072 inhabitants (2013)

Non-Basque minorities

Historical minorities

Various Romani groups existed in the Basque Country and some still exist as ethnic groups. These were grouped together under the generic terms ''ijituak'' (Gypsies) and ''buhameak'' ( Bohemians) by Basque speakers. * The Cagots also were found north and south of the mountains. They lived as untouchables in Basque villages and were allowed to marry only among themselves. Their origin is unclear and has historically been surrounded with superstitions. Nowadays, they have mostly assimilated into the general society. * The

Cascarots The Cascarots ( eu, Kaskarotuak) are a Romani-like ethnic group from Spain who settled in parts of the Basque country after the end of the fifteenth century. Cascarots are descendants of marriages between Basques and Romani people. History Histo ...

were a Roma subgroup found mainly in the Northern Basque Country. * A subgroup of Kalderash Roma resident in the Basque Country were the Erromintxela who are notable for speaking a rare

mixed language A mixed language is a language that arises among a bilingual group combining aspects of two or more languages but not clearly deriving primarily from any single language. It differs from a creole or pidgin language in that, whereas creoles/pidgin ...

. This is based on Basque grammar but using Romani-derived vocabulary.
Erromintxela: Notas para una investigación sociolingüística
', Oscar Vizarraga. * The Mercheros were

Quinqui Quinqui jargon is associated with '' quincalleros'' (tinkers), a semi-nomadic group who live mainly in the northern half of Spain. They prefer to be called ''mercheros''. They are reduced in number and possibly vanishing as a distinct group. T ...

-speakers, travelling as cattle merchants and artisans. Following the industrialization, they settled in slums near big cities. In the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...

, many

Franks The Franks ( la, Franci or ) were a group of Germanic peoples whose name was first mentioned in 3rd-century Roman sources, and associated with tribes between the Lower Rhine and the Ems River, on the edge of the Roman Empire.H. Schutz: Tools, ...

settled along the

Way of Saint James The Camino de Santiago ( la, Peregrinatio Compostellana, "Pilgrimage of Compostela"; gl, O Camiño de Santiago), known in English as the Way of St James, is a network of pilgrims' ways or pilgrimages leading to the shrine of the apostle Saint ...

in Navarre and Gipuzkoa and to a lesser extent in Bizkaia. This process also happened in Northern Castile. They were all collectively called Franks because most of them came from French regions (Normans, Bretons, Burgundians, Aquitanians etc.) but an important minority of them were in fact of German, Dutch, Italian, English and Swiss stock. Some were also from even more distant lands such as Poland or Denmark. Due to this migration, Gascon was spoken in the centre of Donostia-San Sebastián, until the beginning of the 20th century. Navarre also held

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

and Muslim minorities but these were expelled or forced to assimilate after the

Spanish conquest The Spanish Empire ( es, link=no, Imperio español), also known as the Hispanic Monarchy ( es, link=no, Monarquía Hispánica) or the Catholic Monarchy ( es, link=no, Monarquía Católica) was a colonial empire governed by Spain and its predece ...

in the 16th century. One of the notable members of such minorities was Benjamin of Tudela.

Recent immigration

Much as has been the case for Spain's two other major economic poles (Madrid and Catalonia), the Basque Country received significant immigration from other poorer regions of Spain, due to its higher level of economic development and early industrialization. During the second half of the 20th century, such immigrants were commonly referred to by some Basques as , a derogatory term which is less used today. Since the 1980s, as a consequence of its considerable economic prosperity, the Basque Country has received an increasing number of immigrants, mostly from Eastern Europe, North Africa, Latin America, Sub-Saharan Africa, South Asia, and China, settling mostly in the major urban areas. Nevertheless, foreign immigrant population is surprisingly lower in the Basque country than in Madrid and Catalonia, despite having similar GDP per capita and significantly lower levels of unemployment.

Language

Currently, the predominant languages in the Spanish and French Basque Countries are Spanish and French, respectively. In the historical process of forging themselves as nation-states, both the Spanish and French governments have tried more or less intensely to discourage the use of

and its

linguistic Linguistics is the scientific study of human language. It is called a scientific study because it entails a comprehensive, systematic, objective, and precise analysis of all aspects of language, particularly its nature and structure. Linguis ...

identity. The language chosen for public education is the most obvious expression of this phenomenon, something which surely had an effect on the current status of Basque. Despite being spoken in a relatively small territory, the rugged features of the Basque countryside and the historically high population density resulted in a heavy dialectal fragmentation throughout history, which increased the value of both Spanish and French respectively as lingua francas. In this regard, the current Standard form of Basque was only introduced in the late 1960s, which helped Basque move away from being perceived – even by its own speakers – as a language unfit for educational purposes. While the French Republic has historically attempted to absorb ethnic minority groups – including the French Basques – into a linguistically unified state, Spain in turn has accepted intermittently in its history some degree of linguistic, cultural, and political autonomy to the Basques. Altogether there was a gradual language shift towards Spanish language in the Basque-speaking areas of the Spanish Basque Country, a phenomenon initially restricted to the upper urban classes, but progressively reaching the lower classes. Western Biscay, most of Alava and southern Navarre have been Spanish-speaking (or Romance-speaking) for centuries. But under the regime of Francisco Franco, the government attempted to suppress Basque nationalism and limit the uses of the Basque language. Even the activities of the Euskaltzaindia (Basque Language Academy) were severely curtailed. In general, during these years, cultural activity in Basque was limited to folkloric issues and the

Roman Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

, while a higher, yet still limited degree of tolerance was granted to Basque culture and language in Álava and Navarre, since both areas mostly supported Francoist troops during the war. Euskal Herriko armarria

Nowadays, the Basque Autonomous Community enjoys some cultural and political autonomy and Basque is an official language along with Spanish. Basque is favoured by a set of language policies sponsored by the Basque regional government which aim at the generalization of its use. However, the actual implementation of this official status is patchy and problematic, relying ultimately on the will of the different administrative levels to enforce it—Justice, Health, Administration. It is spoken by approximately a quarter of the total Basque Country, its stronghold being the contiguous area formed by Gipuzkoa, northern Navarre and the Pyrenean French valleys. It is not spoken natively in most of Álava, western Biscay and the southern half of Navarre. Of a total estimation of some 650,000 Basque speakers, approximately 550,000 live in the Spanish Basque country, the rest in the French. The Basque education system in Spain has three types of schools differentiated by their linguistic teaching models: A, B and D. Model D, with education entirely in Basque, and Spanish as a compulsory subject, is the most widely chosen model by parents. In Navarre, there is an additional G model, with education entirely in Spanish. The ruling anti-Basque conservative government of '' Unión del Pueblo Navarro'' opposes Basque nationalist attempts to provide education in Basque through all Navarre (which would include areas where it is not traditionally spoken). Basque language teaching in the public education network is therefore limited to the Basque speaking north and central regions. In the central region, Basque teaching in the public education network is fairly limited, and part of the existing demand is served via private schools or ikastolak. In southern and some central areas this policy has resulted in schoolchildren having to travel sometimes for hours every day in order to attend education provided in the historic language of Navarre, largely relying on public subscription (yearly festival Nafarroa Oinez, solidarity from the ikastola network, donations, etc.) or receiving as a result no allowances for school meals. Even in northern Basque or mixed language areas, allegations raised by Basque speaker associations point regularly to a conspicuous disregard for recognised language rights, e.g. virtual non-existence of Basque language medical assistance across areas where the vast majority is Basque speaking, insufficient Basque speaking librarians, no broadcasting permission in the last 20 years (as of 2013) for the only Basque language radio in Pamplona, Spanish monolingual signalization and even removal of bilingual one, etc. Spanish is or can be spoken in Navarre by the entire population, with few exceptions in remote rural areas. The European Commission for Regional or Minority Languages to which Spain is signatory has issued a number of recommendations in order to guarantee a real official status for Basque language (2004), e.g. the suppression of the administrative linguistic divides of Navarre for considering it an obstacle to the normal use of Basque and discriminating against Basque speakers, the filing of the case against newspaper Euskaldunon Egunkaria and restitution to its normal operation, as well as guarantees to prisoners of receiving and sending correspondence in Basque, to mention but a few. The situation of the Basque language in the French Basque Country is vulnerable (as rated by Unesco). The pressure of French as a well-established mainstream language and different administrative obstacles to the consolidation of Basque-language schooling make the language's future prospects uncertain. On 14 June 2013, pointing to the 1850 Falloux act and declaring thereafter that French is the official language of France, the regional subprefect declared illegal the

Hendaye Hendaye ( Basque: ''Hendaia'')HENDAIA
French Basque Country The French Basque Country, or Northern Basque Country ( eu, Iparralde (), french: Pays basque, es, País Vasco francés) is a region lying on the west of the French department of the Pyrénées-Atlantiques. Since 1 January 2017, it constitu ...

, Seaska, bitterly criticized the French state before

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...

for not complying with its international commitments and actually failing to accept minorities by violating their linguistic rights. In November 2013, France decided not to ratify the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages.

Universities

Apertura del curso 2009-1010 de la Universidad de Mondragon-Mondragon Unibertsitatea

Vista exterior de la facultad derecho Universidad de Navarra

The earliest university in the Basque Country was the University of Oñati, founded in 1540 in Hernani and moved to

Oñati Oñati ( eu, Oñati, es, Oñate) is a town located in the province of Gipuzkoa, in the autonomous community of the Basque Country, in the north of Spain. It has a population of approximately 10,500 and lies in a valley in the center of the Basqu ...

in 1548. It lasted in various forms until 1901. In 1868, in order to fulfill the need for college graduates for the thriving industry that was flourishing in the Bilbao area, there was an unsuccessful effort to establish a Basque-Navarrese University. Nonetheless, in 1897 the

Bilbao Superior Technical School of Engineering ) , motto = , image_map = , mapsize = 275 px , map_caption = Interactive map outlining Bilbao , pushpin_map = Spain Basque Country#Spain#Europe , pushpin_map_caption ...

(the first modern faculty of engineering in Spain), was founded as a way of providing engineers for the local industry; this faculty is nowadays part of the

University of the Basque Country The University of the Basque Country ( eu, Euskal Herriko Unibertsitatea, ''EHU''; es, Universidad del País Vasco, ''UPV''; UPV/EHU) is a Spanish public university of the Basque Autonomous Community. Heir of the University of Bilbao, initiall ...

. Almost at the same time, the urgent need for business graduates led to the establishment of the Commercial Faculty by the Jesuits, and, some time thereafter, the

Jesuits , image = Ihs-logo.svg , image_size = 175px , caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits , abbreviation = SJ , nickname = Jesuits , formation = , founders = ...

expanded their university by formally founding the

University of Deusto The University of Deusto ( es, Universidad de Deusto; eu, Deustuko Unibertsitatea) is a Spanish private university owned by the Society of Jesus, with campuses in Bilbao and San Sebastián, and the Deusto Business School branch in Madrid. The Un ...

Deusto Deusto, also known as Deustu in Basque and formerly known as ''San Pedro de Deusto'', is one of the eight districts of Bilbao, (Spain). It is located on the right side of the Bilbao estuary, in the northwestern part of the city and bordering t ...

(now a Bilbao neighbourhood) by the turn of the century, a private university where the Commercial Faculty was integrated. The first modern Basque public university was the Basque University, founded 18 November 1936 by the autonomous Basque government in Bilbao in the midst of the

Spanish Civil War The Spanish Civil War ( es, Guerra Civil Española)) or The Revolution ( es, La Revolución, link=no) among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War ( es, Cuarta Guerra Carlista, link=no) among Carlists, and The Rebellion ( es, La Rebelión, link ...

. It operated only briefly before the government's defeat by Francisco Franco's fascist forces. Several faculties, originally teaching only in Spanish, were founded in the Basque region in the Francisco Franco era. A public faculty of economics was founded in Sarriko (Bilbao) in the 1960s, and a public faculty of medicine was also founded during that decade, thus expanding the college graduate schools. However, all the public faculties in the Basque Country were organized as local branches of Spanish universities. For instance, the School of Engineering was treated as a part of the

University of Valladolid The University of Valladolid is a public university located in the city of Valladolid, Valladolid province, autonomous region of Castile and Leon, Spain. Established in the 13th century, it is one of the oldest universities in the world. The u ...

, some away from Bilbao. Indeed, the lack of a central governing body for the public faculties of the Bilbao area, namely those of Economics in Sarriko, Medicine in Basurto, Engineering in Bilbao and the School of Mining in Barakaldo (est. 1910s), was seen as a gross handicap for the cultural and economic development of the area, and so, during the late 1960s many formal requests were made to the Francoist government in order to establish a Basque public university that would unite all the public faculties already founded in Bilbao. As a result of that, the University of Bilbao was founded in the early 1970s, which has now evolved into the

with campuses in the western three provinces. In Navarre, Opus Dei manages the

University of Navarre , image = UNAV.svg , latin_name = Universitas Studiorum Navarrensis , established = 17 October 1952 , type = Private, Roman Catholic , chancellor = Fernando Ocáriz Braña , president = María Iraburu Eliz ...

with another campus in San Sebastián. Additionally, there is also the Public University of Navarre, with campus in Pamplona and in Tudela, managed by the Navarrese Foral Government. Mondragón Corporación Cooperativa has established its institutions for higher education as the Mondragon University, based in

Mondragón Mondragón ( eu, Arrasate or ''Mondragoe''), officially known as Arrasate/Mondragón, is a town and municipality in Gipuzkoa Province, Basque Country, Spain. Its population in 2015 was 21,933. Economic and historical significance The town is be ...

and nearby towns. There are numerous other significant Basque cultural institutions in the Basque Country and elsewhere. Most Basque organizations in the United States are affiliated with NABO (

North American Basque Organizations North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating Direction (geometry), direction or geography. Etymology T ...

, Inc.).

Politics

Since the last quarter of the 20th century, there have been very different political views on the significance of the Basque Country, with some Basque nationalists aiming to create an independent state including the whole area, and Spanish nationalism denying the very existence of the Basque Country. The dynamics of controversial decisions imposed by Spanish tribunals on Basque nationalist parties ideologically close to ETA left for over a decade a distorted representation of the Basque politics in local councils and regional parliaments, as well as a swiftly changing array of disbanded party names, new alliances, and re-accommodations (since 1998). During the 2011 Spanish parliamentary elections, the coalition Amaiur (former

Batasuna Batasuna (; en, Unity) was a Basque nationalist political party. Based mainly in Spain, it was banned in 2003, after a court ruling declared proven that the party was financing ETA with public money. The party is included in the "European Union ...

plus

Eusko Alkartasuna Eusko Alkartasuna (; en, Basque Solidarity; es, Solidaridad Vasca; french: Solidarité basque) is a Basque nationalist and social-democratic political party operating in Spain and France. The Basque language name means ''Basque Solidarity'' an ...

) came up first in parliamentary seats (7) and second only to

UPN The United Paramount Network (UPN) was an American broadcast television network that launched on January 16, 1995. It was originally owned by Chris-Craft Industries' United Television. Viacom (through its Paramount Television unit, which pr ...

-PP (5 seats) in popular vote in the

, followed closely by the

Spanish Socialist Workers' Party The Spanish Socialist Workers' Party ( es, Partido Socialista Obrero Español ; PSOE ) is a social-democraticThe PSOE is described as a social-democratic party by numerous sources: * * * * political party in Spain. The PSOE has been in gove ...

(5 seats). Geroa Bai secured a seat in Navarre, with the Basque Nationalist Party getting 5 (all from Basque Autonomous Community). Despite Amaiur's results, the group was refused a parliamentary group in an unprecedented decision in the Spanish Parliament, on the grounds that the coalition's MPs represented two different constituencies. As a result, Amaiur (5th political group in the Spanish Parliament altogether) remained in the ''Grupo Mixto'' with a myriad of different parties from all over Spain, while the so-called ''Basque Group'' includes only the 5 members of the PNV and the Basque Autonomous Community (Euskadi). However, in December 2015, the Spanish parliamentary elections saw the rise of Podemos (7 MPs) and the Basque Nationalist Party (6 MPs) at the expense of EH Bildu (2 MPs), while Madrid-based mainstream parties continued their steady decline trend, with the Spanish Conservatives (allied with UPN in Navarre) getting 4 MPs, and the Socialists 4 MPs. In the Northern Basque Country, the French right is the most popular political faction, but since its creation the coalition

EH Bai ''Euskal Herria Bai'' (, EH Bai) is a Basque political coalition in France, founded in 2007 by Abertzaleen Batasuna, Eusko Alkartasuna and Batasuna. Batasuna disappeared in 2013, being replaced by Sortu. Election results Cantonal elections of 2 ...

(the northern equivalent of

EH Bildu EH Bildu, short for Euskal Herria Bildu ( en, link=yes, Basque Country Gather or Basque Country Unite) is a left-wing, Basque nationalist, pro-independence political coalition active in the Spanish autonomous communities of Basque Country, Nava ...

) has seen a rise in popularity, and in the 2020 municipal and 2021 departmental elections the coalition came up second in popular vote.

Parties with presence in all the Basque Country

* The Basque Nationalist Party (EAJ-PNV-PNB) is the oldest of all nationalist parties, with over 100 years of history. It is Christian-democrat and has evolved towards rather moderate positions though it still keeps the demand for self-determination and eventual independence. It is the main party in the

(BAC) and is the most voted party (about 40% population), but its presence in Navarre is minor and subsumed in Geroa Bai, while it remains marginal in the French Basque Country. *

(EA) (''Basque Solidarity''). A splinter group from PNV since 1984, unleashed by EAJ-PNV's compromise with the Spanish right in Navarre against the opinion of the local branch in exchange for support in Bilbao. The party was led by charismatic ''lehendakari'' Carlos Garaikoetxea for years. The party is defined as

social-democrat Social democracy is a political, social, and economic philosophy within socialism that supports political and economic democracy. As a policy regime, it is described by academics as advocating economic and social interventions to promote soc ...

, and is quite more emphatic in its nationalist claims than EAJ-PNV. After Carlos Garaikoetxea retired, Begoña Errazti was elected for the chair of the party. EA went through unfavourable electoral results, the party split with a splinter group founding the half-hearted party Hamaikabat based in

. Under the leadership of Peio Urizar, Eusko Alkartasuna gained momentum and moved towards an understanding with figures close to former

and new faces hailing from the same sociological environment. The party is a co-founder of the coalitions

in the South and

in the North. * Sortu (''Create'') is a party founded in February 2011 spearheaded by relevant public figures and low-profile political leaders aiming to fill the sociological and political void left by outlawed parties

Euskal Herritarrok Euskal Herritarrok ( en, Basque Citizens, EH) was a Basque independentist and socialist political party in the Basque Country. EH was banned in 2003 by the Supreme Court of Spain on the grounds that it sympathized with ETA. History In February ...

(''We Basque Citizens''), and

(''Unity''). Its ideology is Basque nationalist and socialist, rejects violence as a means of achieving political goals, and values civic and pacific disobedience as a legitimate way of opposing arbitrary and authoritarian policies. It's included in the coalition

in the South and in

in the North.

Parties with presence only in the French Basque Country

* Abertzaleen Batasuna (''Patriots' Union''), the main radical left wing Basque nationalist party in the North. * Euskal Herria Bai (EH Bai), a left-wing coalition formed by Abertzaleen Batasuna, Sortu and

(

also took part in its creation). EH Bai has become the main nationalist force in the North, and has taken a more moderate stance on historical nationalist demands than its predecessors. *

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history The history of Europe is traditionally divided into four time periods: prehistoric Europe (prior to about 800 BC), classical antiquity (800 BC to AD ...

(formerly La République En Marche), the party of liberal French President Emmanuel Macron. In the Basque Country it is allied with the traditional French right and other center-right parties. * The Republicans, the traditional French conservative party, and one of the main forces in the Northern Basque Country. * Union of Democrats and Independents, a center-right France-wide party, an ally of The Republicans and Renaissance, and the party of the president of the Northern Basque Country Jean-René Etchegaray. * French Socialist Party, formerly the hegemonic center-left party in France. Even though it has lost much support in recent years it has remained relevant in Basque politics. * Europe Ecology – The Greens, the main French green party. The greens are one of the main allies of the left-wing Basque nationalists in France. * National Rally, far-right, France-wide.

Parties with presence in all of the Spanish Basque Country

* Euskal Herria Bildu (''Basque Country Gather''), a left-wing Basque nationalist coalition formed by EA, Sortu and Alternatiba. It is the main opposition in the BAC and the fourth party in the Navarrese parliament (as of 2022). Even though the coalition is considered the successor of

, it is much more moderate and officially rejects political violence. * Spanish Socialist Worker Party (PSOE), the main social-democratic party of Spanish politics, with its regional branches: ** PSE-EE (mixed Spanish and Basque acronym for: ''Socialist Party of the Basque Country – Basque Country's Left'') in the Basque Autonomous Community (BAC). ** PSN (''Socialist Party of Navarre'') in Navarre. * People's Party (PP), the main conservative party in Spain, with its branches: ** Partido Popular de Navarra (''People's Party of Navarre'') in Navarre ** Partido Popular del País Vasco (''People's Party of The Basque Country'') in the BAC * United Left (IU), a Spain-wide left-wing coalition, the former Spanish Communist Party, federalist and republican, with its branches: ** Ezker Anitza (''Plural Left'') (EzAn-IU) in the BAC ** Izquierda Unida de Navarra-Nafarroako Ezker Batua (''United Left of Navarre'') (IUN-NEB) in Navarre * Podemos-Ahal Dugu (''We can''), a Spain-wide leftist party. In the BAC it is inside the coalition Elkarrekin Podemos alongside United Left, and in Navarre it is part of the coalition government.

Parties with presence only in Navarre

(UPN), a conservative party formerly attached to People's Party. It was the ruling party in Navarre from 1996 to 2015, and a firm opponent of Basque nationalism, the idea of a Basque Country including Navarre, and virtually all matters Basque. It emphasizes the Spanish character of Navarre, its distinct institutional make-up, and taxation system. *

Navarra Suma Navarra Suma ( en, "Sum Navarre", NA+) was an electoral alliance in Navarre formed by Navarrese People's Union (UPN), Citizens (Cs) and the People's Party (PP) ahead of the April 2019 Spanish general election and kept for the May 2019 local and ...

, a right-wing coalition formed by UPN, PP and Citizens. It won the

2019 Navarrese regional election The 2019 Navarrese regional election was held on Sunday, 26 May 2019, to elect the 10th Parliament of Navarre, Parliament of the Chartered Community of Navarre. All 50 seats in the Parliament were up for election. The election was held simultaneous ...

but it was unable to form a government. * Geroa Bai (''Yes to the Future''), a progressive Basque nationalist coalition with ties to the Basque Nationalist Party. It ruled Navarre from 2015 to 2019, and entered the PSN led government in 2019. Currently it is the biggest Basque nationalist party in Navarre. * Izquierda-Ezkerra, a leftist coalition formed by United Left and Batzarre.

Basque nationalism

Political status

Since the 19th century,

(

abertzale ''Abertzale'' (; English: "patriot", literally "fond of the fatherland") is a Basque term usually referring to people or political groups who are associated with Basque nationalism. Although the term is synonym of "patriot", its common use in Ba ...

ak) has demanded the right of some kind of self-determination, which is supported by 60% of Basques in the Basque Autonomous Community, and independence, which would be supported in this same territory, according to a poll, by approximately 36% of them. This desire for independence is particularly stressed among leftist Basque nationalists. The right of self-determination was asserted by the

Basque Parliament The Basque Parliament ( Basque: ''Eusko Legebiltzarra'', Spanish: ''Parlamento Vasco'') is the legislative body of the Basque Autonomous Community of Spain and the elected assembly to which the Basque Government is responsible. The Parliament ...

in 1990, 2002 and 2006. According to Article 2 of the

Spanish Constitution of 1978 The Spanish Constitution (Spanish, Asturleonese, and gl, Constitución Española; eu, Espainiako Konstituzioa; ca, Constitució Espanyola; oc, Constitucion espanhòla) is the democratic law that is supreme in the Kingdom of Spain. It was ...

, "The Constitution is based on the indissoluble unity of the Spanish nation, the common and indivisible homeland of all Spaniards". Therefore, since this precludes a declaration of independence of Spanish regions, some Basques abstained and some even voted against it in the referendum of 6 December of that year. However, it was approved by a clear majority at the Spanish level, and simple majority in the Southern Basque Country. The derived autonomous regime for the BAC was approved in later referendum but the autonomy of Navarre (''amejoramiento del fuero'': "improvement of the charter") was never subject to referendum but just approved by the Navarrese Cortes (parliament). There are not many sources on the issue for the French Basque country, but the establishment of an autonomic regime in the Northern Basque Country and the officiality of the Basque language are two of the main demands of Basque nationalists.

Euskadi Ta Askatasuna

Euskadi Ta Askatasuna (ETA) was an armed Basque nationalist and separatist organization. The group was founded in 1959 and evolved from a group promoting

Basque culture The Basques ( or ; eu, euskaldunak ; es, vascos ; french: basques ) are a Southwestern European ethnic group, characterised by the Basque language, a common culture and shared genetic ancestry to the ancient Vascones and Aquitanians. Bas ...

to a paramilitary group with the goal of gaining independence for the Basque Country. ETA is the main organisation of the

Basque National Liberation Movement The Basque National Liberation Movement ( es, Movimiento de Liberación Nacional Vasco, MLNV; Basque: Euskal Nazio Askapenerako Mugimendua, "ENAM") was an umbrella term that comprised all social, political and armed organizations orbiting around t ...

and was the most important participant in the

Basque conflict The Basque conflict, also known as the Spain–ETA conflict, was an armed and political conflict from 1959 to 2011 between Spain and the Basque National Liberation Movement, a group of social and political Basque organizations which sought ind ...

. ETA declared temporary ceasefires in 1989, 1996, 1998 and 2006, but these subsequently came to an abrupt end. However, on 5 September 2010, ETA declared a permanent ceasefire, and on 20 October 2011 ETA announced a "definitive cessation of its armed activity". On 2 May 2018, ETA issued a historic statement declaring a definitive end to its armed struggle and the organisation was officially dissolved, after six decades of political conflict.

Rejection of the Basque Country idea in Navarre

A Basque Country including Navarre has proved controversial. The

included the "Disposición transitoria cuarta" ( eu, Espainiako Konstituzioko laugarren xedapen iragankorra) which allowed Navarre to be eventually absorbed in the Basque Country at their request. This was added after the rejection of the majority of the political parties of Navarre to be incorporated in a joined Basque Country Autonomous Community. The coat of arms of the Basque Autonomous Community included the coat of arms of Navarre (along the coats of arms of Álava, Biscay and Gipuzkoa) when the Statute of Autonomy of the Basque Country of 1979 was approved. Following a legal suit by the Navarre government claiming that the usage of the arms of a region on the flag of another was illegal, the Constitutional Court of Spain forced the Basque government to remove the chains of Navarre, leaving the red background where the chains where. Among other controversies in 2018 the Supreme Court of Navarre ( es, Tribunal Supremo de Justicia de Navarra) ruling against the use of some school books that had in their content a map that displayed the Chartered Community of Navarre within the Basque Country area, claiming it distorted the natural, historic, legal, social, geografic and politic reality of Navarre. The same court has also ruled against considering the knowledge of the Basque language when hiring in the public administration, and the establishment of Basque-medium schools has usually been opposed by Navarrese and municipal governments. The Navarrese government and courts have also taken measures to remove Basque symbols from public buildings. As an example, the Administrative Court of Navarre ( es, Tribunal Administrativo de Nafarroa) recently ordered the removal of the Basque coat of arms from a fronton, placed by the municipal government.

Culture

Sports

The Basque Country has also contributed many sportsmen, primarily in football,

rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In it ...

, cycling,

jai-alai Jai alai (: ) is a sport involving bouncing a ball off a walled-in space by accelerating it to high speeds with a hand-held wicker ''cesta''. It is a variation of Basque pelota. The term ''jai alai'', coined by Serafin Baroja in 1875, is also oft ...

and surfing. The main sport in the Basque Country, as in the rest of Spain and much of France, is football. The top teams – Athletic Bilbao, Real Sociedad, Osasuna,

Eibar Eibar ( eu, Eibar, es, Éibar) is a city and municipality within the province of Gipuzkoa, in the Basque Country of Spain. It is the head town of Debabarrena, one of the '' eskualde / comarca'' of Gipuzkoa. Eibar has 27,138 inhabitants ( Eusta ...

, Alavés, Real Unión and

Barakaldo Barakaldo ( es, Baracaldo; eu, Barakaldo ) is a municipality located in the Biscay province in the Basque Country. Located on the Left Bank of the Estuary of Bilbao, the city is part of Greater Bilbao, has a population at 100,881. Barakaldo h ...

– play in the

Spanish football league system The Spanish football league system consists of several professional, semi-professional and non-professional leagues bound together hierarchically by promotion and relegation. The top two tiers of the male league pyramid— Primera División ( La Li ...

. Athletic Bilbao has a policy of hiring only Basque players, which has been applied with variable flexibility. Local rivals Real Sociedad used to practice the same policy, until they signed Irish striker

John Aldridge John William Aldridge (born 18 September 1958) is a former football player and manager. He was a prolific, record-breaking striker best known for his time with English club Liverpool in the late 1980s. His tally of 330 Football League goals is ...

in the late 1980s. Since then, Real Sociedad have had many foreign players. Athletic's policy does not apply to head coaches, with famous names as

Howard Kendall Howard Kendall (22 May 1946 – 17 October 2015) was an English footballer and manager. Kendall joined Preston North End as an apprentice and stayed with the club when he turned professional. He was a runner-up in the 1964 FA Cup with Preston, ...

and Jupp Heynckes coaching the team at various points. The most renowned Basque footballer of all time is possibly Andoni Zubizarreta, who holds the record for appearances in

La Liga The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Primera División, commonly known simply as Primera División in Spain, and as La Liga in English-speaking countries and officially as LaLiga Santander for sponsorship reasons, stylized as LaLiga, is the men' ...

with 622 games and won six league titles and one European Cup. Nowadays, the most well-known Basque football player is

Xabi Alonso Xabier Alonso Olano (, ; born 25 November 1981) is a Spanish football coach and former professional player who is currently the head coach of Bundesliga club Bayer Leverkusen. Alonso began his career at Real Sociedad, the main team of his h ...

(winner of two European Championships and one

FIFA World Cup The FIFA World Cup, often simply called the World Cup, is an international association football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the members of the ' ( FIFA), the sport's global governing body. The tournament ha ...

) who played for Real Sociedad,

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a populat ...

, Real Madrid and Bayern Munich. Other notable Basque players include

Jon Andoni Goikoetxea Jon Andoni Goikoetxea Lasa (born 21 October 1965), often known as Goiko, is a Spanish retired Association football, footballer. An attacking player of wide range, he operated in various positions on the right side of the pitch (Defender (assoc ...

, Mikel Arteta,

Javi Martínez Javier "Javi" Martínez Aginaga (; born 2 September 1988) is a Spanish professional footballer who plays as a defensive midfielder or central defender for Qatar Stars League club Qatar SC. He arrived at Athletic Bilbao in 2006, before his 18t ...

Iker Muniain Iker Muniain Goñi (, ; born 19 December 1992) is a Spanish footballer who plays for Athletic Bilbao, where he is captain, mainly as a left winger. Due to his style of play and stature, he was dubbed "the Spanish Messi" by the media. He has spe ...

César Azpilicueta César Azpilicueta Tanco (born 28 August 1989) is a Spanish professional footballer who plays as a defender for club Chelsea and the Spain national team. A youth product of Osasuna, Azpilicueta spent three seasons in La Liga before switchin ...

Asier Illarramendi Asier Illarramendi "Illarra" Andonegi (; born 8 March 1990) is a Spanish professional footballer who plays for and captains Real Sociedad as a defensive midfielder. He developed at Real Sociedad, appearing in 56 competitive matches with the fi ...

Andoni Iraola Andoni Iraola Sagarna (, ; born 22 June 1982) is a Spanish retired professional footballer who played as a right-back, currently manager of Rayo Vallecano. Combative and with good passing skills, he spent the vast majority of his professional c ...

, Aritz Aduriz and

Ander Herrera Ander Herrera Agüera (; born 14 August 1989) is a Spanish professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for La Liga club Athletic Bilbao, on loan from Ligue 1 club Paris Saint-Germain. He began his career at Real Zaragoza, before moving ...

. Both Athletic and Real Sociedad have won the Spanish league, including dominating the competition in the early 1980s, with the last title won by a Basque club being Athletic's 1984 title. At international level, Basque players were especially prominent in Spanish selections prior to the Civil War, with all of those at the 1928 Olympics, and the majority of the 1920 Olympics and 1934 World Cup squads, born in the region. Football is slightly less popular in Northern Basque country but the region has produced two well known and successful French players,

Bixente Lizarazu Bixente Jean-Michel Lizarazu (, born 9 December 1969) is a French former professional footballer who played as a left back for Bordeaux and Bayern Munich, among other teams. He also had 97 caps for the France national team. In a twelve-year ...

and

Didier Deschamps Didier Claude Deschamps (; born 15 October 1968) is a French professional football manager and former player who has been manager of the France national team since 2012. He played as a defensive midfielder for several clubs, in France, Italy, ...

, who were among 22 players that won the 1998 World Cup. In the 2010s, Aviron Bayonnais FC developed international players Stéphane Ruffier and Kévin Rodrigues (capped by

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...

) and Aymeric Laporte who eventually played for Spain based on his residency in the southern Basque country. The club has also played in the French third tier. The territory has an unofficial 'national' team which plays occasional friendlies, but not competitive matches, against conventional national teams. Navarre has its own representative side which convenes rarely. Cycling as a sport is popular in the Basque Country. Miguel Indurain, born in Atarrabia (Navarre), won the

Tour de France The Tour de France () is an annual men's multiple-stage bicycle race primarily held in France, while also occasionally passing through nearby countries. Like the other Grand Tours (the Giro d'Italia and the Vuelta a España), it consists ...

five times. Fellow Basque cyclist

Abraham Olano Abraham Olano Manzano (born 22 January 1970 in Anoeta, Gipuzkoa) is a Spanish retired professional road racing cyclist, who raced between 1992 and 2002. He won the World Road Championship in 1995, and the World Time Trial Championship in 19 ...

has won the Vuelta a España and the

World Championship A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game, ...

. , a top level cycling team, hails from Navarre, and is a continuation from the ''Banesto'' team for which Indurain ran. was a team operating at the same level until 2013 which was commercially sponsored, but also worked as an unofficial Basque national team and was partly funded by the Basque Government. Its riders were Basque, or at least grew up in the region's cycling culture; members of the team were sometimes strong contenders in the

or Vuelta a España. The races often saw Basque fans lining the roads during Pyrenean stages of the Tour de France. Team leaders included riders such as

Iban Mayo Iban Mayo Diez (born 19 August 1977 in Igorre, Basque Country, Spain) is a former professional road bicycle racer. Biography Renowned as a climber, Mayo turned pro with in 2000, and became one of the Basque Country's prospects for glory. He ...

Haimar Zubeldia Haimar Zubeldia Agirre (born 1 April 1977) is a Spanish former Road bicycle racing, road racing cyclist from the Basque Country, who competed professionally between 1998 and 2017 for the , , and teams. During his career, Zubeldia recorded five ...

, Samuel Sánchez and David Etxebarria. Another team of the same name was raised to ProTeam level in 2019. In the north,

is another popular sport with the Basque community. In Biarritz, the local club is Biarritz Olympique Pays Basque, the name referencing the club's Basque heritage. They wear red, white and green, and supporters wave the Basque flag in the stands. A number of 'home' matches played by Biarritz Olympique in the Heineken Cup have taken place at Estadio Anoeta in San Sebastian. The most famous Basque Biarritz player was the legendary French fullback Serge Blanco, whose mother was Basque, and Michel Celaya captained both Biarritz and France.

Aviron Bayonnais Aviron Bayonnais ( eu, Baionako Arrauna), commonly called Bayonne, is a French rugby union club from Bayonne (''Baiona'', in Basque) in Pyrénées-Atlantiques which, for the 2016-17 season, competed in the top tier of the French league system, ...

is another top-flight rugby union club with Basque ties. A Basque club was the last to win the cup before the banning of

rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as just rugby league and sometimes football, footy, rugby or league, is a full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular field measuring 68 metres (75 yards) wide and 11 ...

, along with other professional sports, by the German collaborating

Vichy Vichy (, ; ; oc, Vichèi, link=no, ) is a city in the Allier department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region of central France, in the historic province of Bourbonnais. It is a spa and resort town and in World War II was the capital of ...

regime after the defeat of France in 1940.

Pelota Pelota (Spanish for ''ball'') can refer to the popular and shortened names for a number of ball games: * Basque pelota * Chaza * Jai alai * Mesoamerican ballgame * Palla * Pelota mixteca * Valencian pilota * Frontenis * Pétanque Pétanqu ...

(

jai alai Jai alai (: ) is a sport involving bouncing a ball off a walled-in space by accelerating it to high speeds with a hand-held wicker ''cesta''. It is a variation of Basque pelota. The term ''jai alai'', coined by Serafin Baroja in 1875, is also of ...

) is the Basque version of the European game family that includes real tennis and

squash Squash may refer to: Sports * Squash (sport), the high-speed racquet sport also known as squash racquets * Squash (professional wrestling), an extremely one-sided match in professional wrestling * Squash tennis, a game similar to squash but pla ...

. Basque players, playing for either the Spanish or the French teams, dominate international competitions. Mountaineering is popular due to the mountainous terrain of the Basque Country and its proximity to the

Edurne Pasaban Edurne Pasaban Lizarribar (born August 1, 1973) is a Basque Spanish mountaineer. On May 17, 2010, she became the first woman to climb all of the fourteen eight-thousander peaks in the World –and the 21st person to do so.mountains of greater than 8000 metre altitude; Alberto Iñurrategi and Juanito Oiarzabal have done so without supplementary oxygen. Josune Bereziartu and Patxi Usobiaga, a former world champion, are among top Basques in rock climbing. Related to mountaineering is

trail running Trail running is a sport-activity which combines running, and, where there are steep gradients, hiking, that is run "on any unpaved surface". It is similar to both mountain and fell running (also known as hill running). Mountain running may, h ...

, where the Basque Country plays host to the popular

Zegama-Aizkorri The Zegama-Aizkorri (also known a Zegama-Aizkorri Maratoia or Maratòn Alpina Zegama-Aizkorri) is an international skyrunning competition held for the first time in 2002. It runs every year in Spain from Zegama up to Aizkorri (1551 m MLS) and f ...

skyrunning races, held annually since 2002. One of the top

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

clubs in Europe, Saski Baskonia, is based in Vitoria-Gasteiz.

Bilbao Basket Club Basket Bilbao Berri S.A.D., commonly known as Bilbao Basket (), also known as Surne Bilbao Basket for sponsorship reasons, is a professional basketball club based in Bilbao, Spain. The team plays in the Liga ACB. Their home arena is the Bilba ...

and

Gipuzkoa BC Donosti Gipuzkoa Basket 2001 Saskibaloi Kirol Elkartea S.A.D., commonly known as Gipuzkoa Basket and as Acunsa GBC for sponsorship reasons, is a professional basketball club based in San Sebastián, Gipuzkoa, Spain. The team plays in the LEB Oro. ...

also play in Liga ACB, Spain's top league. In recent years surfing has taken off on the Basque shores, and

Mundaka Mundaka ( es, Mundaca) is a town and Municipalities of Spain, municipality located in the province of Biscay, in the autonomous community of Basque Country (autonomous community), Basque Country, northern Spain. On the coast, Mundaka is internation ...

and Biarritz have become spots on the world surf circuit.

Traditional Basque sports

The Basque country sporting tradition is linked to agricultural pursuits such as mowing with a

scythe A scythe ( ) is an agricultural hand tool for mowing grass or harvesting crops. It is historically used to cut down or reap edible grains, before the process of threshing. The scythe has been largely replaced by horse-drawn and then tractor mac ...

, or loading carts, but adapted as competitions with points awarded for specific criteria such as time, precision, elegance and productivity. Rural Basque sports include

Aizkolaritza Aizkolaritza is the Basque name for a type of wood-chopping competition. They are a popular form of ''herri kirol'' (rural sport) in the Basque Country. Competitions are commonly held at most festivals, especially town festivals and usually involv ...

(wood chopping), Harri-jasotzaileak (stone lifting),

Idi probak The ( Basque for "oxen tests") are the most popular form of Basque dragging games. It involves oxen, usually a pair, dragging a rock from one side of a square to another. In Spanish this sport is called (stone dragging) or (oxherd test) and ...

(leading oxen to drag rocks) and Sokatira ( tug-of-war).

References

External links

Eusko Jaurlaritza/Basque Government

The Basque People in the Middle Ages (historical article)

Buber's Basque Page

Euskara Kultur Elkargoa-''Basque Cultural Foundation''

EuskoSare Global Basque Community
{{DEFAULTSORT:Basque Country (Greater Region) Basque nationalism Divided regions Articles containing video clips