Basques: Difference between revisions

| native_name      = {{native name|eu|Euskaldunak}}<br>{{native name|es|Vascos}}<br>{{native name|fr|Basques}}

| image            = Basque Ancestry by Country.png

| image_caption    =  

| langs            = [[Basque language|Basque]] ([[First language|L1]] or [[heritage language|heritage]])<br>[[Spanish language|Spanish]], [[French language|French]], [[Gascon dialect|Gascon]] ([[Second language|L2]] or regional L1)

| rels            = [[Christianity]] (mostly [[Catholicism]]),<ref>Estadísticas Enseñanzas no Universitarias – Resultados Detallados – Curso 2007–2008, Ministry of Education, educacion.es – Compiled by Fernando Bravo. FP: Formación Profesional (Vocational training).</ref> others

The '''Basques''' ({{IPAc-en|b|ɑː|s|k|s}} {{respell|BAHSKS}} or {{IPAc-en|b|æ|s|k|s}} {{respell|BASKS}}; {{langx|eu|euskaldunak}} {{IPA|eu|eus̺kaldunak|}}; {{langx|es|vascos}} {{IPA|es|ˈbaskos|}}; {{langx|fr|basques}} {{IPA|fr|bask||audio=LL-Q150 (fra)-Lyokoï-basques.wav}}) are a [[Southwestern Europe]]an [[ethnic group]],<ref>{{cite encyclopedia|url=http://kids.britannica.com/comptons/article-9273123/Basque|title=Basque|encyclopedia=Britannica Online for Kids|access-date=16 March 2013|archive-date=11 March 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160311161839/http://kids.britannica.com/comptons/article-9273123/Basque|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/oi/authority.20110803095450510|title=Basque|work=Oxford Reference online|access-date=3 November 2016|archive-date=24 September 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924123542/http://www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/oi/authority.20110803095450510|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Totoricaguena2004">{{cite book|last=Totoricaguena|first=Gloria Pilar|title=Identity, Culture, and Politics in the Basque Diaspora|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tEvEw7LEoWYC&pg=PA59|access-date=3 November 2016|year=2004|publisher=University of Nevada Press|isbn=978-0-87417-547-9|page=59}}{{Dead link|date=April 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> characterised by the [[Basque language]], a [[Basque culture|common culture]], shared [[genetic ancestry]] to the ancient [[Vascones]] and [[Aquitanians]], and are considered among the last remaining [[Paleo-European]] populations in Europe.<ref name="GüntherValdiosera2015">{{cite journal|last=Günther|first=Torsten|display-authors=etal|title=Ancient genomes link early farmers from Atapuerca in Spain to modern-day Basques|journal=Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences|volume=112|issue=38|year=2015|pages=11917–11922|doi=10.1073/pnas.1509851112|pmid=26351665|pmc=4586848 |bibcode=2015PNAS..11211917G|doi-access=free}}</ref><ref name="Olalde2019">{{cite journal|last=Olalde|first=Iñigo|display-authors=etal|title=The genomic history of the Iberian Peninsula over the past 8000 years|journal=Science|volume=363|issue=6432|year=2019|pages=1230–1234|doi=10.1126/science.aav4040|pmid=30872528|pmc=6436108 |bibcode=2019Sci...363.1230O}}</ref><ref name="Bycroft2019">{{cite journal|last=Bycroft|first=Clare|display-authors=etal|title=Patterns of genetic differentiation and the footprints of historical migrations in the Iberian Peninsula|journal=Nature Communications|volume=10|issue=1|year=2019|article-number=551 |doi=10.1038/s41467-018-08272-w|pmid=30710075

[[File:Leitza.JPG|thumb|[[Leitza]], in Navarre, Basque Country]]

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.

Spanish author [[Miguel de Unamuno]] said: "There are at least two things that clearly can be attributed to Basques: the [[Society of Jesus]] and the [[Republic of Chile]]."<ref>{{cite web|first=Pedro|last=Laín Entralgo|author-link=Pedro Laín Entralgo|url=http://www.filosofia.org/hem/194/alf/ez2302a.htm|title=Chile al trasluz|trans-title=Chile held up to the light|language=es|publisher=Filosofia.org|date=January 1949|access-date=2 November 2016|quote='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...'|archive-date=14 May 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190514164955/http://www.filosofia.org/hem/194/alf/ez2302a.htm|url-status=live}}</ref> Chilean historian Luis Thayer Ojeda estimated that 48 percent of immigrants to Chile in the 17th and 18th centuries were Basque.<ref name="DouglassBilbao2005">{{cite book|last1=Douglass|first1=William A.|author2=Jon Bilbao|author-link2=Jon Bilbao|title=Amerikanuak: Basques in the New World|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8KzfK1QwxDIC&pg=PA81|access-date=3 November 2016|year=2005|publisher=University of Nevada Press|isbn=978-0-87417-625-4|page=81}}{{Dead link|date=April 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> Estimates for the number of [[Basque Chilean|Basque descendants]] living in Chile range between 2.5 and 5&nbsp;million; the Basque have been a major, if not the strongest, influence in the country's [[cultural]] and [[economic]] development.

In [[Bolivia]], the [[War of the Vicuñas and Basques]] (Spanish: Guerra de Vicuñas y Vascongados), was an armed conflict in [[Charcas 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).

In Mexico most descendants of Basque émigrés are concentrated in the cities of [[Monterrey]], [[Saltillo]], [[Reynosa]], [[Camargo, Chihuahua|Camargo]], and the states of [[Jalisco]], [[Durango]], [[Nuevo León]], [[Tamaulipas]], [[Coahuila]], and [[Sonora]]. The Basques were important in the mining industry; many were ranchers and vaqueros ([[cowboy]]s), and the rest opened small shops in major cities such as [[Mexico City]], [[Guadalajara, Mexico|Guadalajara]] and [[Puebla]]. In [[Guatemala]], most Basques have been concentrated in [[Sacatepequez Department]], [[Antigua Guatemala]], [[Jalapa Department|Jalapa]] for six generations now, while some have migrated to [[Guatemala City]].

The largest of several important Basque communities in the United States is in the area around [[Boise, Idaho]], home to the Basque 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 the [[University of Nevada, Reno|University 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 in [[Nevada]] since the late 19th century.

The identifying language of the Basques is called Basque or ''Euskara'', spoken today by 25%-30%<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.eke.eus/en/kultura/euskara-the-basque-language/basque-sociolinguistics|title=Basque sociolinguistics|publisher=Eke.eus|access-date=2019-10-21|archive-date=2019-08-02|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190802142337/https://www.eke.eus/en/kultura/euskara-the-basque-language/basque-sociolinguistics|url-status=live}}</ref> 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 term ''euskaldun'' and their country as ''Euskal 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 and [[French language]]s 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.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://m.noticiasdenavarra.com/2019/01/06/politica/navarra/navarra-es-la-comunidad-con-menor-sentimiento-de-espanolidad|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190202214354/https://www.noticiasdenavarra.com/2019/01/06/politica/navarra/navarra-es-la-comunidad-con-menor-sentimiento-de-espanolidad|archive-date=2 February 2019|title=Navarra es la comunidad con menor sentimiento de españolidad}}</ref> 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, Basque [[France national rugby union team|rugby union]] player for France, [[Imanol Harinordoquy]], has said about his national identity:<blockquote>"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."<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/rugbyunion/international/france/2431544/France-look-to-Basque-prodigy.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220111/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/rugbyunion/international/france/2431544/France-look-to-Basque-prodigy.html |archive-date=2022-01-11 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |title=France look to Basque prodigy |first=Brendan |last=Gallagher |work=[[telegraph.co.uk]] |date=27 February 2002 |access-date=6 May 2012}}{{cbignore}}</ref></blockquote>

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.<ref>{{cite web|last=Moreno Cabrera|first=Juan Carlos|url=http://www.euskara.euskadi.net/r59-3693/en/contenidos/informacion/artik12_1_aurreiritziak_06_10/en_aurreiri/artik12_1_aurreiritziak_06_10.html|title=Misconceptions about Basque|publisher=euskara.euskadi.net|date=19 October 2006|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070302214757/http://www.euskara.euskadi.net/r59-3693/en/contenidos/informacion/artik12_1_aurreiritziak_06_10/en_aurreiri/artik12_1_aurreiritziak_06_10.html|archive-date=2 March 2007}}</ref> 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.

[[File:Artzaiak inudeak 2009 001.jpg|thumb|Artzaiak eta inudeak festival, [[Donostia]], Basque Country.]]

Nowadays, according to one single opinion poll, only slightly more than 50% of Basques profess some kind of belief in [[God]], while the rest are either [[Agnosticism|agnostic]] or [[Atheism|atheist]]. The number of religious skeptics increases noticeably for the younger generations, while the older ones are more religious.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.eitb.com/argazki/forum_re/caracterizacion.pdf|title=Opinion poll on religion by GIZAKER|publisher=[[EITB]] the Basque Country's public broadcast service.|access-date=2010-08-22|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110728103246/http://www.eitb.com/argazki/forum_re/caracterizacion.pdf|archive-date=2011-07-28}}</ref> Catholicism is, by far, the largest religion in [[Basque Country (autonomous community)|Basque Country]]. In 2019, the proportion of Basques that identify themselves as Roman Catholic was 60%,<ref name=CIS2019Euskadi>{{Cite web |url=http://www.cis.es/cis/export/sites/default/-Archivos/Marginales/3260_3279/3263/Marginales/es3263mar_PVasco.pdf |author=''Centro de Investigaciones Sociológicas'' (Centre for Sociological Research) |title=Macrobarómetro de octubre 2019, Banco de datos – Document 'Población con derecho a voto en elecciones generales y residente en España, País Vasco (aut.) |date=October 2019 |page=23 |access-date=4 February 2020 |language=es |archive-date=4 February 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200204181948/http://www.cis.es/cis/export/sites/default/-Archivos/Marginales/3260_3279/3263/Marginales/es3263mar_PVasco.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref> while it is one of the most secularized communities of Spain: 24.6% were non-religious and 12.3% of Basques were [[atheist]].

Legends also speak of many and abundant genies, like ''[[jentilak]]'' (equivalent to [[giant (mythology)|giants]]), ''lamiak'' (equivalent to [[nymph]]s), ''[[mairu]]ak'' (builders of the cromlechs or stone circles, literally [[Moors]]), ''iratxoak'' ([[imp]]s), ''[[sorginak]]'' ([[witch]]es, priestess of Mari), and so on. [[Basajaun]] is a Basque version of the [[Woodwose]]. There is a [[trickster]] named ''[[San Martin Txiki]]'' ("St Martin the Lesser").

[[File:Ioaldunak 001.jpg|thumb|''Ioaldunak'' dancers of Navarre.]] The ''jentilak'' ('[[Giant (mythology)|Giants]]'), on the other hand, are a legendary people which explains the disappearance of a people of [[Stone 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 the ''ferrons'', 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 Basque [[Santa Claus]]. They gave name to several toponyms, as ''[[Jentilbaratza]]''.

The Basque Country also features several professional basketball teams, the most notable of which is [[Saski Baskonia]] from Vitoria-Gasteiz, one of the 11 clubs that own stakes in [[Euroleague Basketball]], the company that operates the continent-wide [[EuroLeague]] and [[EuroCup Basketball|EuroCup]]. They are currently joined in the Spanish top flight, [[Liga ACB]], by [[Bilbao Basket]], with the two clubs involved in a [[Basque basketball derby|longstanding rivalry]]. Another club from the Basque Country, [[Gipuzkoa Basket]] from Donostia, currently plays in the second-level [[Liga Española de Baloncesto|LEB Oro]].

[[Rugby union]] is a popular sport among French Basques, with major clubs [[Biarritz Olympique]] and [[Aviron Bayonnais]] traditional powerhouses in the premier division of French Rugby (the [[Top 14]]). Biarritz regularly play [[European Rugby Champions Cup|Champions Cup]] matches, especially knockout matches, at [[Estadio Anoeta]] in [[San Sebastián|San Sebastian]]. Games between the Basque clubs and Catalan club [[USA Perpignan]] are always hard fought.

Each April the week-long [[Tour of the Basque Country]] showcases the beautiful rolling Basque countryside. [[Miguel Indurain]], born in [[Villava]] is one of the most celebrated cyclists in the world having won 5 consecutive [[Tour de France|Tours de France]].

{{Main|Basque Country (greater region)#Politics}}{{See also|Basque Country independence}}[[File:Giza katea, Urbia.JPG|thumb|2014 [[human chain (politics)|human chain]] for the Basque Country's right to [[self-determination]]]]

In Navarre, Basque has been declared an endangered language, since the anti-Basque and conservative government of [[Navarrese People's Union]] opposes the symbols of Basque culture,<ref>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 of [[Navarre]] 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..."</ref> highlighting a Spanish identity for Navarre.