A Short History of the Basque Country.

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A Short History of the Basque Country

Archaeological and ethnographic findings indicate that Basque [people] evolved from Cro-Magnon [...] in this area over a period dating from about 40,000 years ago until distinct features were acquired approximately 7,000 years ago. Two thousand years later the sheep, not native to these lands, was introduced and horse and cattle farming came into being, as shown by Adolf Staffe. These circumstances made it necessary for the people to travel periodically and cultural contacts were thus made. This period in the history of the Basque people can only make sense if it is studied in conjunction with the cultures of the surrounding areas, in the basin of the River Ebro and the region of Aquitaine.

Jose Miguel de Barandiaran states "This area is of particular importance in Basque archaeology and linguistic history as it coincides with the area of seasonal migration of flocks in search of pastures in the Pyrenees and where Basque place names are found in general." Luis Michelena reports that the Basque language has been spoken by these peoples since around 6,000 B.C. Basque was spoken in the whole of South Aquitaine and eastwards, to inside Catalonia (proved by inscriptions and place names). From the sixth century B.C. Indo-European culture wiped out all the pre-Indo-European languages spoken in Europe up to that time, with the exception of the Basque language. Serious cultural and political problems arose from the above circumstances.

Thee first news of the Basque people comes to us through the ancient geographers, in particular Pliny and Ptolemy. The "Journey of Antoninus" mentions names that indicate that the land of the Basques extended, not only to Aquitaine in the north but also far down the River Ebro to the south.

P. Villasante says that the Basques, in calling themselves "Euskaldunak" (those who speak Basque [Euskera]) and the country "Euskalerria", i.e. Basque speaking country, are making cultural history in that it is the language that has moulded and given the Basque people a sense of unity, a sense of being a nation. Antonio Tovar comfirms this and explains the situation by saying that the Basques did not take part in the battles between Carthaginians and Romans; Silius Italicus refers to the fact that there were Basque soldiers in Hannibal's armies. The Basque only intervened to defend Sertorius, the Roman general who had shown respect for them. The relationship between Romans and Basques was cordial: Pompey founded Pompaelo, Pamplona, in the settlement that was Iruna (the city in Basque). Roman influence further north was less evident, however. This meant that the Basque language survived in its entirety, with its multiple influences.

In the third and fifth centuries the Basques defended themselves against the Barbarians who came south to the Iberian Peninsula. After fighting the Germanic Swabian tribes, they went into battle against the Visigoths. The latter gained several victories over the Basques and founded Victoriacum in the year 581 in the proximity of present day Victoria, which was in turn founded by Sancho the Wise on the site of the ancient settlement of Gasteiz.

The Basques moved to and fro on each side of their land of the Pyrenees and fought against the armies of Suintila, Recesvinto, and Wamba in the eighth century when Tarik disembarked in 711 with 7,000 Berber soldiers in what is now Gibraltar, and defeated the Goths. This saved the Basques from both Gothic and Moslem occupation.

Christianity probably penetrated the Basque country in the third and fourth centuries from the south. It may also have been introduced from the north. The centre of Christian activity may be taken as Calahorra, in Pamplona, which had a Bishop as far back as the times of the Visigoths. Oca had the Bishop of the Autrigones. In the north were Eauze, Aire, Bazas, Oloron, Lescar, and Dax. Paganism probably died out well before the eleventh century, perhaps, as sensed by Navarro Villoslada, even in the eighth century; although pagan and Christian practices lived side by side "as late as the downfall of the Visigoths". Manaricua states "It would be absurd to think that paganism ceased to exist completely from the moment Christianity began to penetrate these lands. If a Christian inscription does not authorize us to say that the Basque country was converted to Christianity, then neither does a pagan inscription lead us to the conclusion that the Basque country continued to be pagan."

The Basques, who did not constitute a monolithic political unity, but rather a people with a certain amount of confederate organization, began to establish themselves as a political unit, with the Duchy of Vasconia, which covered the area from the River Ebro, upwater from Saragossa, to the shores of the Garrone and which was established at the beginning of the seventh century, according to Ildefonso de Gurruchaga. Fredegaire, a French chronicler of the period, reports that the first Duke of Vasconia was Genial (602), imposed by the Franks. The Basques then became independent and at the beginning of the ninth century the Kingdom of Pamplona was established under King Inigo de Aritza. At this time battles were still taking place against the Franks to the north and the Arabs to the south. Kink Inigo was of the Iniguez family, who were much opposed to the territorial possessions of the Franks south of the Pyrenees, and he contributed greatly to the unification of the country. This Kingdom of Pamplona was later to be known as the Kingdom of Navarre.

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By then it had become a smaller territory, where the people with classical Basque features were settled. This region corresponded more or less to the area occupied by the present-day Basque Country.

When the boundaries were drawn in 1016 between Navarre and the County of Castile, what would now be the Basque country was included in Navarre. The reign of Sancho VII the Strong was the last in the line of Basque monoarchies beginning with that of Inigo or Eneko de Aritza. The line lasted four centuries until such time as Giupuzcoa, Alava, and Vizcaya broke away from the ...

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