Basque nationalism
Encyclopedia
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
Basque Autonomous Community
Basque Country (autonomous community)
The Basque Country is an autonomous community of northern Spain. It includes the Basque provinces of Álava, Biscay and Gipuzkoa, also called Historical Territories....
and north-west Navarre
Navarre
Navarre , officially the Chartered Community of Navarre is an autonomous community in northern Spain, bordering the Basque Country, La Rioja, and Aragon in Spain and Aquitaine in France...
, whereas in the French Basque Country support is low.
Basque nationalism, spanning three different regions in two states (the autonomous communities of Basque Country and Navarre in Spain, and the French Basque Country in France) is "irredentist in nature" as it favors political unification of all the Basque-speaking provinces (now divided in those three regions).
Fueros and Carlism
Basque nationalism is rooted in CarlismCarlism
Carlism is a traditionalist and legitimist political movement in Spain seeking the establishment of a separate line of the Bourbon family on the Spanish throne. This line descended from Infante Carlos, Count of Molina , and was founded due to dispute over the succession laws and widespread...
and the loss, by the laws of 1839 and 1876, of the Ancien Régime relationship between the Spanish Basque provinces and the crown of Spain
Spanish monarchy
The Monarchy of Spain, constitutionally referred to as The Crown and commonly referred to as the Spanish monarchy or Hispanic Monarchy, is a constitutional institution and an historic office of Spain...
. During this time, the reactionary
Reactionary
The term reactionary refers to viewpoints that seek to return to a previous state in a society. The term is meant to describe one end of a political spectrum whose opposite pole is "radical". While it has not been generally considered a term of praise it has been adopted as a self-description by...
Fuerista movement pleaded for the maintenance of the fueros system and territorial autonomy against the centralizing pressures from liberal
Liberalism
Liberalism is the belief in the importance of liberty and equal rights. Liberals espouse a wide array of views depending on their understanding of these principles, but generally, liberals support ideas such as constitutionalism, liberal democracy, free and fair elections, human rights,...
governments in Madrid
Madrid
Madrid is the capital and largest city of Spain. The population of the city is roughly 3.3 million and the entire population of the Madrid metropolitan area is calculated to be 6.271 million. It is the third largest city in the European Union, after London and Berlin, and its metropolitan...
. The Spanish government revoked part of the fuero
Fuero
Fuero , Furs , Foro and Foru is a Spanish legal term and concept.The word comes from Latin forum, an open space used as market, tribunal and meeting place...
s after the Third Carlist War
Third Carlist War
The Third Carlist War was the last Carlist War in Spain. It is very often referred to as the Second Carlist War, as the 'second' had been small in scale and almost trivial in political consequence....
. The fueros were charters granted by the successive kings of Castile and acted as part of the Basque legal system dealing with matters regarding the political ties of the Basque Provinces with the crown. The Fueros gave Basque subjects
Basque people
The Basques as an ethnic group, primarily inhabit an area traditionally known as the Basque Country , a region that is located around the western end of the Pyrenees on the coast of the Bay of Biscay and straddles parts of north-central Spain and south-western France.The Basques are known in the...
a privileged position in Spain with special tax and political status; basically, Basques were not subject to direct levee
Conscription
Conscription is the compulsory enlistment of people in some sort of national service, most often military service. Conscription dates back to antiquity and continues in some countries to the present day under various names...
to the Castilian army, although many volunteered, especially in the Spanish navy, which was led, among others, by Basque sailors like Juan Sebastián Elcano
Juan Sebastián Elcano
Juan Sebastián Elcano was a Basque Spanish explorer who completed the first circumnavigation of the world. As Ferdinand Magellan's second in command, Elcano took over after Magellan's death in the Philippines.-Early life:Elcano was born to Domingo Sebastián Elcano I and Catalina del Puerto...
.
Sabino Arana
The concept of a Basque nationalism was born out of the Carlist question and the influences from the Romantic European viewRomantic nationalism
Romantic nationalism is the form of nationalism in which the state derives its political legitimacy as an organic consequence of the unity of those it governs...
of nationalism in the nineteenth century.
The seminal ideologist of this process was Sabino Arana
Sabino Arana
Sabino Arana Goiri, self-styled as Arana ta Goiri'taŕ Sabin, , was a Spanish and Basque writer. He was the founder of the Basque Nationalist Party and father of Basque nationalism....
, founder of the Basque Nationalist Party
Basque Nationalist Party
The Basque National Party is the largest and oldest Basque nationalist party. It is currently the largest political party in the Basque Autonomous Community also with a minor presence in Navarre and a marginal one in the French Basque Country...
(PNV in its Spanish acronym). By the end of the 19th century Arana, coming from a Carlist background, created a xenophobic ideology centered on the purity of the Basque race and its so-called moral supremacy over other Spaniards (a derivation of the system of limpieza de sangre
Limpieza de sangre
Limpieza de sangre , Limpeza de sangue or Neteja de sang , meaning "cleanliness of blood", played an important role in modern Iberian history....
of Modern-Age Spain), anti-Liberal Catholic integrism
Integrism
Integrism is a term coined in early 20th century polemics within the Catholic Church, especially in France, as an epithet to describe those who opposed the "modernists", who sought to create a synthesis between Christian theology and the liberal philosophy of secular modernity. The term was...
, and deep opposition to the migration of other Spaniards to the Basque Country which had started at the first stages of the industrial revolution
Industrial Revolution
The Industrial Revolution was a period from the 18th to the 19th century where major changes in agriculture, manufacturing, mining, transportation, and technology had a profound effect on the social, economic and cultural conditions of the times...
.
In the early 20th century, Basque nationalism, developed from a nucleus of enthusiasts (non-native Basque speakers themselves) in Bilbao to incorporate the agrarian Carlists in Biscay and Gipuzkoa. The movement survived without any problems the dictatorship of Miguel Primo de Rivera
Miguel Primo de Rivera
Miguel Primo de Rivera y Orbaneja, 2nd Marquis of Estella, 22nd Count of Sobremonte, Knight of Calatrava was a Spanish dictator, aristocrat, and a military official who was appointed Prime Minister by the King and who for seven years was a dictator, ending the turno system of alternating...
under the guise of cultural and athletic associations.
Basque nationalism managed to employ Carlism in support of the Catholic Church as a barrier against leftist anti-clericalism
Anti-clericalism
Anti-clericalism is a historical movement that opposes religious institutional power and influence, real or alleged, in all aspects of public and political life, and the involvement of religion in the everyday life of the citizen...
in most of the Basque provinces.
Modern history
In 1936, the main part of the Christian democrat PNV sided with the Second Spanish RepublicSecond Spanish Republic
The Second Spanish Republic was the government of Spain between April 14 1931, and its destruction by a military rebellion, led by General Francisco Franco....
in the Spanish Civil War
Spanish Civil War
The Spanish Civil WarAlso known as The Crusade among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War among Carlists, and The Rebellion or Uprising among Republicans. was a major conflict fought in Spain from 17 July 1936 to 1 April 1939...
. The promise of autonomy was valued over the ideological differences, especially on the religious matter, and PNV decided to support the republican legal government, including member of the Popular Front
Popular Front (Spain)
The Popular Front in Spain's Second Republic was an electoral coalition and pact signed in January 1936 by various left-wing political organisations, instigated by Manuel Azaña for the purpose of contesting that year's election....
. Autonomy was granted in October 1936. A republican autonomous Basque government was created, with José Antonio Agirre (PNV) as Lehendakari
Lehendakari
The President of the Basque Government , usually known in English as the Basque regional president, is the head of government of Basque Country. The president leads the executive branch of the regional government....
(president) and ministers from the PNV and other republican parties (mainly leftist Spanish parties).
However, in 1937, roughly halfway through the war, Basque troops
Euzko Gudarostea
Euzko Gudarostea was the name of the army commanded by the Basque Government during the Spanish civil war. It was formed by Basque nationalists, socialists and communists under the direction of lendakari José Antonio Aguirre and coordinating with the army of the Second Spanish Republic...
, then under control of the Autonomous Basque Government
Basque Country (autonomous community)
The Basque Country is an autonomous community of northern Spain. It includes the Basque provinces of Álava, Biscay and Gipuzkoa, also called Historical Territories....
surrendered in an action brokered by the Basque church and the Vatican
Holy See
The Holy See is the episcopal jurisdiction of the Catholic Church in Rome, in which its Bishop is commonly known as the Pope. It is the preeminent episcopal see of the Catholic Church, forming the central government of the Church. As such, diplomatically, and in other spheres the Holy See acts and...
in Santoña
Santoña
Santoña is a town in the eastern coast of the autonomous community of Cantabria, on the north coast of Spain. It is situated by the bay of the same name. It is 45 km from the capital Santander. Santoña is divided into two zones, an urban plain, and a mountainous area, with Mount Buciero at its...
to the Italian allies of General Franco on condition that the Basque heavy industry and economy was left untouched.
Thus began one of the most culturally difficult periods of Basque history in Spain, due to immigration of non-Basque from other parts of Spain to serve a fast-paced industrialising economy which followed, thriving chiefly during the 1960s. This immigration was enhanced by the protectionist measures of the Franco regime, as the expanding Basque economy required more workers from elsewhere to fill the gap in the labour force. Simultaneously, Basque language was prohibited in those acts involving the public administration or the mass media, being only tolerated at some folkloric or clerical activities; the situation was milder for Basque language in Navarre and Álava, areas which sided with Franco's uprising.
For many leftists in Spain the surrender of Basque troops in Santoña (Santander
Cantabria
Cantabria is a Spanish historical region and autonomous community with Santander as its capital city. It is bordered on the east by the Basque Autonomous Community , on the south by Castile and León , on the west by the Principality of Asturias, and on the north by the Cantabrian Sea.Cantabria...
) is known as the Treason of Santoña
Santoña Agreement
The Santoña Agreement or Pact of Santoña was an agreement signed in the town of Guriezo, near Santoña, Cantabria, the August 24, 1937, during the Spanish Civil War, between politicians close to the Basque Nationalist Party , fighting with the Republican Side, and Italian forces fighting with the...
. Many of the nationalist Basque soldiers were pardoned if they joined the Francoist army in the rest of the Northern front. Basque nationalists submitted, went underground, or were sent to prison, and the movement's political leaders fled. Small groups escaped to the Americas
Americas
The Americas, or America , are lands in the Western hemisphere, also known as the New World. In English, the plural form the Americas is often used to refer to the landmasses of North America and South America with their associated islands and regions, while the singular form America is primarily...
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
and the Benelux
Benelux
The Benelux is an economic union in Western Europe comprising three neighbouring countries, Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg. These countries are located in northwestern Europe between France and Germany...
, of which only a minority returned after the restoration of democracy in Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
in the late seventies, or before.
During World War II the exiled PNV government attempted to join the Allies and settled itself in New York to gain American recognition and support, but soon after the war finished, Franco became an American ally in the context of the Cold War
Cold War
The Cold War was the continuing state from roughly 1946 to 1991 of political conflict, military tension, proxy wars, and economic competition between the Communist World—primarily the Soviet Union and its satellite states and allies—and the powers of the Western world, primarily the United States...
, depriving the PNV any chance for power in the Basque Country.
Political violence and devolved autonomy
In 1959, young nationalists (abertzaleAbertzale
Abertzale in the Basque language means "patriot", and it is mainly used to mean "Basque nationalist". It comes from the fusion of aberri with the suffix -zale .Although the term is synonym of "patriot", its common use...
ak) founded the separatist group ETA
ETA
ETA , an acronym for Euskadi Ta Askatasuna is an armed Basque nationalist and separatist organization. The group was founded in 1959 and has since evolved from a group promoting traditional Basque culture to a paramilitary group with the goal of gaining independence for the Greater Basque Country...
, which soon adopted a Marxist revolutionary policy in the 1960s. Inspired by movements like those of Castro
Fidel Castro
Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz is a Cuban revolutionary and politician, having held the position of Prime Minister of Cuba from 1959 to 1976, and then President from 1976 to 2008. He also served as the First Secretary of the Communist Party of Cuba from the party's foundation in 1961 until 2011...
in Cuba
Cuba
The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...
and Ho Chi Minh
Ho Chi Minh
Hồ Chí Minh , born Nguyễn Sinh Cung and also known as Nguyễn Ái Quốc, was a Vietnamese Marxist-Leninist revolutionary leader who was prime minister and president of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam...
in Vietnam
Vietnam
Vietnam – sometimes spelled Viet Nam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam – is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea –...
, the group aimed to establish an independent socialist Basque country through violence and extortion. ETA's first confirmed assassinations occurred in 1968, although it is not clear when it adopted assassination as a policy. It is currently the last remaining Spanish political group which supports violent direct action. At an ideological level, although ETA has not rejected race to be a defining feature of the Basque people, the organization is stressing instead the importance of language and customs.
When Spain re-emerged as a democracy in 1978, autonomy was restored to the Basques, who achieved a degree of self-government without precedent in modern Basque history. Thus, based on the fueros and their Statute of Autonomy
Statute of Autonomy
Nominally, a Statute of Autonomy is a law hierarchically located under the constitution of a country, and over any other form of legislation...
, Basques have their own police body and manage their own public finances with virtually no intervention from the central government of Spain. The Basque Autonomous Community has been led by the nationalist Christian democratic PNV since it was reinstated in the early 1980s until 2009 when PSE got into office. In Navarre
Navarre
Navarre , officially the Chartered Community of Navarre is an autonomous community in northern Spain, bordering the Basque Country, La Rioja, and Aragon in Spain and Aquitaine in France...
, Basque nationalism has failed to gain control of the Autonomous Community's government, but several Basque nationalist parties run races in certain municipalities.
Although France is a centralized State
Centralized government
A centralized or centralised government is one in which power or legal authority is exerted or coordinated by a de facto political executive to which federal states, local authorities, and smaller units are considered subject...
, Abertzaleen Batasuna, a Basque nationalist party maintains a presence in some municipalities through local elections.
Basque nationalist organizations
- AralarAralar PartyAralar is a Basque socialist and separatist political party in Spain. The party is led by Patxi Zabaleta. It is opposed to the violent struggle of ETA....
, leftist political party - AskatasunaAskatasunaAskatasuna is a Basque political party registered on the 31st August, 1998, outlawed in 2009....
, support for ETA prisoners - BatasunaBatasunaBatasuna was a Basque nationalist political party based mainly in Spain, where it was outlawed in 2003, after a court ruling declared proven that the party was financing ETA with public money. Batasuna is included in the "European Union list of terrorist persons and organizations" as a component...
, leftist political party, illegal in Spain on grounds of links with the armed organization ETA. It was known previously as Herri Batasuna and Euskal Herritarrok. - BatzarreBatzarreBatzarre is a political party in Navarre, Spain. It has a branch in the Basque Autonomous Community known as Zutik....
- BilduBilduBildu is a Basque nationalist, separatist and abertzale leftist political coalition active in the Basque Country and Navarre. It was official launched on 3 April 2011...
, political coalition formed in 2011 - Comunión Nacionalista Vasca, former political party
- ELA-STV, trade union
- Enbata
- ETAETAETA , an acronym for Euskadi Ta Askatasuna is an armed Basque nationalist and separatist organization. The group was founded in 1959 and has since evolved from a group promoting traditional Basque culture to a paramilitary group with the goal of gaining independence for the Greater Basque Country...
, separatist armed organization operating mainly in the Spanish Basque Country - Etxerat, relatives' and friends' support group of individuals subjected to state repression
- Euskadiko EzkerraEuskadiko EzkerraEuskadiko Ezkerra or EE was a Basque socialist political organisation. It was founded as a coalition of Euskal Iraultzarako Alderdia and other Basque Marxist forces in 1977 to present lists for the Spanish general elections in the constituencies of Vizcaya,...
, former leftist political party - Euskal EzkerraEuskal EzkerraEuskal Ezkerra was a political party in Euskadi, Spain. EuE was formed as break-away from Euskadiko Ezkerra in 1991 when EuE merged with Spanish Socialist Workers' Party....
, a splinter of Euskadiko Ezkerra - Eusko Abertzale EkintzaEusko Abertzale EkintzaBasque Nationalist Action is a Basque nationalist party based in Spain. Founded in 1930, it was the first Basque nationalist political party to exist running on a socialist program. On 16 September 2008, the party was outlawed by the Spanish Supreme Court based on ties with ETA...
, leftist political party - Eusko AlkartasunaEusko AlkartasunaEusko Alkartasuna is a Basque nationalist political party operating in Spain and France. The Basque language name means Basque Solidarity and abbreviated as EA. The party describes itself as a Basque nationalist, democratic, popular, progressive and non-denominational party...
, Social-Democratic political party - ESAIT, support for the Basque National teams in different sports
- Gazte Abertzaleak, the youth group of the Spanish Basque political party Eusko Alkartasuna, left of the PNV but not aligned with ETA or Batasuna
- Gestoras pro-Amnistía, support for ETA prisoners
- Herria 2000 Eliza, Catholic movement
- Ikasle Abertzaleak, Group of Basque nationalist students
- IparretarrakIparretarrakIparretarrak or IK was a Basque nationalist terrorist organization operating in the French Basque Country.It was founded in 1973 by Philippe Bidart, to date, 1982 remains as their most active year, with 32 attacks; despite having mostly targeted tourist developments, it has also assassinated a...
, violently clandestine organization operating in the French part of the Basque Country - IrrintziIrrintziIrrintzi is an armed Basque nationalist group or cell that acts in the French Basque Country . The word irrintzi refers originally to the traditional Basque folk high pitched scream used to express celebration or happiness....
, armed organization of the French Basque Country - Jagi-Jagi, former magazine
- LABLangile Abertzaleen BatzordeakLAB is a Basque nationalist trade union operating mainly in Spain currently led by Ainhoa Etxaide.It was created in 1974 by Jon Idigoras among others...
, leftist trade union - Nafarroa BaiNafarroa BaiNafarroa Bai is a Navarrese coalition of both left and right wing Basque nationalist parties which was created for the 2004 Spanish General election....
, Navarrese political party (coalition between some Basque nationalist political parties) - Partido Nacionalista VascoBasque Nationalist PartyThe Basque National Party is the largest and oldest Basque nationalist party. It is currently the largest political party in the Basque Autonomous Community also with a minor presence in Navarre and a marginal one in the French Basque Country...
, Christian-Democrat political party - Senideak, relatives of ETA prisoners
- SegiSEGISegi is a Basque pro-independence and revolutionary left-wing organization. It forms part of the Basque National Liberation Movement and is aligned with Langile Abertzaleen Batzordeak and Batasuna....
, Batasuna's youth group - SortuSortuSortu is a Basque socialist political party. Founded in February 2011, it is the first political party belonging to the Basque nationalist "abertzale left" that openly rejects ETA's violence....
, political party which attempted to form in 2011 but was banned - Udalbiltza, assembly of city councillors
- ZutikZutikZutik is a political party in Basque Country, Spain. Zutik was formed in 1991 through the merger of the EMK and LKI . Within Zutik there is a current affiliated to the United Secretariat of the Fourth International. It has a branch in Navarre known as Batzarre.Zutik members have been candidates on...
, leftist party
External links
- http://mondediplo.com/1998/02/08basqueBarbara Loyer, "Basque nationalism undermined by ETA," Le Monde DiplomatiqueLe Monde diplomatiqueLe Monde diplomatique is a monthly newspaper offering analysis and opinion on politics, culture, and current affairs. It was first created mainly for a diplomatic audience as its name implies...
(1998)]
See also
- CarlismCarlismCarlism is a traditionalist and legitimist political movement in Spain seeking the establishment of a separate line of the Bourbon family on the Spanish throne. This line descended from Infante Carlos, Count of Molina , and was founded due to dispute over the succession laws and widespread...
- Eusko Abendaren EreserkiaEusko Abendaren EreserkiaEuzko Abendaren Ereserkia is the official anthem of the Basque Country . The original title uses the orthography Euzko....
- José Antonio Aguirre
- Iñaki Kijera ZelarainIñaki Kijera ZelarainIñaki Kijera Zelarain was shot dead by a member of the Spanish National Police in a demonstration in favor of Basque political prisoners and refugees...
- IkurriñaIkurriñaThe ikurrina flag or ikurriña is a Basque symbol and the official flag of the Basque Country Autonomous Community of Spain.-Design:...
- Politics of FrancePolitics of FranceFrance is a semi-presidential representative democratic republic, in which the President of France is head of state and the Prime Minister of France is the head of government, and there is a pluriform, multi-party system. Executive power is exercised by the government. Legislative power is...
- Politics of SpainPolitics of SpainThe politics of Spain take place in the framework of a parliamentary representative democratic constitutional monarchy, whereby the Monarch is the Head of State and the President of the Government is the head of government in a multi-party system. Executive power is vested in the government...
- Sabino AranaSabino AranaSabino Arana Goiri, self-styled as Arana ta Goiri'taŕ Sabin, , was a Spanish and Basque writer. He was the founder of the Basque Nationalist Party and father of Basque nationalism....