Basques << basks >> are a group of people who live in northern Spain and southwestern France. About 21/2 million Basques live in Spain, and about 500,000 live in France.
The Basques have lived in northern Spain and the western Pyrenees Mountains for over 5,000 years. They lived there long before such early peoples as the Gauls and Iberians settled near them. The Basque language, Euskara, is not related to any known language. Most experts believe it is the oldest living language in Europe. About one-fourth of all Basques speak Euskara.
France and Spain have ruled the Basques for hundreds of years. In the 1800’s, movements began to preserve the Basque language and culture and to gain independence from Spain. In 1937, General Francisco Franco, the dictator of Spain, crushed the movements and abolished most rights of the Spanish Basques, including the use of Euskara.
In the 1960’s, many Spanish Basques renewed demands for a separate Basque government and culture. A group called Euskadi ta Askatasuna (ETA), which in Euskara means Basque Homeland and Freedom, began a campaign of violence. Spain’s government fought back, killing or arresting many ETA members.
In 1980, the Spanish government granted the Basques limited self-rule, making three Basque provinces a self-governing region within Spain. In 2003, the Spanish government banned Batasuna, a Basque separatist political party, which it accused of supporting ETA. Scattered attacks by ETA continued to occur. In 2008, the Supreme Court of Spain banned another political party—the Basque Nationalist Action party (ANV)—for ties to ETA. In 2011, ETA declared a permanent end to the use of violence to achieve their goals.
