Basque

Basque
/bask/, n.
1. one of a people of unknown origin inhabiting the western Pyrenees regions in France and Spain.
2. their language, not known to be related to any other language.
3. (l.c.) a close-fitting bodice, sometimes having an extension that covers the hips.
4. (l.c.) the extension of this bodice or of a doublet.
adj.
5. of or pertaining to the Basques or their language.

* * *

I
Spanish Vasco

Member of a people of unknown origin living in Spain and France along the Bay of Biscay and in the western Pyrenees mountains in the region of the Basque Country.

About 850,000 true Basques live in Spain and another 130,000 in France. Physically the Basques are similar to other Western European peoples; the Basque language, however, is not Indo-European. The Basques have sought autonomy from Spain since the 19th century. A national government was proclaimed in the Spanish Civil War, which saw the brutal bombing of Guernica (1937). After the war, the government and many Basques went into exile as Francisco Franco abolished their special privileges. The Basque separatist movement was rekindled after Franco's death and the establishment of a liberal Spanish monarchy in 1975. Despite the granting of limited autonomy in 1978, the more militant separatists, including the terrorist ETA (Basque Homeland and Liberty), continued a campaign for complete independence.
II
(as used in expressions)
Pays Basque
Balboa Vasco Núñez de
País Vasco
Gama Vasco da 1st count da Vidigueira

* * *

people
Spanish  Vasco , or  Vascongado Basque  Euskaldunak , or  Euskotarak 

      member of a people who live in both Spain and France in areas bordering the Bay of Biscay and encompassing the western foothills of the Pyrenees Mountains. In the late 20th century probably about 850,000 true Basques (Basque Country) lived in Spain and 130,000 in France; (France) as many as 170,000 Basques may live in emigrant communities outside Europe, mostly in South America and the United States. In Spain their home is the comunidad autónoma (“autonomous community”) of the Basque Country, which includes the provincias of Álava, Guipúzcoa, and Vizcaya (Biscay); there are also some Basques in Navarra (Navarre). In France, Basques are the chief element of the population in the département of Pyrénées-Atlantiques; the area mainly occupied by Basques is called informally the Pays Basque (Basque Country). In physique the Basques are not notably different from the other peoples of western Europe; their language, however, is not Indo-European (see Basque language).

      The land inhabited by the Basques has a mild and damp climate and is largely hilly and wooded. It contains mines of iron ore, which early on favoured the development of industries, particularly shipbuilding. The Basques traditionally farmed small holdings of bottom land and carefully tended slopes of grass, which they cut by hand and fed to stabled cows. Apple orchards and mountainous sheep pastures were also important to their economy. The farmhouses are loosely grouped into villages or are scattered over the lower slopes. The household (including buildings, farm, and family) was an entity of great permanence that was formerly defended by a traditional law of inheritance which ensured the descent of the property intact to a single heir or heiress. Traditional Basque culture therefore revolved around this individual farmstead, called the caserío, the isolation of which resulted in a strong sense of family kinship among its occupants.

      Besides being farmers of small acreages and shipbuilders, the Basques were traditionally seafarers. Basques played a leading part in the colonization of the New World, sailing with the conquistadors and being among the first to exploit the whaling grounds of the Bay of Biscay and the cod fisheries off Newfoundland. The Basques' ethnic solidarity and their position astride the Franco-Spanish frontier also made smuggling one of their traditional occupations. The Basques have a strong allegiance to Roman Catholicism. They were not converted to Christianity until the 10th century, however, and, although they are now among the most observant of Spanish Catholics, animism survives in their folklore.

      Traditional Basque culture has declined with the pronounced urban and industrial development of the region, and emigration to France and the Americas has sharply reduced the population living in caseríos. In most of the larger industrial towns, not only Basque customs but also the Basque language tend to be lost. Basque is still spoken in remote inland mountain areas, but in the late 20th century, virtually all Basques spoke French or Spanish, whether or not they spoke Basque.

      The early history of the Basques remains a subject for speculation, but Roman authors record the presence of the tribe of Vascones in lands corresponding roughly to the province of Navarra. They appear to have resisted the Visigoths, the Franks, the Normans, and, on occasion, the Moors, who occupied the valley of the Ebro. It was the Basques, not the Moors, as the Chanson de Roland relates, who cut the rear guard of Charlemagne's army to pieces at the Battle of Roncesvalles in AD 778. The territories of the Basques had been incorporated into the kingdom of Navarre by the 10th century, and by the end of the political turmoil of the Middle Ages, the provinces of Alava, Biscay, and Guipuzcoa had become united with Castile and Aragon. However, in both Spain and France the Basques retained a large measure of local autonomy and privileges in matters of trade, taxation, and military service. These privileges were incorporated in bodies of traditional Basque law known as the fueros (fuero), or fors, which determined the rights of the Basques' popular assemblies and their rules of inheritance. The Basques showed a fierce attachment to their autonomous status, and in Spain the state's attempts to encroach upon their local privileges prompted the Basques in the 1830s to support the cause of Don Carlos, the conservative pretender to the Spanish throne, with disastrous results. They similarly supported the unsuccessful Carlist rebellion of the 1870s, and as a punishment the government finally abolished the fueros, though the Basques managed to retain some degree of local autonomy.

      The advent of the Spanish Republic in 1931 divided the political aspirations of the Basques: Guipúzcoa, Vizcaya, and, to a certain extent, Álava were prepared to work for a status of relative autonomy within the republic, and for this reason they remained loyal to it in spite of its anti-Catholic policy. Navarra, on the other hand, was eager to see the republic overthrown and furnished one of the strong points of the Nationalist rebellion in 1936 and some of its best Carlist troops. The city of Bilbao, which had always been a stronghold of liberalism against the Carlists, became at the same time the centre of republican government and also of Basque nationalism. The fighting lasted until September 1937 and outside Spain is chiefly remembered for the bombing, supposedly by German aircraft, of Guernica, the traditional assembly place of the provincia of Vizcaya and a symbol of the Basque nation in Nationalist eyes. After the war, many Basques went into exile as Francisco Franco's government abolished the Basques' special privileges.

      After the death of Franco and especially after the establishment of the liberal Spanish monarchy in 1975, the Basques engaged in vigorous demonstrations for local autonomy, which the Spanish government granted in some measure in 1978–79. The increased freedoms and home rule, however, did not satisfy the more militant separatists, such as the hard-line “military” wing of the Euzkadi Ta Azkatasuna (ETA; (ETA) Basque for “Basque Homeland and Liberty”), a terrorist liberation organization seeking Basque self-determination and secession from Spain. The Basques thus continued on an unsettled course in their relations with the dominant Spaniards.

* * *


Universalium. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужно решить контрольную?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Basque Y — is the name given to the AVE (Spanish high speed train) network being built between the three cities of the Basque Country Autonomous Community, Bilbao, Vitoria Gasteiz and San Sebastián, Spain. CharacteristicsIt will transport cargo and… …   Wikipedia

  • Basque —    Basque (euskera), unlike the other languages of Spain, is not a Romance or even an Indo European language, but is one of the oldest languages spoken in Europe. Very little is known about its provenance or early development. In Spain it is… …   Encyclopedia of contemporary Spanish culture

  • Basque — may refer to: * The Basque language * The Basque people * The Basque national football team * A type of clothing: **A short basque; see torsolette **An old basque; see basque (clothing) See also: * List of Basques * The Basque Country (historical …   Wikipedia

  • basque — 1. (ba sk ) s. f. 1°   Autrefois petite partie d étoffe qui était au bas du corps du pourpoint et où il y avait des oeillets. 2°   Partie découpée et tombante de certains vêtements. •   Le bout de ses souliers, la basque de son habit, J. J. ROUSS …   Dictionnaire de la Langue Française d'Émile Littré

  • Basque — n 1.) a person from the mountainous area between southern France and northern Spain 2.) [U] the language of the Basques >Basque adj ▪ Basque separatists (=people who want the Basque area to become a separate state) …   Dictionary of contemporary English

  • basque — BASQUE. s. f. Piece du bas d un pourpoint. Pourpoint à petites basques, à grandes basques. tirer un homme par la basque. On dit, Aller comme un basque, courir comme un basque, pour dire, Marcher viste …   Dictionnaire de l'Académie française

  • basque — ► NOUN ▪ a woman s close fitting bodice, typically having a short continuation below waist level. ORIGIN from BASQUE(Cf. ↑Basque), referring to traditional Basque dress …   English terms dictionary

  • Basque — (b[.a]sk), n. [F.] 1. One of a race, of unknown origin, inhabiting a region on the Bay of Biscay in Spain and France. [1913 Webster] 2. The language spoken by the Basque people. [1913 Webster] 3. A part of a lady s dress, resembling a jacket with …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • basque — [bæsk] n [Date: 1800 1900; : French; Origin: Old French baste, from Old Provençal basta seam ; influenced by Basque of the Basque people of northern Spain and southwest France ] a piece of underwear for a woman that covers her body from under her …   Dictionary of contemporary English

  • Basque — BASQUE, см. Pas de basque и Saut de basque …   Балет. Энциклопедия

  • Basque — (b[.a]sk), a. [F.] Pertaining to Biscay, its people, or their language. [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”