It is a territory that, despite its name, is not an independent country, but an area of 20,000 square kilometers between Spain and France where the Basques live. Settled there more than 4,000 years ago, these people have preserved much of their original cultural traits, especially nationalism and the language, which is unrelated to any other. “Throughout all this time, the Basques had their territory occupied by Romans, Visigoths, Moors and Franks. Spain and France took their share around the 15th century”, says historian Maria Guadalupe Pedrero-Sánchez, from Unesp in Assis (SP). In the 17th century, the definitive demarcation of borders once and for all divided this people into two states. “In Spain, where 90% of the Basque territory is located, integration was more difficult than in France”, says geographer André Martin, from the University of São Paulo (USP).
During the Spanish Civil War (1936-1939), they fought General Francisco Franco, the nationalist leader who established a bloody dictatorship. In retaliation, the general ended the relative Basque political autonomy, further fueling the nationalism of that people and giving rise to terrorist organizations that defended the creation of an independent state. The most famous of these groups, ETA (short for Euskadi Ta Askatasua, or “Basque homeland and freedom”), appeared in 1959. Over the last four decades, terrorists have organized attacks against the central government in the name of independence. A small truce in the struggle came in 1978, with the promulgation of a new Spanish Constitution that favored the autonomy of the Basque Country. Since 1980, the nation has had its own parliament, but still no territory.
Read too:
– What snacks are eaten at the cinema in other countries?
– Who is the greatest people without a country?
– Where does the main naked race in the world take place?