Basque diaspora

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The Basque diaspora is the name given to describe people of Basque origin living outside their traditional homeland on the borders between Spain and France. Many Basques have left the Basque Country for other parts of the globe for economic and political reasons, with a substantial population in Chile and Colombia. [1] [2] [3]

Contents

Notably, the Basque diaspora is sometimes referred to as "the eighth province", indirectly referring to the historical seven Basque provinces. [4]

South America

Argentina

Basque Festival in Buenos Aires, Argentina, 12 May 2016 Euskal Jaiak 2016, Buenos Aires, Argentina.jpg
Basque Festival in Buenos Aires, Argentina, 12 May 2016

People of Basque descent make up 10% of Argentina's population, [5] and it was a major destination for Basques emigrating from both Spain and France in the 19th and 20th centuries. Basques have left an indelible imprint on Argentine culture and politics, with many place names and surnames, including those of several Presidents. After several generations, a sense of Basque heritage is still strong, maintained through numerous Basque cultural centres in major cities. Argentine sportspeople with Basque surnames have frequently been nicknamed El Vasco.

Chile

The Basques arrived in Chile in the 18th century from their homeland in the Basque Country, including both the Basque Provinces in northern Spain and the ones in southwestern France, as merchants and due to their hard work and entrepreneurship, rose to the top of the social scale and intermarried into the Chilean elites of Castilian descent. This union is the basis of the Chilean elite of today. The Basque settlers also intermarried into the Mestizo population of central Chile in the middle of the colonial period to form the large Castizo population that exists in Chile today; Castizos makeup modern lower-middle and lower classes. Thousands of Basque refugees fleeing the Spanish Civil War in 1939 also settled and have many descendants in the country and have even intermarried with other Spanish ethnic groups other than Castilians as well as other European ethnic groups. Population estimates of Basque-Chileans range from 30% (5,000,000) to as high as 40% (7, 700,000). [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11] [12] [13]

Miguel de Unamuno stated that two things could be clearly attributed to the Basques: The Jesuits and the Republic of Chile. [14]

Colombia

Colombia was one of early focus of Basque immigration; it is estimated that at least 40% of the Coffee Axis and Antioquia's population have Basque origin (2,800,000 people). [15]

Peru

A notable percentage of Peruvian people have at least one Basque surname, with more than 6 million or 18% of the national population. [16] They trace back their presence to colonial times. [17]

Uruguay

It is estimated that up to 10% of Uruguay's population has at least one parent with a Basque surname. [18] The first wave of Basque immigrants to Uruguay came from the French side of the Basque country beginning about 1824.

Venezuela

The first wave of Basque immigration to Venezuela consisted of Conquerors and Missionaries, during the Colonization of Venezuela. [19] The second wave of Basque immigration started in 1939, as a result of the Spanish Civil War. [20]

North America

Canada

Mexico

An estimated 2% of Mexicans have some amount of Basque descent, and that community has increased in size from immigration from Spain in the early 20th century. The Spanish Civil War in the 1930s brought over tens of thousands of refugees from the Basque Country to political asylum in Mexico and Latin America. [21]

United States

A Basque center in Boise, Idaho Basque center in Boise, Idaho.JPG
A Basque center in Boise, Idaho
Christmas notice partly in Basque ("Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!" in Basque), also from Boise Basque notice in Boise, Idaho.JPG
Christmas notice partly in Basque ("Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!" in Basque), also from Boise
A Basque pelota in Flagstaff, Arizona. Constructed in 1926. Basque Pelota Flagstaff Arizona.jpg
A Basque pelota in Flagstaff, Arizona. Constructed in 1926.

There are about 57,000 people of Basque descent living in the United States, according to the 2000 census. This number is highly disputed, however, since before the 1980 census there had never been a federally recognized category for Basques. As a result, Basques were usually categorized as Spanish or French. It is speculated that there are many more Americans of Basque descent who still classify themselves as Spanish, French or Latin American.

The largest concentration of Basque Americans is in the Boise, Idaho, area, where approximately 15,000 Basque Americans live. [22] Boise is home of the Basque Museum and Cultural Center [23] and hosts a large Basque festival known as Jaialdi every five years. They also host a number of other Basque festivals, including the San Inazio Festival each summer [24] and there are many Basque restaurants located in Boise. [25] A large majority of the Boise Basque community traces its ancestry to Bizkaia (Vizcaya in Spanish, Biscay in English) in northern Spain. [26]

Asia

Philippines

Basque immigrants comprised a big part, if not most, of the Spanish expatriate population of the Philippines during the Spanish colonial period. [27] Most of them were soldiers and sailors in the military and navy of the viceroyalty of New Spain, merchants, missionaries, and clergy. Families of Basque ancestry, over time, slowly integrated into the Philippine social landscape, developing themselves into some of the most prominent families in the country. Basque descendants in the Philippines today consider themselves to be Filipinos and remain influential in the business and political sectors of the country. They include the Aboitiz family, the Zobel de Ayala family, the Araneta family and political clans like the Zubiri and the Ozámiz families. [28] [29] [30]

See also

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Demographics of Chile</span>

Chile's 2017 census reported a population of 17,574,003 people. Its rate of population growth has been decreasing since 1990, due to a declining birth rate. By 2050 the population is expected to reach approximately 20.2 million people, at which point it is projected to either stagnate or begin declining. About 85% of the country's population lives in urban areas, with 40% living in Greater Santiago alone. The largest agglomerations according to the 2002 census are Greater Santiago with 5.6 million people, Greater Concepción with 861,000 and Greater Valparaíso with 824,000.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2005 Basque regional election</span>

The 2005 Basque regional election was held on Sunday, 17 April 2005, to elect the 8th Parliament of the Basque Autonomous Community. All 75 seats in the Parliament were up for election.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chileans</span> Ethnic group native to Chile; people identified with the country of Chile

Chileans are an ethnic group and nation native to the country of Chile and its neighboring insular territories. Most Chileans share a common culture, history, ancestry and language. The overwhelming majority of Chileans are the product of varying degrees of admixture between European ethnic groups with peoples indigenous to Chile's modern territory. Chile is a multilingual and multicultural society, but an overwhelming majority of Chileans have Spanish as their first language and either are Christians or have a Christian cultural background.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Immigration to Colombia</span>

Immigration to Colombia during the early 19th and late 20th Century, is what makes it one of the most diverse countries in the world, above other countries in the Latin region. Colombia inherited from the Spanish Empire harsh rules against immigration, first in the Viceroyalty of New Granada and later in the Colombian Republic. The Constituent Assembly of Colombia and the subsequent reforms to the national constitution were much more open to the immigrants and the economic aperture. However naturalization of foreigners, with the exception of those children of Colombians born abroad, it is still difficult to acquire due 'Jus soli' law is not allowed by the government, and only 'Jus sanguinis' law is accepted. Immigration in Colombia is managed by the "Migración Colombia" agency.

Immigration to Chile has contributed to the demographics and the history of this South American nation. Chile is a country whose inhabitants are mainly of Iberian, mostly of Andalusian and Basque origin, and Native American, mostly descended from Mapuche peoples. A moderate numbers of European immigrants settled in Chile during the 19th and 20th centuries, mainly Spanish, as well as Germans, British, French, Southern Slavs, and Italians who have made additional contributions to the racial complex of Chile. However, this immigration was never in a large scale, contrasting with mass migrations that characterized Argentina, Uruguay and southern Brazil, and therefore, anthropologically, its impact with lesser consequence. At the same time, some separate cultural aspects, such as German cakes, British afternoon tea, and Italian pasta, were preserved. The fusion is also visible in the architecture of Chilean cities. This intermarriage and mixture of cultures and races have shaped the present society and culture of Chile.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Spanish Chileans</span> Ethnic group

Spanish Chileans refer more often to Chileans of post-independence Spanish immigrant descent, as they have retained a Spanish cultural identity. People of pre-independence Spanish descent are typically not classified as Spanish Chileans even though they form a large majority of the Chilean population and have Spanish surnames and ancestry. This is because they rejected Spanish identity for the emergent Chilean one on the eve of national independence.

Many Basques arrived in Chile in the 16th, 17th, 18th, 19th and early 20th century from their homeland in northern Spain and parts of southwestern France, as conquistadors, soldiers, sailors, merchants, priests and labourers. Due to their traditional hard work and entrepreneurship, many of them rose to the top of the social scale and intermarried into the Chilean elites of Castilian descent, giving birth to the new Basque-Chilean aristocracy in Chile. This union is the basis of the Chilean elite of today. But also, they immensely contributed to the ethnic make up of the bulk of the Chilean population. The Basque settlers also intermarried into the Mestizo and Castizo population of central Chile in the middle of the colonial period to form the large Criollo population that exists in Chile today; Castizos create modern middle and lower classes. Many years after the first waves of settlers, thousands of Basque refugees fleeing Spanish Civil War in 1939 also settled and have many descendants in the country and have even intermarried with Spanish ethnic groups other than Castilians, and other European ethnic groups. An estimated 1.6 million (10%) to 5 million (30%) Chileans have a surname of Basque origin. This figure is to the least as the number of Basque descendence is great and plentiful. Due to Basque migration, Chile has a higher number of people of Basque descent than the Basque Country itself.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2001 Basque regional election</span>

The 2001 Basque regional election was held on Sunday, 13 May 2001, to elect the 7th Parliament of the Basque Autonomous Community. All 75 seats in the Parliament were up for election.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1998 Basque regional election</span>

The 1998 Basque regional election was held on Sunday, 25 October 1998, to elect the 6th Parliament of the Basque Autonomous Community. All 75 seats in the Parliament were up for election.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1994 Basque regional election</span>

The 1994 Basque regional election was held on Sunday, 23 October 1994, to elect the 5th Parliament of the Basque Autonomous Community. All 75 seats in the Parliament were up for election.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1986 Basque regional election</span>

The 1986 Basque regional election was held on Sunday, 30 November 1986, to elect the 3rd Parliament of the Basque Autonomous Community. All 75 seats in the Parliament were up for election.

Juan Manuel Bilbao Azkarreta, also known as Jon Bilbao or Jon Bilbao Azkarreta was a university instructor, a bibliographer, and an activist for Basque nationalism. He compiled the bibliographic section of the Enciclopedia general ilustrada del País Vasco (1970), and the monumental Eusko-bibliographia: diccionario de bibliografía vasca, which has been described as "one of the most significant reference works on Basque studies".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Spanish diaspora</span> Emigrants from Spain and their descendants

The Spanish diaspora consists of Spanish people and their descendants who emigrated from Spain.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2012 Basque regional election</span>

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Basque center</span> Ethnocultural community centers

Basque centers are associative organizations that appeared in the end of the 19th century in cities that have really an important presence of Basque emigration, with the purpose of helping each other and keeping links with Basque culture and homeland. They are also meeting points for the Basque people who live all around the world far away from their land.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2020 Basque regional election</span>

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">José María Portillo Valdés</span> Spanish historian

José María "Txema" Portillo Valdés is a Spanish historian, professor of Contemporary History at the University of the Basque Country. He is an expert in Spanish constitutional history.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2024 Basque regional election</span>

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References

  1. ↑ Kerexeta, Jaime de; Abrisqueta, Francisco de (1985). Vascos en Colombia. Editorial Oveja Negra. ISBN   9789580609513.
  2. ↑ ¿Qué tanto heredó Colombia del País Vasco?, Señal Colombia, 16 de marzo de 2018. Consultado el 15 de junio de 2020.
  3. ↑ 3.500 apellidos vascos en Colombia. El Correo, 1 de junio de 2017. Consultado el 15 de junio de 2020.
  4. ↑ The eighth province (in Spanish)
  5. ↑ "Presente y futuro de los Centros Vascos en Argentina (I de III)". www.euskonews.eus. Retrieved 13 April 2023.
  6. ↑ ""Los jóvenes vasco-chilenos están al día de todo lo que está pasando en Euskadi"". El Diario Vasco. 24 July 2006. Retrieved 13 April 2023.
  7. ↑ "entrevista al Presidente de la Cámara vasca". Archived from the original on 11 May 2009. Retrieved 13 April 2023.
  8. ↑ vascos Ainara Madariaga: Autora del estudio "Imaginarios vascos desde Chile La construcción de imaginarios vascos en Chile durante el siglo XX".
  9. ↑ "De los vascos en Chile y sus instituciones". www.euskonews.eus. Retrieved 13 April 2023.
  10. ↑ Contacto Interlingüístico e intercultural en el mundo hispano.instituto valenciano de lenguas y culturas. Universitat de València Cita: " Un 20% de la población chilena tiene su origen en el País Vasco".
  11. ↑ (in Spanish) La población chilena con ascendencia vasca bordea entre el 15% y el 20% del total, por lo que es uno de los países con mayor presencia de emigrantes venidos de Euskadi. Archived 2010-02-02 at the Wayback Machine
  12. ↑ El 27% de los chilenos son descendientes de emigrantes vascos. Archived 2013-08-19 at the Wayback Machine DE LOS VASCOS, OÑATI Y LOS ELORZA Waldo Ayarza Elorza.
  13. ↑ "Jon Erdozia, nuevo Delegado en Chile: 'Iniciativas vasco chilenas como Emprebask son exportables a otros países'". Euskal Kultura. Retrieved 13 April 2023.
  14. ↑ "«La Compañía de Jesús y la República de Chile son las dos grandes hazañas del pueblo vascongado», solía decir don Miguel de Unamuno". Miguel de Unamuno used to say "The Company of Jesus and the Republic of Chile are the two great achievements of the Basque people."
  15. ↑ Luis Gorostiza (1912)
  16. ↑ "Error en la dirección de la página". www.espejodelperu.com.pe. Retrieved 13 April 2023.
  17. ↑ http://www.espejodelperu.com.pe/Poblacion-del-Peru/Inmigracion-Vasca-al-Peru.htm / Los vascos en el Perú
  18. ↑ Christian, Shirley (21 November 1989). "Montevideo Journal: Basques Have Lots to Boast of (and at Times Do)". The New York Times. Retrieved 26 April 2010. A fourth of Uruguay's three million people have at least one parent with a Basque surname.
  19. ↑ Cierbide, Ricardo (1997). "The Compañía Guipuzcoana de Caracas and the Basques in Venezuela during the XVIII century" (PDF). Revista Internacional de Estudios Vascos (in Spanish). 1 (42). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2 February 2017. Retrieved 25 January 2017.
  20. ↑ "Se cumplen 70 años de la migración que dio origen a la actual comunidad vasca organizada de Venezuela" (in Spanish). Euskal kultura. 2009. Retrieved 25 January 2017. En las primeras horas del día 9 de Julio de 1939, el paquebote Cuba, de la Compagnie Générale Trasatlatique atracaba en el puerto venezolano de La Guaira,
  21. ↑ "Vascos noroccidente Mexico". www.euskosare.org. Archived from the original on 24 May 2010. Retrieved 13 April 2023.
  22. ↑ Jaialdi 2005 kicks off [ permanent dead link ], The Idaho Statesman, July 25, 2005.
  23. ↑ "Visiting the Basque Block in downtown Boise, Idaho". Dear Boise, Idaho. 27 April 2019. Retrieved 23 June 2019.
  24. ↑ JaclyTravel, Boise's Basque Block & the San Inazio Festival , retrieved 16 October 2022
  25. ↑ Brandt, Jaclyn (9 August 2020). "5 of the best Basque restaurants in Boise". Dear Boise, Idaho. Retrieved 16 October 2022.
  26. ↑ "The Basque Community of Boise, Idaho". Archived from the original on 16 August 2020. Retrieved 9 February 2006.
  27. ↑ VIIème Congrès d'Etudes Basques = Eusko Ikaskuntzaren VII. Kongresua = VII Congreso de Estudios Vascos. Sociedad de Estudios Vascos. Donostia [San Sebastián]: Eusko Ikaskuntza. 2003. ISBN   84-8419-917-7. OCLC   60787017.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: others (link)
  28. ↑ Marciano R. de Borja (2005). Basques in the Philippines. The Basque Series. University of Nevada Press. ISBN   978-0-87417-590-5.
  29. ↑ Morella, Cecil (21 March 2010). "House of Aboitiz: Basques who helped build the Philippines". ABS-CBN News. Retrieved 31 August 2013.
  30. ↑ Benjamin Espiritu III (29 September 2010). "The Basque Culture and its Contributions to the Philippines". School of Humanities, Ateneo de Manila University. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 31 August 2013.
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