SWS-País Vasco/History

Question 1

What is the name of the Basque language?

Answer 1

• Euskera
• unrelated to any known language

Question 2

What is the origins of the Basque people?

Answer 2

• date back to Neolithic farmers who mixed with local hunters before period of isolation
• inhabited area 3,500-5,000 years ago

Question 3

Who were the Vascones?

Answer 3

local tribes that lived in north-central Spain and SW France during Iron Age

Question 4

When did the Romans arrive to Vasconia?

Answer 4

2nd century BCE; called area Vasconia

Question 5

What type of relationship did the local tribes have with the Romans?

Answer 5

• strong allies with Romans
• Romans allowed them to keep local language and customs

Question 6

Which groups tried to control Vasconia?

Answer 6

• Visigoths attacked after fall of Roman Empire, but Vascones defended themselves
• Franks attacked the Visigoths; both attacked Vasconia, but neither won
• Vascones aligned themselves with Franks; led to peace for decades and kept them independent from Moors

Question 7

What happened to the Basque region during the Reconquista?

Answer 7

• Kingdom of Pamplona formed around city of Pamplona
• absorbed entire Basque region, parts of Aragón, Castile and areas of French Gascony

Question 8

When did commercial wine production first start in the Basque region?

Answer 8

• references date back to 964; mention vineyards and link to local monastery
• viticulture continued during conflicts between Christians and Moors

Question 9

What happened to the Kingdom of Pamplona in mid-11th century?

Answer 9

• Castile and Aragón became separate kingdoms
• Aragón absorbed Pamplona (renamed Navarra)
• Basque language and culture receded

Question 10

How did Navarra become landlocked?

Answer 10

• gained independence in 1157
• fought Castile for Basque provinces
• received provinces in peace treaty for ceding territory (e.g. La Rioja)
• short-lived agreement; Castile invaded in 1199 and annexed western Basque

Question 11

What are fueros?

Answer 11

• special rights granted to Basque provinces in exchange for allegiance to Spanish kings
• Kingdom of Castile granted these rights when it incorporated the Basque provinces in 14th century

Question 12

How did the wine industy evolve from the 13-15th centuries?

Answer 12

• wine production continued during this time
• local wines protected and controlled
• local ordinances forbade entry of wines from outside region until all wine from current harvest had been consumed

Question 13

When did txakoli wine first appear?

Answer 13

first reference to vino chacolín in 1623

Question 14

Who controlled the Basque provinces during the 18th and 19th century?

Answer 14

• Bourbon monarchy
• UK and allies
  
  • captured San Sebastián in 1813 while at war with French
  • British and Portuguese soldiers looted, rioted and burned city; killed 1,000 people

Question 15

How the Basque provinces regain its autonomy in the early 19th century?

Answer 15

• Castile army repelled the French when they tried to reclaim city after the British and Portuguese gained control of it
• Ferdinand VII’s rule restored in Spain
• Basques got local autonomy through fueros

Question 16

What was the effect of Industrialization on the Basque region during late 19th and 20th centuries?

Answer 16

• embraced industrialization; important commercial and industrial center after WWI
• immigrants from all over Spain settled in region to work in factories
• influx of immigrants provoked anger toward them
• impetus for modern Basque nationalistic movement

Question 17

Who is Sabino Arana (1865-1903)?

Answer 17

• Basque writer; father of Basque nationalism
• created Basque Nationalistic Party in 1895
  
  • ideology centered on purity of Basque race and supremacy over others
• named Basque provinces ‘Euzkadi’

Question 18

What led to the decline of the Basque wine industry in the late 19th century?

Answer 18

1. vineyards ravaged by mildew and phylloxera
2. competition from foreign wines
3. changes in consumer tastes
4. reduction of labor force due to lure of industrial jobs

Question 19

How did the Basque region keep its autonomy during the 1930s?

Answer 19

• sided with the Second Spanish Republic when General Franco launched civil war in 1936
• lost autonomy once Franco took control of country

Question 20

What did General Franco do to the Basque region in retaliation for supporting the Republic?

Answer 20

• had German planes bomb Guernica on 26 April 1937
• 1,500 died

Question 21

How did the Basque region respond to the bombing of Guernica?

Answer 21

• created the Euskadi Ta Askatasuna (ETA) in 1959
  
  • based on Sabino Arana’s ideology
• nationalism transformed into political terrorism

Question 22

How were the vineyards revitalized in the 1980s?

Answer 22

• Association of Txakolineros (txakoli producers) of Bizkaia formed in 1980
• replanted vineyards that had been abandoned or destroyed

Question 23

When was the first DO awarded? Which DO?

Answer 23

DO Getariako Txakolina in 1989

Question 24

How did the return to democracy after Franco’s death affect the Basque provinces?

Answer 24

• Spanish Consituttion in 1978 allowed provinces to reunify as single autonomous community called Euskadi
• Navarra refused to join; negotiated separate status as own autonomous community