Background of the Basque

       The basque inhabit an area of northern Spain and southern France around the Bay of Biscay and have been there for thousands of years. No one knows the exact origin of the Basque but many believe they are descendants of the hunter-gatherer tribe of the Cro-Magnon who first lived in Europe 35,000 years ago.
      The basque have prospered for so long because of there unique geographical location. (see Below map).

They lived in the foothills of the Pyrenees Mountains. This coupled with their somewhat infertile lands caused other countries and tribes to leave them alone for there was nothing to gain. This allowed them to prosper and to be left alone, until 1500 when the Castilian (Spanish) forces conquered the Basque territory. however, they were given a great amount of autonomy. In the 1900 Spain and France started to pressure them to assimilate but they refused, causing them to lose some of their rights in the 19th century.
      Today the Basque are still not independent but do control their own police force, industry, agriculture, taxation, and media.