There was an additional republican secessionist process in the Basque Country, Catalonia, Galicia, a Cantonal republican uprising in Murcia and Andalucía, and a constant political tug of war between the Antillean Criollo Spaniards ( Cuban and Puerto Rican ) abolitionists and slavers.

Both European ( the coastal regions, such as the Basque Country, Catalonia, and Asturias ) and Overseas – Antilles and pacific were able to grow uninterruptedly.

Basque ( endonym:, ) is the ancestral language of the Basque people, who inhabit the Basque Country, a region spanning an area in northeastern Spain and southwestern France.

Native speakers are concentrated in a contiguous area including parts of the Spanish Autonomous Communities of the Basque Country and Navarre and in the western half of the French Département of Pyrénées-Atlantiques.

The Basque Autonomous Community is an administrative entity within the binational ethnographic Basque Country incorporating the traditional Spanish provinces of Biscay, Gipuzkoa, and Álava, which retain their existence as politico-administrative divisions.

In most areas of the Basque Country, the educational Model D, where all subjects are taught in Basque, except " Spanish language and literature " ( which is taught in Spanish ) is now the predominant model.

The region in which Basque is spoken today has contracted over centuries and is thus smaller than what is known as the Basque Country, or Euskal Herria in Basque.

Today Basque holds co-official language status in the Basque regions of Spain: the full autonomous community of the Basque Country and some parts of Navarre.

Basque has no official standing in the Northern Basque Country of France and French citizens are barred from officially using Basque in a French court of law.

The 2011 figures show an increase of some 64, 000 speakers compared to the 2006 figures to 714, 136, with significant increases in the Autonomous Community but a slight drop in the Northern Basque Country to 51, 100, overall amounting to an increase to 27 % of all inhabitants of Basque provinces ( 2, 648, 998 in total ).

* Basque Country ( greater region ), a nation between Spain and France

It belongs to both vernacular cultural regions of Basque Country and Gascony.

Bayonne's location close to the border, but also within the Basque Country straddling both France and Spain, gave it an often privileged position in commerce.

The Musée Basque is the finest ethnographic museum of the entire Basque Country.

An example is the Aran Valley ( now a Gascon-speaking part of Catalonia ), for ( h ) aran is the Basque word for " valley ".

In Spain dolmens can be found in Galicia ( such as Axeitos, pictured below ), Basque Country and Navarre ( like the Sorgin Etxea ) and the basque name for theme is Trikuharri or Jentiletxe, Catalonia ( like Cova d ' en Daina or Creu d ' en Cobertella ), Andalusia ( like the Cueva de Menga ) and Extremadura ( like " Dolmen de Lácara ").

In the 2004 European Parliament election the EFA was reduced to four MEPs two of the SNP ( Ian Hudghton and Alyn Smith ), one of PC ( Jill Evans ) and one of the Republican Left of Catalonia ( ERC ; Bernat Joan i Mari, replaced at the mid-term by MEP Mikel Irujo of Basque EA ) plus two affiliate members ( Tatjana Ždanoka of For Human Rights in United Latvia ( PCTVL ) and László Tőkés, independent MEP and former member of the Democratic Alliance of Hungarians in Romania ( UMDR ).

The Republic devolved substantial autonomy to the Basque Country and to Catalonia.

It comprises 17 autonomous communities ( Andalusia, Aragon, Asturias, Balearic Islands, Canary Islands, Cantabria, Castile and León, Castile – La Mancha, Catalonia, Extremadura, Galicia, La Rioja, Community of Madrid, Region of Murcia, Basque Country, Valencian Community, Navarre ) and 2 autonomous cities ( Ceuta and Melilla ).

During World War II, the Spanish Falangist media agitated for irredentism claiming for Spain the French Navarre, French Basque Country and Roussillon ( French Catalonia ) as well.

Spanish law recognises the autonomous communities of Andalusia, Aragon, Balearic Islands, Canary Islands, Catalonia, Valencia, Galicia and the Basque Country as " nationalities " ( nacionalidades ), while in Italy, the German speakers of South Tyrol are considered to be Austrian nationals.

The Spanish Pyrenees are part of the following provinces, from east to west: Girona, Barcelona, Lleida ( the latter three Catalonia ), Huesca ( Aragon ), Navarra and Guipúzcoa ( the latter part of the Basque Country ).

The Pyrenean region possesses a varied ethnology, folklore and history: see Andorra ; Aragon ; Ariège ; Basque Country ; Béarn ; Catalonia ; Navarre ; Roussillon.

The principal languages spoken in the area are Spanish, French, Catalan ( in Catalonia and Andorra ), Basque, and Aragonese

Regional parties, mainly the Basque Nationalist Party ( EAJ-PNV ) from the Basque Country, and Convergence and Union ( CiU ) and the Socialists ' Party of Catalonia ( PSC ) from Catalonia, have also played key roles in Spanish politics.

More power was devolved to the so-called " historical nationalities " — the Basque Country, Catalonia and Galicia.

Castilian identity is thus excluded from the historical nationalities of Spain such as Catalonia, Galicia and the Basque Country, but also other autonomous communities of Spain which due to historical reasons have their own strong identities, such as Andalusia, Asturias, Aragon, Balearic Islands, Canary Islands and the Valencian Community.

Catalonia, the Basque Country, and Galicia were designated " historic nationalities " and granted autonomy through a rapid and simplified process.

* Catalonia, the Basque Country and Galicia — as " historical nationalities "— were granted autonomy through a fast and simplified process ;

Besides Andalusia, Catalonia, the Basque Country and Galicia, which identified themselves as nationalities, other communities have also taken that denomination in accordance to their historical regional identity, such as the Valencian Community, the Canary Islands, the Balearic Islands, and Aragon.

There used to be a clear de facto distinction between so called " historic " communities ( Basque Country, Catalonia, Galicia, Andalusia ) and the rest.

As another example, the Basque Country, Navarre and Catalonia have full-range police forces of their own: Ertzaintza in the Basque Country, Policía Foral in Navarre and Mossos d ' Esquadra in Catalonia.

Percentage of people fluent in Basque language in Navarre ( 2001 ).

Basque experienced a rapid decline in Alava and Navarre during the 19th century.

Official status of the Basque language in Navarre

The language has official status in those territories that are within the Basque Autonomous Community, where it is spoken and promoted heavily, but only partially in Navarre.

Here the " Ley del Vascuence " (" Law of Basque "), seen as contentious by many Basques, divides Navarre into three language areas: Basque-speaking, non-Basque-speaking, and mixed.

* in Navarre 11. 1 % were fluent Basque speakers, 7. 6 % passive speakers and 81. 3 % did not speak Basque.

Taken together, in 2006 out of a total population of 2, 589, 600 ( 1, 850, 500 in the Autonomous Community, 230, 200 in the Northern Provinces and 508, 900 in Navarre ), there were 665, 800 who spoke Basque ( aged 16 and above ).

Francis Xavier was born in the family castle of Xavier ( Xabier, toponymic name whose origin comes from " etxaberri " meaning " new house " in the Basque language ) in the Kingdom of Navarre on 7 April 1506 according to a family register.

The two resistances, Basque Navarre and Cantabrian Asturias, despite their small size, demonstrated an ability to maintain their independence.

On the other hand, two communities ( the Basque Country and Navarre ) are " communities of chartered regime ", that is, they have full fiscal autonomy, whereas the rest are " communities of common regime ", with limited fiscal powers ( the majority of their taxes are administered centrally and redistributed among them all for fiscal equalization ).

Basque Country leading with Madrid and Navarre.

It comprises the autonomous communities of the Basque Country and Navarre in Spain and the Northern Basque Country in France.

Sometimes, especially in northern Spain, they are also called pinchos ( pintxos in Basque ) in Asturias, in Navarre, in La Rioja ( Spain ), the Basque Country, Cantabria and in some provinces, such as Salamanca, because many of them have a pincho or toothpick through them.