Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Later, the Industrial Age swept Europe, gaining a foothold in Iberia when the
Basques began using their rich iron deposits to make steel. Pioneering Basque in-
dustrialists set the tempo as they dragged Spain into the modern world. Cities such
as Bilbao were heavily industrialized, sparking an influx of workers from around
Spain (which gradually diluted Basque blood in the Basque Country).
The independence-minded Basques are notorious for their stubbornness. In
truth, as a culturally and linguistically unique island surrounded by bigger and
stronger nations, the Basques have learned to compromise. Historically Basques
have remained on good terms with outsiders, so long as their traditional laws, the
Fueros
, were respected. Though outdated, the
Fueros
continue to symbolize a self-
governance that the Basques hold dear. It is only when foreign law has been placed
abovethe
Fueros
—asmanyoftoday'sBasquesfeelSpanishlawis—thatthepeople
become agitated.
In recent years, much of the news of the Basques—especially in Spain—was
made by the terrorist organization ETA, whose goal has been to establish an inde-
pendent Basque state. (ETA stands for the Euskara phrase
Euskadi Ta Askatasuna,
