The Basque Republic, or Euskadi, is a
nation made up of the various Basque speaking regions and regions that were
traditionally under Basque control. The Basque are one of a tiny remnant of
populations, left over from those that existed in Europe before the Roman
invasions. Because of their ancient history as a nation the Basque nationalist
movement is one of the strongest in the region, after Catalonia.
The Basque region has very clearly
defined territorial claims, due to the ancient inhabitation of the area. The
final nation is made up of the Basque Autonomous Community, currently in Spain.
Added to this is the Navarre Chartered Community, also a part of Spain at the
moment. As well as this there are several enclaves of neighbouring regions,
which will be absorbed into the new nation. In the Basque Autonomous Community
is an enclave of the neighbouring Castile-Leon Autonomous community called Trevino,
which will cede to the Basque nation. An enclave of the Cantabria Autonomous
Community, called Valle de Villaverde, also exists in Basque country and will
merge with the new nation.
Finally the French regions of northern
Basque country will join the new country. This includes half of the
Pyrenees-Atlantiques Department, divided along the historical border with
Bearn.
The Basque flag is the Ikurrina banner,
which was created by Sabino Arana, the founder of modern Basque nationalism and
adopted in 1894. It began only as a representation of the Biscay region but by
the Spanish Civil War, in the 1930’s, all Basque regions had adopted it as their
national flag.
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