Basque diaspora

From Freepedia

The Basque diaspora is a name given to describe the dispersion of the Basque people throughout the world. The Basques do not have an independent country to call their own, being divided between the Spanish and French states. Many Basques have left the Basque Country for other parts of the globe for economical or political reasons.

Basques in the United States

There are about 40,000 people of Basque descent living in the United States, according to the 1990 census. This number is highly disputed, however, since before the 1980 census there had never been a federally recognized category for Basques. As a result, Basques were usually categorized as Spanish or French. It is speculated that there are many more Americans of Basque descent who still classify themselves as Spanish, French or South American.

The largest concentration of Basque Americans is in California's Central Valley and in Nevada. The American City with the largest Basque population is Reno which has 10,000 Basques, according to some estimates. Reno is also home to the nation's only Basque Studies Department at the University of Nevada.

There has been a Basque presence in the Americas from the age of Columbus. Basques under the crown of Castile were among the explorers, priests and Conquistadors of the Spanish Empire. Placenames like Durango and Biscayne Bay remember their foundations. Basques began to come to English-speaking America during the gold rush. The first wave of Basques were already part of the diaspora who were living in Chile and Argentina and came when they heard word of the discovery of gold. When the goldrush did not pan out for most Basque immigrants, the majority turned to ranching and sheep-herding in California's Central Valley, and later in Northern Nevada. Many more Basques arrived from the Basque Country upon hearing of the success of thier comrades in America. Basque immigration was effectively cut off by the 1921 National Origins Quota Act. Basque immigration was restored by Nevada Senator McCarran's 1952 immigration act, which allowed a quota of 500 Basques (techinically 'Spanish Sheep Herders').

See also

• Francis Xavier
• Juana Inés de la Cruz
• Legazpi
• Port-aux-Basques
• Jai-Alai
• Che Guevara
• Simón Bolívar
• Real Compañía Guipúzcoana de Caracas
• Pedro Arrupe
• Augusto Pinochet
• Euzkadi (tyres)
• Thunder in the Sun