All Basques are nobles, or so it’s said. This is one reason that Basques were so prevalent in the military – they had opportunities only afforded to nobles. The reality is a bit more complicated. Only some Basques, or better said only some provinces, enjoyed this so-called universal nobility. And for most, it didn’t really […]
On the way down from Mount Oiz, as we took the back road that passed by Goikoetxebarri – my dad’s childhood home – Jon Zuazo told us about how the pine trees of the surrounding forests were dying and how eucalyptus had been recruited to replace it. However, because eucalyptus can be so hard on […]
A few weeks ago, after a few days in Barcelona, we went to the Basque Country. Traveling with a childhood friend and his family, we found an awesome Airbnb in Bermeo, a delightful port city on the coast of Bizkaia. I’d been there before – my dad’s brother Jose and his wife Eli used to […]
The 1800s was a time of great upheaval in the Basque Country, embodied by the Carlist Wars. These grew out of the widening gap between the rich and powerful and the common people, developing over centuries, who were being lost in the globalization and unification of markets. Prices soared as speculators inserted themselves in markets. […]
The phrase Zazpiak Bat – the seven [are] one – signifies the unity of the seven Basque provinces – four in Spain and three in France. It is also the nickname of the Basque coat of arms – the Euskal Harmarriak. But wait, there are only six panels in the coat of arms! Hold on… […]
I have to admit that, whenever I look into the medieval history of the Basque Country, I quickly get lost. There are simply so many players, so many changing alliances, and so many intermarriages that it is hard for me to keep track – theoretical physics is easier! However, one thing is clear: the importance […]
During my first visit to the Basque Country, my cousin took me to Elorrio, not far from his hometown of Durango in Bizkaia. He took me and a friend to Argiñeta, which was simply amazing. They’ve collected a number of hilarriak, or funeral steles, there. These are large stone grave markers that are carved with […]
For about a decade now, the Quality of Government Institute, at the University of Gothenburg in Sweden, has been evaluating the quality of government of the various regions in Europe. By measuring impartiality, corruption, and quality, they generate a so-called European Quality of Government Index (EQI), a number that describes the overall quality of government […]
I hate peppers. They smell nasty when they are cooking and they taste vile. My dad had literally hundreds of pepper plants in his garden. He would always give me a hard time when I ate his homemade chorizo, which I loved, saying how could I like those when they had peppers in them? When […]
Looking back at the history of Europe, it is amazing how what we view today as solid political borders and national identities often grew out of random happenstance. If Joan of England had made it to Castile to wed Peter the Cruel, instead of succumbing to the Black Death at the age of fourteen, how […]
