Tag Archives: carlist wars

Basque Fact of the Week: The Matxinadas, the Peasant Revolts

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. […]

Basque Fact of the Week: Bilbo, the Capital of Bizkaia

Though my dad grew up in Bizkaia, because I lived in Donostia when I spent my year abroad in the Basque Country, I never really got to know the capital of his home province. Bilbo always seemed a bit foreboding, a bit too big for me to grasp during a day excursion. Of course, I’ve […]

An Interview with Xabier Ormaetxea

Conducted in Summer 2006 Long time visitors of Buber’s Basque Page will recognize Xabier Ormaetxea. He was the driving force behind the Surname Research Project that was such a big part of Buber’s Basque Page in the early days. Those surname pages are still among the most popular areas of Buber’s Basque Page. However, beyond […]

Today in Basque History: Salt Riots, Amorebieta Agreement

1634: In the early morning, six rebels involved in the Salt Uprising, riots in Bizkaia protesting a salt tax imposed by Philip IV, are arrested, including their leader Juan de Larrabaster. They are tried and executed that same day. The salt tax had greatly affected the cod trade, of great importance to Bizkaia. 1872: The […]