134-559: Spanish and French government victory [REDACTED] [REDACTED] [REDACTED] Spain [REDACTED] France Anti-communist paramilitaries: Basque National Liberation Movement : 1980s 1990s 2000s The Basque conflict , also known as the Spain–ETA conflict , was an armed and political conflict from 1959 to 2011 between Spain and the Basque National Liberation Movement ,
268-571: A constitution for universal representation under a constitutional monarchy was declared, but after the fall of the Bonapartist regime, the Spanish king dismissed the Cortes Generales, set on ruling as an absolute monarch . The French occupation of mainland Spain created an opportunity for overseas criollo elites who resented the privilege towards Peninsular elites and demanded retroversion of
402-479: A "definitive cessation of its armed activity". Spanish premier José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero described the move as "a victory for democracy , law and reason". The term "Basque conflict" is used either to define: France was not initially involved in the conflict with ETA nor was it ever targeted by the organization, and the French only slowly began to cooperate with Spanish law enforcement, beginning in 1987, regarding
536-652: A "democratic process" that "must be developed in a complete absence of violence". Due to these demands, ETA announced in September that they were stopping their armed actions. On 17 October, an international peace conference was held in Donostia-San Sebastián, aimed at promoting a resolution to the Basque conflict. It was organized by the Basque citizens' group Lokarri , and included leaders of Basque parties, as well as six international personalities known for their work in
670-688: A dictatorship that lasted for almost four decades. During Franco's dictatorship , Basque language and culture were banned, institutions and political organisations abolished (to a lesser degree in Alava and Navarre), and people killed, tortured and imprisoned for their political beliefs. Although repression in the Basque Country was considerably less violent than in other parts of Spain, thousands of Basques were forced to go into exile, usually to Latin America or France. Influenced by wars of national liberation such as
804-571: A female figure with a rabbit at her feet, and Strabo called it the "land of the rabbits". The word in question actually means " Hyrax ", possibly due to the Phoenicians confusing the two animals. There is also the claim that "Hispania" derives from the Basque word Ezpanna , meaning "edge" or "border", another reference to the fact that the Iberian Peninsula constitutes the southwest corner of
938-562: A five-point statement that included a plea for ETA to renounce any armed activities and to demand instead negotiations with the Spanish and French authorities to end the conflict. It was seen as a possible prelude to the end of ETA's violent campaign for an independent Basque homeland. Three days later – on 20 October – ETA announced a "definitive cessation of its armed activity". They said they were ending their 43-year armed campaign for independence and called on Spain and France to open talks. Spanish premier Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero described
1072-450: A group of social and political Basque organizations which sought independence from Spain and France. The movement was built around the separatist organization ETA , which had launched a campaign of attacks against Spanish administrations since 1959. ETA had been proscribed as a terrorist organization by the Spanish, British, French and American authorities at different moments. The conflict took place mostly on Spanish soil, although to
1206-539: A large measure of regional autonomy. Irish Republican Army The Irish Republican Army ( IRA ) is a name used by various resistance organisations in Ireland throughout the 20th and 21st centuries. Organisations by this name have been dedicated to anti-imperialism through Irish republicanism , the belief that all of Ireland should be an independent republic free from British colonial rule. The original Irish Republican Army (1919–1922) , often now referred to as
1340-409: A list of 8 coordinates to the authorities which showed the locations of weapons caches in southwestern France used by the group. The caches were reported to have contained 120 firearms, about 3 tonnes of explosives and several thousand rounds of ammunition, which were seized by the Spanish and French authorities. The Spanish government stated that ETA will gain no impunity for their disarmament, and urged
1474-410: A loss of sympathisers, with even some ETA prisoners and members of Herri Batasuna condemning the killing. That same year, the Spanish government arrested 23 leaders of Herri Batasuna for allegedly collaborating with ETA. After the arrest, the government started to investigate Herri Batasuna's ties with ETA, and the coalition changed its name to Euskal Herritarrok, with Arnaldo Otegi as their leader. In
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#17328517360581608-402: A new Spanish far-right nationalist group appeared, carrying out dozens of attacks in the Basque Country. The organisation was dismantled in 2009. In 2009 and 2010, ETA suffered even more blows to its organization and capacity, with more than 50 members arrested in the first half of 2010. At the same time, the banned Abertzale left started to develop documents and meetings, where they committed to
1742-549: A puppet kingdom satellite to the French Empire was installed with Joseph Bonaparte as king. The 2 May 1808 revolt was one of many uprisings across the country against the French occupation. These revolts marked the beginning of a devastating war of independence against the Napoleonic regime. Further military action by Spanish armies, guerrilla warfare and an Anglo-Portuguese allied army, combined with Napoleon's failure on
1876-528: A reaction against the gallicised elites and following defeat in the field, peace was made with France in 1795 at the Peace of Basel in which Spain lost control over two-thirds of the island of Hispaniola . In 1807, a secret treaty between Napoleon and the unpopular prime minister led to a new declaration of war against Britain and Portugal. French troops entered the country to invade Portugal but instead occupied Spain's major fortresses. The Spanish king abdicated and
2010-409: A report on the subject by the Basque government, reject the term, seeing it as legitimate state agencies fighting a terrorist group which had been responsible for the vast majority of deaths. The conflict had both political and military dimensions. Its participants included politicians and political activists on both sides, the abertzale left (Basque nationalist left ) and the Spanish government, and
2144-747: A resolution in favour of democracy. With Franco's death in November 1975, Juan Carlos succeeded to the position of King of Spain and head of state in accordance with the Francoist law. With the approval of the new Spanish Constitution of 1978 and the restoration of democracy , the State devolved much authority to the regions and created an internal organisation based on autonomous communities . The Spanish 1977 Amnesty Law let people of Franco's regime continue inside institutions without consequences, even perpetrators of some crimes during transition to democracy like
2278-458: A separate country socially, politically, legally, and in currency and language. Habsburg Spain was one of the leading world powers throughout the 16th century and most of the 17th century, a position reinforced by trade and wealth from colonial possessions and became the world's leading maritime power . It reached its apogee during the reigns of the first two Spanish Habsburgs— Charles V/I (1516–1556) and Philip II (1556–1598). This period saw
2412-725: A series of victories against England in the Anglo-Spanish War of 1585–1604 . However, during the middle decades of the 17th century Spain's maritime power went into a long decline with mounting defeats against the Dutch Republic ( Battle of the Downs ) and then England in the Anglo-Spanish War of 1654–1660 ; by the 1660s it was struggling to defend its overseas possessions from pirates and privateers. The Protestant Reformation increased Spain's involvement in religiously charged wars, forcing ever-expanding military efforts across Europe and in
2546-508: A smaller degree it was also present in France, which was primarily used as a safe haven by ETA members. It was the longest running violent conflict in modern Western Europe. It has been sometimes referred to as "Europe's longest war". The terminology is controversial. "Basque conflict" is preferred by Basque nationalist groups, including those opposed to ETA violence. Others, including a number of Basque academics and historians commissioned to draft
2680-731: A split of responsibilities between ETA and the states of Spain and France, carrying therefore a dilution of the responsibility of ETA, is a narrative heavily espoused by the Abertzale left, that also would present ETA as an inevitable historic response to the secular conflict. According to Fernández Soldevilla, in spite of the end of the armed activity, the narrative of the basque conflict, fixed and divulgated by abertzale organic intellectuals such as historians Francisco Letamendia and Jose Mari Lorenzo, publicists such as Iñaki Egaña or Eduardo Renobales or journalists such as Luis Núñez Astrain , would be still useful as suggestive message in order to delegitimize
2814-500: A terrorist organisation against the rule of law. A group of Basque historians argued that, rather than a Basque Conflict, the situation in the Basque Country was one of "ETA totalitarianism." In 2012, Antonio Basagoiti, the head of the Basque branch of the People's Party admitted the existence of a Basque conflict, but stated that it was a political one between different entities in the Basque country. Joseba Louzao and Fernando Molina argue that
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#17328517360582948-444: A turnout of 67.1%. In the three provinces of the Basque Country, these figures were lower, with 70.2% voting in favour (the lowest result in the country) on a turnout of 44.7%. This was due to the call to abstention by EAJ-PNV and the creation of a coalition of Abertzale left organisations brought together to advocate for "no" in the referendum , as they felt that the constitution did not meet their demands for independence. The coalition
3082-417: Is no unanimous agreement when it comes to determining the reasons for the so-called Basque conflict. According to different sources, it is either a long conflict with historical roots, an instrument of Basque nationalist politics, an attempt to impose a privilege, or evidence of the state's obstinacy. Whichever of these may be the case, an understanding of the historical relations between the Basque provinces and
3216-429: Is whether there is a "Basque conflict" at all. Spanish public opinion, on both left and right, generally denies that there is, and sees the problem as akin to smashing a criminal mafia. But Basque nationalists, including a big majority who abhor ETA's methods, believe there is a deep underlying political conflict about Basque self-determination. They want this question to be addressed with the same imagination and courage as
3350-612: The Lizarra pact , aimed at putting pressure on the Spanish government to make further concessions towards independence. The Basque nationalist forces agreed in defining the Basque conflict as having a political nature and in presenting ETA and the Spanish State as the two conflicting parties. Influenced by the Northern Ireland peace process , ETA and the Spanish government engaged in peace talks, which ended in late 1999, after ETA announced
3484-831: The Reconquista , repelling Islamic rule in Iberia, which culminated with the Christian seizure of the Nasrid Kingdom of Granada in 1492. The dynastic union of the Crown of Castile and the Crown of Aragon in 1479 under the Catholic Monarchs is often considered the de facto unification of Spain as a nation-state . During the Age of Discovery , Spain pioneered the exploration of the New World , made
3618-665: The Siglo de Oro , Spanish art , architecture , music , poetry , painting , literature , and cuisine have been influential worldwide, particularly in Western Europe and the Americas . As a reflection of its large cultural wealth , Spain is the world's second-most visited country , has one of the world's largest numbers of World Heritage Sites , and it is the most popular destination for European students. Its cultural influence extends to over 600 million Hispanophones , making Spanish
3752-577: The 12 April 1931 municipal elections . These gave a resounding victory to the Republican-Socialist candidacies in large cities and provincial capitals, with a majority of monarchist councilors in rural areas. The king left the country and the proclamation of the Republic on 14 April ensued, with the formation of a provisional government. A constitution for the country was passed in October 1931 following
3886-509: The 1998 Basque elections , the Abertzale left got its best results since the 1980s, and Euskal Herritarrok became the third main force in the Basque Country. This increase of support was due to the declaration of a ceasefire by ETA one month before the elections. The ceasefire came after Herri Batasuna and several Basque organisations, such as the PNV, which at that time was part of the PP's government, agreed to
4020-605: The Algerian War or by conflicts such as the Cuban Revolution , and disappointed with the weak opposition of the PNV against Franco's regime, a young group of students formed ETA in 1959. It first started as an organization demanding the independence of the Basque Country, from a socialist position, and it soon started its armed campaign . According to Xosé Manoel Núñez Seixas , ETA became a socialist and revolutionary organization using violence after inner struggles related both to
4154-583: The Basque Country and the creation of a mass tourism industry. Franco's rule was also characterised by authoritarianism , promotion of a unitary national identity , National Catholicism , and discriminatory language policies . In 1962, a group of politicians involved in the opposition to Franco's regime inside the country and in exile met in the congress of the European Movement in Munich, where they made
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4288-484: The Basque autonomous community , also known as Euskadi; Navarre in Spain; and the three Northern Basque historical provinces ( Labourd , Lower Navarre and Soule ), administratively part of the French department of Pyrénées-Atlantiques. Approximately 3,000,000 people live in the Basque Country . The Basques have managed to preserve their own identifying characteristics such as their own culture and language throughout
4422-589: The Bourbons , was installed. The Crowns of Castile and Aragon had been long united only by the Monarchy and the common institution of the Inquisition's Holy Office . A number of reform policies (the so-called Bourbon Reforms ) were pursued by the Monarchy with the overarching goal of centralized authority and administrative uniformity. They included the abolishment of many of the old regional privileges and laws, as well as
4556-623: The Catalan Countries . The Basque conflict had always had an influence on the Catalan society and politics, due to the similarities between Catalonia and the Basque Country. During the process of electing Leopoldo Calvo-Sotelo as Spain's new president in February 1981, Civil Guards and army members broke into the Congress of Deputies and held all deputies at gunpoint. One of the reasons that led to
4690-672: The Cuban War of Independence and the Philippine Revolution broke out and eventually the United States became involved. The Spanish–American War was fought in the spring of 1898 and resulted in Spain losing the last of its once vast colonial empire outside of North Africa. El Desastre (the Disaster), as the war became known in Spain, gave added impetus to the Generation of '98 . Although
4824-653: The Hotel Corona de Aragón fire . The Asociación de Víctimas del Terrorismo also includes the victims of the Corona de Aragón fire on its list of ETA's deaths. Sources have suggested ETA responsibility in the crash of Iberia Airlines Flight 610 at Monte Oiz (Bilbao) on 19 February 1985 with 148 killed Spain – in Europe (green & dark grey) – in the European Union (green) Spain , formally
4958-1026: The Italian Wars , the Schmalkaldic War , the Dutch Revolt , the War of the Portuguese Succession , clashes with the Ottomans , intervention in the French Wars of Religion and the Anglo-Spanish War . Through exploration and conquest or royal marriage alliances and inheritance, the Spanish Empire expanded across vast areas in the Americas, the Indo-Pacific, Africa as well as the European continent (including holdings in
5092-573: The June 1931 Constituent general election , and a series of cabinets presided by Manuel Azaña supported by republican parties and the PSOE followed. In the election held in 1933 the right triumphed and in 1936, the left. During the Second Republic there was a great political and social upheaval, marked by a sharp radicalization of the left and the right. Instances of political violence during this period included
5226-876: The Kingdom of Spain , is a country in Southwestern Europe with territories in North Africa . Featuring the southernmost point of continental Europe , it is the largest country in Southern Europe and the fourth-most populous European Union member state. Spanning across the majority of the Iberian Peninsula , its territory also includes the Canary Islands , in the Atlantic Ocean, the Balearic Islands , in
5360-556: The Massacre of 3 March 1976 in Vitoria or 1977 Massacre of Atocha . In the Basque Country, moderate Basque nationalism coexisted with a radical nationalist movement led by the armed organisation ETA until the latter's dissolution in May 2018. The group was formed in 1959 during Franco's rule but had continued to wage its violent campaign even after the restoration of democracy and the return of
5494-862: The Plaza República Dominicana bombing in Madrid - which killed 12 police officers, the Hipercor bombing in Barcelona - which killed 21 civilians and the Zaragoza barracks bombing - which killed 11 people. After the Hipercor bombing, most of the Spanish and Basque political parties signed many pacts against ETA, such as the Madrid pact or the Ajuria-Enea pact . It was during this time that Herri Batasuna got its best results: it
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5628-472: The Socialist Workers' Party became the new president, while Herri Batasuna won two seats. In the Basque Country, Carlos Garaikoetxea from the PNV became lehendakari in 1979. During those years, hundreds of members of Herri Batasuna were arrested, especially after some of them sang the Eusko Gudariak in front of Juan Carlos I. After Felipe González's victory, the Grupos Antiterroristas de Liberación (GAL), death squads established by officials belonging to
5762-440: The Spanish republican government , a civil war between Spanish nationalist and republican forces broke out. Nearly all Basque nationalist forces, led by the Basque Nationalist Party (PNV) sided with the Republic, even though Basque nationalists in Álava and Navarre fought along Basque Carlists on the side of Spanish nationalists. The war ended with the victory of the nationalist forces, with General Francisco Franco establishing
5896-477: The World Trade Organization (WTO). The name of Spain ( España ) comes from Hispania , the name used by the Romans for the Iberian Peninsula and its provinces during the Roman Empire . The etymological origin of the term Hispania is uncertain, although the Phoenicians referred to the region as i-shphan-im , possibly meaning "Land of Rabbits" or "Land of Metals". Jesús Luis Cunchillos [ es ] and José Ángel Zamora, experts in Semitic philology at
6030-400: The coup d'état was the increase in ETA's violence. The coup failed after the King called for the military powers to obey the Constitution. Days after the coup, ETA's faction politiko-militarra started its disbanding, with most of its members joining Euskadiko Ezkerra , a leftist nationalist party away from the Abertzale left. General elections were held in 1982, and Felipe González , from
6164-435: The first circumnavigation of the globe and formed one of the largest empires in history . The Spanish Empire reached a global scale and spread across all continents, underpinning the rise of a global trading system fueled primarily by precious metals . In the 18th century, the Bourbon reforms centralized mainland Spain. In the 19th century, after the Napoleonic occupation and the victorious Spanish War of independence ,
6298-402: The "old IRA", was raised in 1917 from members of the Irish Volunteers and the Irish Citizen Army later reinforced by Irishmen formerly in the British Army in World War I , who returned to Ireland to fight against Britain in the Irish War of Independence . In Irish law, this IRA was the army of the revolutionary Irish Republic as declared by its parliament, Dáil Éireann , in 1919. In
6432-400: The 11th century, the Caliphate of Córdoba collapsed, fracturing into a series of petty kingdoms ( Taifas ), often subject to the payment of a form of protection money ( Parias ) to the Northern Christian kingdoms, which otherwise undertook a southward territorial expansion. The capture of the strategic city of Toledo in 1085 marked a significant shift in the balance of power in favour of
6566-419: The 1977–1982 period. Also in the late 1970s, several Basque nationalist organizations, such as Iparretarrak , Hordago or Euskal Zuzentasuna, started to operate in the French Basque Country. An anarchist breakaway of ETA, Comandos Autónomos Anticapitalistas , also started carrying out attacks around the Basque Country. A similar but smaller organization to ETA, Terra Lliure , appeared demanding independence for
6700-508: The Abertzale left. Hundreds of members of the armed organisation were arrested after the end of the truce, with four of its leaders being arrested in less than one year. Meanwhile, the Spanish authorities banned more political parties such as Basque Nationalist Action , Communist Party of the Basque Homelands or Demokrazia Hiru Milioi . Youth organisations such as Segi were banned, while members of trade unions, such as Langile Abertzaleen Batzordeak were arrested. In 2008, Falange y Tradición,
6834-415: The Basque and Spanish governments started. Despite the claims of peace talks ending in December, when ETA broke the truce with a massive car bomb at Madrid-Barajas Airport , a new round of conversations took place in May 2007. ETA officially ended the ceasefire in 2007, and resumed its attacks around Spain. From that moment on, the Spanish government and police intensified their struggle both against ETA and
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#17328517360586968-441: The British and Irish governments used in talking to the IRA . However, even raising this issue has become almost taboo among most Spaniards. They regard the Basque country, in the words of one pro-Spanish Basque politician I have interviewed, as "not just a part of Spain, but the heart of Spain." According to Gaizka Fernández Soldevilla, the narrative of the existence of a secular conflict between Basques and Spaniards has been one of
7102-403: The Christian kingdoms. The arrival from North Africa of the Islamic ruling sects of the Almoravids and the Almohads achieved temporary unity upon the Muslim-ruled territory, with a stricter, less tolerant application of Islam, and partially reversed some Christian territorial gains. The Kingdom of León was the strongest Christian kingdom for centuries. In 1188, the first form (restricted to
7236-431: The European Union, the eurozone , North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), a permanent guest of the G20 , and is part of many other international organizations such as the Council of Europe (CoE), the Organization of Ibero-American States (OEI), the Union for the Mediterranean , the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), and
7370-496: The European continent. Archaeological research at Atapuerca indicates the Iberian Peninsula was populated by hominids 1.3 million years ago. Modern humans first arrived in Iberia from the north on foot about 35,000 years ago. The best-known artefacts of these prehistoric human settlements are the paintings in the Altamira cave of Cantabria in northern Iberia, which were created from 35,600 to 13,500 BCE by Cro-Magnon . Archaeological and genetic evidence suggests that
7504-425: The Iberian Peninsula acted as one of several major refugia from which northern Europe was repopulated following the end of the last ice age . The two largest groups inhabiting the Iberian Peninsula before the Roman conquest were the Iberians and the Celts . The Iberians inhabited the Mediterranean side of the peninsula. The Celts inhabited much of the interior and Atlantic sides of the peninsula. Basques occupied
7638-442: The Iberian Peninsula was inhabited by Celts , Iberians , and other pre-Roman peoples . With the Roman conquest of the Iberian Peninsula , the province of Hispania was established. Following the Romanization and Christianization of Hispania, the fall of the Western Roman Empire ushered in the inward migration of tribes from Central Europe, including the Visigoths , who formed the Visigothic Kingdom centred on Toledo . In
7772-411: The Italian Peninsula, the Low Countries and the Franche-Comté ). The so-called Age of Discovery featured explorations by sea and by land, the opening-up of new trade routes across oceans, conquests and the beginnings of European colonialism . Precious metals , spices, luxuries, and previously unknown plants brought to the metropole played a leading part in transforming the European understanding of
7906-498: The Mediterranean Sea, and the autonomous cities of Ceuta and Melilla , in Africa. Peninsular Spain is bordered to the north by France , Andorra , and the Bay of Biscay ; to the east and south by the Mediterranean Sea and Gibraltar ; and to the west by Portugal and the Atlantic Ocean. Spain's capital and largest city is Madrid , and other major urban areas include Barcelona , Valencia , Seville , Zaragoza , Málaga , Murcia and Palma de Mallorca . In early antiquity,
8040-413: The Mediterranean. By the middle decades of a war- and plague -ridden 17th-century Europe, the Spanish Habsburgs had enmeshed the country in continent-wide religious-political conflicts. These conflicts drained it of resources and undermined the economy generally. Spain managed to hold on to most of the scattered Habsburg empire, and help the imperial forces of the Holy Roman Empire reverse a large part of
8174-400: The Russian front , led to the retreat of French imperial armies from the Iberian Peninsula in 1814, and the return of King Ferdinand VII . During the war, in 1810, a revolutionary body, the Cortes of Cádiz , was assembled to coordinate the effort against the Bonapartist regime and to prepare a constitution. It met as one body, and its members represented the entire Spanish empire. In 1812,
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#17328517360588308-438: The Second World War, although it was sympathetic to the Axis and provided the Nazi Wehrmacht with Spanish volunteers in the Eastern Front . The only legal party under Franco's dictatorship was the Falange Española Tradicionalista y de las JONS (FET y de las JONS), formed in 1937 upon the merging of the Fascist Falange Española de las JONS and the Carlist traditionalists and to which the rest of right-wing groups supporting
8442-467: The Spanish National Research Council ( Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas , CSIC), conducted a comparative philological study between several Semitic languages and hypothesize that the Phoenician name translates as "land where metals are forged", having determined that the name originated in reference to the gold mines of the Iberian Peninsula. There have been a number of accounts and hypotheses about its origin: Jesús Luis Cunchillos argues that
8576-400: The Spanish and French states is indispensable in order to explain the present conflict. The Basque Country ( Basque : Euskal Herria ) is the name given to the geographical area located on the shores of the Bay of Biscay and on the two sides of the western Pyrenees that spans the border between France and Spain. Nowadays, this area roughly belongs to three different political structures:
8710-403: The Spanish government, were created. Using state terrorism , the GAL carried out dozens of attacks around the Basque Country, killing 27 people. It targeted ETA and Herri Batasuna members, although sometimes civilians were also killed. The GAL were active from 1983 until 1987, a period referred to as the Spanish Dirty War . ETA responded to the dirty war by intensifying its attacks. These included
8844-642: The Strait of Gibraltar. Upon the conclusion of the Granada War , the Nasrid Sultanate of Granada (the remaining Muslim-ruled polity in the Iberian Peninsula after 1246) capitulated in 1492 to the military strength of the Catholic Monarchs , and it was integrated from then on in the Crown of Castile. In 1469, the crowns of the Christian kingdoms of Castile and Aragon were united by the marriage of their monarchs, Isabella I and Ferdinand II, respectively. In 1492, Jews were forced to choose between conversion to Catholicism or expulsion; as many as 200,000 Jews were expelled from Castile and Aragon . The year 1492 also marked
8978-468: The US to establish a military presence on the Iberian Peninsula as a counter to any possible move by the Soviet Union into the Mediterranean basin. US Cold War strategic priorities included the dissemination of American educational ideas to foster modernization and expansion. In the 1960s, Spain registered an unprecedented rate of economic growth which was propelled by industrialisation , a mass internal migration from rural areas to Madrid , Barcelona and
9112-542: The advances made by Protestant forces, but it was finally forced to recognise the separation of Portugal and the United Provinces (Dutch Republic), and eventually suffered some serious military reverses to France in the latter stages of the immensely destructive, Europe-wide Thirty Years' War . In the latter half of the 17th century, Spain went into a gradual decline, during which it surrendered several small territories to France and England; however, it maintained and enlarged its vast overseas empire, which remained intact until
9246-487: The arrest of all ETA leaders in the town of Bidart . The raid came months before the 1992 Olympic Games in Barcelona, with which ETA tried to gather worldwide attention with massive attacks around Catalonia. After that, ETA announced a two-month ceasefire, while they restructured the whole organisation and created the kale borroka groups. In 1995, ETA tried to kill José María Aznar , who would become prime minister of Spain one year later, and Juan Carlos I. That same year,
9380-440: The arrest of hundreds of members of ETA in 1975, after the infiltration of a double agent inside the organisation. In mid-1975, a political bloc known as Koordinadora Abertzale Sozialista (KAS) was created by Basque nationalist organisations. Away from the PNV, the bloc comprised several organisations formed by people contrary to the right-wing Franco's regime and most of them had their origins in several factions of ETA, which
9514-400: The arrival of Christopher Columbus in the New World , during a voyage funded by Isabella. Columbus's first voyage crossed the Atlantic and reached the Caribbean Islands, beginning the European exploration and conquest of the Americas. The Treaty of Granada guaranteed religious tolerance towards Muslims, for a few years before Islam was outlawed in 1502 in Castile and 1527 in Aragon, leading
9648-480: The beginning of the 19th century. The decline culminated in a controversy over succession to the throne which consumed the first years of the 18th century. The War of the Spanish Succession was a wide-ranging international conflict combined with a civil war, and was to cost the kingdom its European possessions and its position as a leading European power. During this war, a new dynasty originating in France,
9782-600: The bishops, the magnates, and 'the elected citizens of each city') of modern parliamentary session in Europe was held in León ( Cortes of León ). The Kingdom of Castile , formed from Leonese territory, was its successor as strongest kingdom. The kings and the nobility fought for power and influence in this period. The example of the Roman emperors influenced the political objective of the Crown, while
9916-583: The burning of churches, the 1932 failed coup d'état led by José Sanjurjo , the Revolution of 1934 and numerous attacks against rival political leaders. On the other hand, it is also during the Second Republic when important reforms to modernize the country were initiated: a democratic constitution, agrarian reform, restructuring of the army, political decentralization and women's right to vote . The Spanish Civil War broke out in 1936: on 17 and 18 July, part of
10050-486: The centuries and today a large part of the population shares a collective consciousness and a desire to be self-governed , either with further political autonomy or full independence. For instance, the football club Athletic Bilbao , maintains a signing policy of only recruiting Basque born or raised players. Over the centuries, the Basque Country has maintained various levels of political self-governance under different Spanish political frameworks. Nowadays, Euskadi enjoys
10184-551: The century that followed, the original IRA was reorganized, changed and split on multiple occasions, to such a degree that many subsequent paramilitary organisations have been known by that title – most notably the Provisional Irish Republican Army , which was a key participant during the Troubles in the north of Ireland. The contemporary IRA organisations each claim the sole right to the name, each insisting they are
10318-535: The conflict between progressives and moderates ended in a weak early constitutional period. The 1868 Glorious Revolution was followed by the 1868–1874 progressive Sexenio Democrático (including the short-lived First Spanish Republic ), which yielded to a stable monarchic period, the Restoration (1875–1931). In the late 19th century nationalist movements arose in the Philippines and Cuba. In 1895 and 1896
10452-420: The conflict ended in 2011, more than 1,000 people were killed, including police , security officers , members of the armed forces, Spanish politicians, journalists , civilians and some ETA members. Thousands of people were injured, dozens kidnapped, with a disputed number of people going into exile , either to flee from the violence or to avoid apprehension by the authorities. On 20 October 2011, ETA announced
10586-558: The conflict. Unlike the British participation in the conflict in Northern Ireland , the Spanish armed forces were never deployed or involved in the Basque conflict, although they represented one of ETA's major targets outside the Basque Country. José Luis de la Granja, Santiago de Pablo and Ludger Mees argue that the term Basque conflict, while technically correct in several languages as equivalent of 'question' or 'problem', should not give
10720-407: The current democratic system, mixing victims with victimaries and equating the Basque case to real conflicts such as those of South Africa and Northern Ireland . This idea has been rejected, for example, by José Maria Ruiz Soroa and by the main constitutionalist Spanish parties. Some politicians have gone as far as rejecting the existence of even a political conflict and refer only to the action of
10854-536: The customs barrier between the Crowns of Aragon and Castile in 1717, followed by the introduction of new property taxes in the Aragonese kingdoms. The 18th century saw a gradual recovery and an increase in prosperity through much of the empire. The predominant economic policy was an interventionist one, and the State also pursued policies aiming towards infrastructure development as well as the abolition of internal customs and
10988-436: The democratic system of the constitutional monarchy of a two-parties system. The July 1909 Tragic Week events and repression exemplified the social instability of the time. The La Canadiense strike in 1919 led to the first law limiting the working day to eight hours. After a period of Crown-supported dictatorship from 1923 to 1931, the first elections since 1923, largely understood as a plebiscite on Monarchy, took place:
11122-548: The development of railways and incipient capitalism developed in several areas of the country, particularly in Barcelona , as well as labour movement and socialist and anarchist ideas. The 1870 Barcelona Workers' Congress and the 1888 Barcelona Universal Exposition are good examples of this. In 1879, the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party was founded. A trade union linked to this party, Unión General de Trabajadores ,
11256-543: The difficulties found in applying a Third World model of national liberation in an already industrialized territory and the division between purely nationalist stances (such as the Branka splinter group) and the revolutionary ones. ETA's first attacks were sometimes approved of by a part of the Spanish and Basque societies, who saw ETA and the fight for independence as a fight against the Franco administration. In 1970, several members of
11390-525: The early eighth century, most of the peninsula was conquered by the Umayyad Caliphate , and during early Islamic rule, Al-Andalus became a dominant peninsular power centred on Córdoba . Several Christian kingdoms emerged in Northern Iberia, chief among them Asturias , León , Castile , Aragon , Navarre , and Portugal ; made an intermittent southward military expansion and repopulation, known as
11524-437: The end of the ceasefire. In 2000, ETA resumed violence and intensified its attacks, especially against senior politicians, such as Ernest Lluch . At the same time, dozens of ETA members were arrested and the Abertzale left lost some of the support it had obtained in the 1998 elections. The breaking of the truce provoked Herri Batasuna's dissolution and its reformation into a new party called Batasuna. Following disagreements over
11658-497: The field of politics and pacification: Kofi Annan (former UN Secretary-General), Bertie Ahern (former Prime Minister of Ireland), Gro Harlem Brundtland (international leader in sustainable development and public health, former Prime Minister of Norway), Pierre Joxe (former Interior Minister of France), Gerry Adams (president of Sinn Féinn, member of the Irish Parliament) and Jonathan Powell (British diplomat who served as
11792-542: The first Downing Street Chief of Staff). Tony Blair – former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom – could not be present due to commitments in the Middle East, but he supported the final declaration. The former US President Jimmy Carter (2002 Nobel Peace Prize) and the former US senator George J. Mitchell (former United States Special Envoy for Middle East Peace) also backed this declaration. The conference resulted in
11926-449: The first far right paramilitary organizations (to which former OAS members joined) that fought against ETA and its supporters had been created, such as the Triple A (Alianza Apostólica Anticomunista), Guerrilleros de Cristo Rey , Batallón Vasco-español (BVE) and Antiterrorismo ETA (ATE); 41 deaths and 36 wounded have been reported in attacks blamed on paramilitary far-right organisations in
12060-687: The following political divisions between liberals and absolutists led to the breakaway of most of the American colonies . These political divisions finally converged in the 20th century with the Spanish Civil War , giving rise to the Francoist dictatorship that lasted until 1975. With the restoration of democracy and its entry into the European Union, the country experienced an economic boom that profoundly transformed it socially and politically. Since
12194-552: The globe. The cultural efflorescence witnessed during this period is now referred to as the Spanish Golden Age . The expansion of the empire caused immense upheaval in the Americas as the collapse of societies and empires and new diseases from Europe devastated American indigenous populations. The rise of humanism , the Counter-Reformation and new geographical discoveries and conquests raised issues that were addressed by
12328-522: The government banned Batasuna in 2003. It was the first time since Franco's dictatorship that a political party had been banned in Spain. That same year, Spanish authorities closed the only newspaper written fully in Basque, Egunkaria , and journalists were arrested, due to allegations of links with ETA which were dismissed by a Spanish justice seven years later. In 1998, another newspaper, Egin , had already been closed on similar grounds that were also dismissed by Spanish justice eleven years later. After
12462-473: The government falsely accused ETA of carrying out the 2004 Madrid train bombings , the conservative government lost the elections to the Socialist Workers' Party, and José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero became the new Prime Minister of Spain. One of Zapatero's first actions was to engage in new peace talks with ETA. In mid-2006, the organisation declared a ceasefire , and conversations between Batasuna, ETA and
12596-464: The government were taking place in Algiers . No successful conclusion was reached, and ETA resumed violence. After the end of the dirty war period, France agreed to cooperate with the Spanish authorities in the arrest and extradition of ETA members. These would often travel to and from between the two countries using France as a base for attacks and training. This cooperation reached its peak in 1992, with
12730-675: The group to dissolve formally. On 3 May 2018, during a ceremony held at the Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue in Geneva, Switzerland, the ETA released a statement announcing its permanent dissolution, which was distributed by the centre's director. Following this announcement, a ceremony was organized in Northern Basque Country, in Cambo-les-Bains (Basque: Kanbo ) where the "declaration of Arnaga"
12864-468: The highest level of self-governance of any nonstate entity within the European Union. However, tensions about the type of relationship the Basque territories should maintain with the Spanish authorities have existed since the origins of the Spanish state and in many cases have fuelled military confrontation, such as the Carlist Wars and the Spanish Civil War . Following the 1936 coup d'état that overthrew
12998-481: The idea of pluralism used by a part of Basque historiography relates more to a particular state of the public sphere ('plurality') rather than to a positive engagement of the several political and social actors ('pluralism'); according to them, the appeal to pluralism finally led to its conceptual voidment and banalization, allowing for it to be subsumed within the metanarrative of the basque conflict. Amaiur Senator Urko Aiartza and Julen Zabalo have written that There
13132-546: The impression of a war between Euskal Herria and the states of Spain and France, preferring the terms problema or cuestión (problem or question), that would encompass both the problems in the integration of the Basque territories in the contemporary Spanish state and also the secular problems of cohabitation among the Basques themselves. According to Paddy Woodworth in a 2009 article in The New York Times , The core issue
13266-722: The initial invasion. The Kingdom of Asturias-León consolidated upon this territory. Other Christian kingdoms, such as Navarre and Aragon in the mountainous north, eventually surged upon the consolidation of counties of the Carolingian Marca Hispanica . For several centuries, the fluctuating frontier between the Muslim and Christian-controlled areas of the peninsula was along the Ebro and Douro valleys. Conversion to Islam proceeded at an increasing pace. The muladíes (Muslims of ethnic Iberian origin) are believed to have formed
13400-636: The intellectual movement now known as the School of Salamanca , which developed the first modern theories of what are now known as international law and human rights. Spain's 16th-century maritime supremacy was demonstrated by the victory over the Ottoman Empire at the Battle of Lepanto in 1571 and over Portugal at the Battle of Ponta Delgada in 1582, and then after the setback of the Spanish Armada in 1588, in
13534-553: The internal organization of the Batasuna, a group of people broke away to form a separate political party, Aralar , present mainly in Navarre. In 2002, the Spanish government passed a law, named Ley de Partidos (Law of Parties), which allows the banning of any party that directly or indirectly condones terrorism or sympathises with a terrorist organisation. As ETA was considered a terrorist organisation and Batasuna did not condemn its actions,
13668-512: The introduction of irrigation projects, some of which remain in use. Emperors Hadrian , Trajan , Theodosius I , and the philosopher Seneca were born in Hispania. Christianity was introduced into Hispania in the 1st century CE, and it became popular in the cities in the 2nd century. Most of Spain's present languages and religions, as well as the basis of its laws, originate from this period. Starting in 170 CE, incursions of North-African Mauri in
13802-411: The lives of over 500,000 people and caused the flight of up to a half-million citizens from the country. On 1 April 1939, five months before the beginning of World War II , the rebel side led by Franco emerged victorious, imposing a dictatorship over the whole country. Thousands were imprisoned after the civil war in Francoist concentration camps . The regime remained nominally "neutral" for much of
13936-547: The majority of the population of Al-Andalus by the end of the 10th century. A series of Viking incursions raided the coasts of the Iberian Peninsula in the 9th and 10th centuries. The first recorded Viking raid on Iberia took place in 844; it ended in failure with many Vikings killed by the Galicians' ballistas ; and seventy of the Vikings' longships captured on the beach and burned by the troops of King Ramiro I of Asturias . In
14070-678: The meseta; however, due to the bellicose inland tribes, the Carthaginians settled on the coasts of the Iberian Peninsula. During the Second Punic War , roughly between 210 and 205 BCE, the expanding Roman Republic captured Carthaginian trading colonies along the Mediterranean coast. Although it took the Romans nearly two centuries to complete the conquest of the Iberian Peninsula , they retained control of it for over six centuries. Roman rule
14204-650: The military carried out a coup d'état that triumphed in only part of the country. The situation led to a civil war, in which the territory was divided into two zones: one under the authority of the Republican government , that counted on outside support from the Soviet Union and Mexico (and from International Brigades ), and the other controlled by the putschists (the Nationalist or rebel faction ), most critically supported by Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy . The Republic
14338-439: The most used tropes by ETA and the abertzale left as pretext for the activity of the former. José Antonio Pérez Pérez points out that the perception of a war between an occupying Spain and a Basque people defending themselves from genocide would have served as justifying framework of the ETA armed activity. According to Luis Castells and Fernando Molina, the formulation of the existence of two symmetric violences, that would allow for
14472-610: The move as "a victory for democracy, law and reason". On 28 May 2012, ETA members Oroitz Gurruchaga and Xabier Aramburu were arrested in southern France. Though the group declared a permanent ceasefire, the French police made a declaration warning that ETA had made no steps towards dissolution. It is also known that ETA was still hoarding weaponry and explosives, several members guarding explosives have been detained since their permanent ceasefire declaration. In March 2017 ETA declared that it would disarm completely by 8 April. On that date, civilian 'go-betweens' ( Artisans of Peace ) handed
14606-585: The nobles benefited from feudalism . Muslim strongholds in the Guadalquivir Valley such as Córdoba (1236) and Seville (1248) fell to Castile in the 13th century. The County of Barcelona and the Kingdom of Aragon entered in a dynastic union and gained territory and power in the Mediterranean. In 1229, Majorca was conquered, so was Valencia in 1238. In the 13th and 14th centuries, the North-African Marinids established some enclaves around
14740-420: The only American colonies Spain held were Cuba and Puerto Rico . The Napoleonic War left Spain economically ruined, deeply divided and politically unstable. In the 1830s and 1840s, Carlism (a reactionary legitimist movement supportive of an alternative Bourbon branch), fought against the government forces supportive of Queen Isabella II 's dynastic rights in the Carlist Wars . Government forces prevailed, but
14874-467: The organisation made a peace proposal, which was refused by the government. The following year, ETA announced a one-week ceasefire and tried to engage in peace talks with the government, a proposal that was once again rejected by the new conservative government . In 1997, a young councillor, Miguel Ángel Blanco , was kidnapped and killed by the organisation. The killing produced a widespread rejection by Spanish and Basque societies, massive demonstrations and
15008-620: The organization were condemned to death in the Burgos trials ( Proceso de Burgos ), although international pressure resulted in commutation of the death sentences. ETA slowly became more active and powerful, and in 1973 the organisation was able to kill the president of the Government and possible successor of Franco, Luis Carrero Blanco . From that moment on, the regime became tougher in their struggle against ETA: many members died in shootouts with security forces and police carried out big raids, such as
15142-619: The original IRA's only legitimate descendant. The playwright and former IRA member Brendan Behan once said that the first issue on any Irish organisation's agenda was "the split". For the IRA, that has often been the case. The first split came after the Anglo-Irish Treaty in 1921, with supporters of the Treaty forming the nucleus of the National Army of the newly created Irish Free State , while
15276-474: The other side, the death of Franco elevated Juan Carlos I to the throne, who chose Adolfo Suárez as Prime Minister of Spain . Following the approval of the Spanish constitution in 1978 , a Statute of Autonomy was promulgated and approved in referendum. The Basque Country was organized as an Autonomous Community . The new Spanish constitution had overwhelming support around Spain, with 88.5% voting in favour on
15410-411: The period around the turn of the century was one of increasing prosperity, the 20th century brought little social peace. Spain played a minor part in the scramble for Africa . It remained neutral during World War I . The heavy losses suffered by the colonial troops in conflicts in northern Morocco against Riffians forces brought discredit to the government and undermined the monarchy. Industrialisation,
15544-570: The province of Baetica took place. The Germanic Suebi and Vandals , together with the Sarmatian Alans , entered the peninsula after 409, weakening the Western Roman Empire's jurisdiction over Hispania. The Suebi established a kingdom in north-western Iberia, whereas the Vandals established themselves in the south of the peninsula by 420 before crossing over to North Africa in 429. As
15678-566: The rebels also added. The name of " Movimiento Nacional ", sometimes understood as a wider structure than the FET y de las JONS proper, largely imposed over the later's name in official documents along the 1950s. After the war Spain was politically and economically isolated, and was kept out of the United Nations. This changed in 1955, during the Cold War period, when it became strategically important for
15812-455: The reduction of export tariffs. Projects of agricultural colonisation with new settlements took place in the south of mainland Spain. Enlightenment ideas began to gain ground among some of the kingdom's elite and monarchy. In 1793, Spain went to war against the revolutionary new French Republic as a member of the first Coalition . The subsequent War of the Pyrenees polarised the country in
15946-570: The remaining Muslim population to become nominally Christian Moriscos . About four decades after the War of the Alpujarras (1568–1571), over 300,000 moriscos were expelled , settling primarily in North Africa. The unification of the crowns of Aragon and Castile by the marriage of their sovereigns laid the basis for modern Spain and the Spanish Empire, although each kingdom of Spain remained
16080-522: The root of the term span is the Phoenician word spy , meaning "to forge metals ". Therefore, i-spn-ya would mean "the land where metals are forged". It may be a derivation of the Phoenician I-Shpania , meaning "island of rabbits", "land of rabbits" or "edge", a reference to Spain's location at the end of the Mediterranean; Roman coins struck in the region from the reign of Hadrian show
16214-413: The security forces of Spain and France fighting against ETA and other small organizations, usually involved in the kale borroka (Basque youth guerrilla violence). Far-right paramilitary groups fighting against ETA were also active in the 1970s and 1980s. Although the debate on Basque independence started in the 19th century, the armed conflict did not start until ETA was created in 1959. From 1959 until
16348-628: The sovereignty to the people . Starting in 1809 the American colonies began a series of revolutions and declared independence, leading to the Spanish American wars of independence that put an end to the metropole's grip over the Spanish Main . Attempts to re-assert control proved futile with opposition not only in the colonies but also in the Iberian peninsula and army revolts followed. By the end of 1826,
16482-449: The western area of the Pyrenees mountain range and adjacent areas; Phoenician-influenced Tartessians flourished in the southwest; and Lusitanians and Vettones occupied areas in the central west. Several cities were founded along the coast by Phoenicians , and trading outposts and colonies were established by Greeks in the East. Eventually, Phoenician- Carthaginians expanded inland towards
16616-419: The western empire disintegrated, the social and economic base became greatly simplified; the successor regimes maintained many of the institutions and laws of the late empire, including Christianity and assimilation into the evolving Roman culture. The Byzantines established an occidental province, Spania , in the south, with the intention of reviving Roman rule throughout Iberia. Eventually, however, Hispania
16750-461: The world's second-most spoken native language and the world's most widely spoken Romance language . Spain is a secular parliamentary democracy and a constitutional monarchy , with King Felipe VI as head of state . A developed country , it is a major advanced capitalist economy, with the world's fifteenth-largest by both nominal GDP and PPP . Spain is a member of the United Nations ,
16884-565: Was 22 months old. Although this killing was attributed by Ernest Lluch to ETA in 2000, as revealed in El País, the attack was committed by the DRIL ( Directorio Revolucionario Ibérico de Liberación ). Some organizations such as the Colectivo de Víctimas del Terrorismo en el País Vasco raise the death toll of ETA's victims to 952. This is due to the inclusion to the list of several unresolved attacks such as
17018-592: Was bound together by law, language, and the Roman road . The cultures of the pre-Roman populations were gradually Romanised (Latinised) at different rates depending on what part of the peninsula they lived in, with local leaders being admitted into the Roman aristocratic class. Hispania (the Roman name for the Iberian Peninsula) served as a granary for the Roman market, and its harbours exported gold, wool , olive oil , and wine. Agricultural production increased with
17152-499: Was founded in 1888. In the anarcho-syndicalist trend of the labour movement in Spain, Confederación Nacional del Trabajo was founded in 1910 and Federación Anarquista Ibérica in 1927. Catalanism and Vasquism, alongside other nationalisms and regionalisms in Spain, arose in that period: the Basque Nationalist Party formed in 1895 and Regionalist League of Catalonia in 1901. Political corruption and repression weakened
17286-551: Was not supported by the Western powers due to the British-led policy of non-intervention . General Francisco Franco was sworn in as the supreme leader of the rebels on 1 October 1936. An uneasy relationship between the Republican government and the grassroots anarchists who had initiated a partial social revolution also ensued. The civil war was viciously fought and there were many atrocities committed by all sides . The war claimed
17420-517: Was part of the bloc as well. They also adopted the same ideology as the armed organisation, socialism. The creation of KAS would mean the beginning of the Basque National Liberation Movement. In November 1975, Franco died and Spain started its transition to democracy . Many Basque activists and politicians returned from exile, although some Basque organizations were not legalized as had happened with other Spanish organizations. On
17554-477: Was pronounced. Estimates of the total number of conflict-related deaths vary and are highly disputed. The number of deaths caused by ETA is consistent among different sources, such as the Spanish Interior Ministry, the Basque government, and most major news agencies. According to these sources, the number of deaths caused by ETA are 829. This list does not include Begoña Urroz , killed in 1960 when she
17688-651: Was reunited under Visigothic rule . From 711 to 718, as part of the expansion of the Umayyad Caliphate which had conquered North Africa from the Byzantine Empire , nearly all of the Iberian Peninsula was conquered by Muslims from across the Strait of Gibraltar, resulting in the collapse of the Visigothic Kingdom. Only a small area in the mountainous north of the peninsula stood out of the territory seized during
17822-421: Was the beginning of the political party Herri Batasuna , which would become the main political front of the Basque National Liberation Movement. The coalition had its origins in another one made two years before, named Mesa de Alsasua . ETA also felt that the constitution was unsatisfactory and intensified their armed campaign: 1978 to 1981 were ETA's bloodiest years with more than 230 people killed. Around 1975,
17956-418: Was the most voted party in the Basque autonomous community for the European Parliament elections . While talks between the Spanish government and ETA had already taken place in the late 1970s and early 1980s, which had led to the dissolution of ETA politiko-militarra, it was not until 1989 that both sides held formal peace talks. In January, ETA announced a 60-day ceasefire, while negotiations between ETA and
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