Basque Cultural Survival

The main difficulty to the Basque's cultural survival until today is reaching an agreement regarding relations between the Basque Country and Spain (the State). People have tried to resolve this issue by force and violence, but this hasn't been an effective method yet. 

This major disagreement between the Basque Country and Spain has been traced back to the 15th century or even before then. Between the 15th century and the 19th century, there were many conflicts and wars that arose because the Basque provinces wanted to exercise sovereignty over the Basque people. Between 1936 and 1975 the Basque problem got worse. During this time period dictator Francisco Franco had control of Spain, and he believed in one unified Spanish State. He banned many parts of the Basque culture, especially he banned the use Basque language Euskera. In 1958, the ETA (Euzkadi Ta Azkatasuna) or Basque Homeland and Freedom was born as a result of the extreme repression. In 1975, dictator Francisco Franco died, and Basque's transition towards Autonomy began. In 1978, Basque's right of Autonomy was approved, but until today Basque still has issues with the Spanish State.

The continued survival of the Basque nationalism is mainly due to a great emotional power all Basque people have, and this makes up the Basques' group identity.

A major wonder is the extreme loyalty the Basque diaspora have towards the Basque language, culture, and identity throughout the years and distances. The Basque ethnic populations have demonstrated a remarkable ability to adapt to new environments, while still holding on to their traditional culture. This could help us understand Basque identity persistence in their diaspora, even after five and six generations after immigration.

Many say that the Basque Culture survived until today, because Spain gave the Basque Country freedoms that other countries did not give to their indigenous groups. Besides the time Between 1936 and 1975, during the control of dictator Francisco Franco, Basque never suffered the extreme degree of economic deprivation, exploitation, or collective political oppression by Spain, that is usually associated with separatist movements. Basque language, culture, and history are allowed to be taught in schools, this I think is a major reason why the Basque culture has survived until today.

references:

http://www.elkarri.org/en/textos/quienes1.php