BASQUE COUNTRY (GREATER REGION)

The Basque Country (Basque: Euskal Herria; French: Pays basque; Spanish: Vasconia or País Vasco) is the name given to the home of the Basque people in the western Pyrenees that straddles the border between France and Spain on the Atlantic coast. Euskal Herria is the oldest documented Basque name for the area they inhabit, dating to the 16th century and thus predates the emergence of Basque nationalism by at least two centuries.

It comprises the Autonomous Communities of the Basque Country and Navarre in Spain and the Northern Basque Country in France.

Even though they are not necessarily synonyms, the concept of a single culturally Basque area spanning various regions and countries has been closely associated with the politics of Basque nationalism. The region is home to the Basque people (Basque: Euskaldunak), their language (Basque: Euskara), culture and traditions. The area is neither linguistically nor culturally homogeneous, and certain areas have a majority of people who do not consider themselves Basque, such as the south of Navarre where in 1996 the census reported that 71% of inhabitants did not identify themselves as Basque – although fewer people in the same area (53%) opposed measures to support the Basque language.

The name in Basque is Euskal Herria. The name is difficult to accurately translate into other languages due to the wide range of meanings of the Basque word herri. It can be translated as nation; country, land; people, population and town, village, settlement. The first part, Euskal, is the adjectival form of Euskara "the Basque language". Thus a more literal translation would be "country/nation/people/settlement of the Basque language", a concept difficult to render into a single word in most other languages.The two earliest references (in various spelling guises) are in Joan Perez de Lazarraga's manuscript, dated around 1564–1567 as eusquel erria and eusquel erriau and heuscal herrian ('in the Basque Country') and Heuscal-Herrian in Joanes Leizarraga's Bible translation, published in 1571.

Territory

The term Basque Country refers to a collection of regions inhabited by the Basque people, known as Euskal Herria in Basque language, and it is first attested as including seven traditional territories in Axular's literary work Gero (he goes on to suggest that Basque language is spoken "in many other places"), in the early 17th century. Some Basques refer to the seven traditional districts collectively as Zazpiak Bat, meaning "The Seven [are] One", a motto coined in the late 19th century.

Northern Basque Country

The Northern Basque Country, known in Basque as Iparralde (literally, "the northern part") is the part of the Basque Country that lies entirely within France, specifically as part of the Pyrénées-Atlantiques départment of France, and as such it is also usually known as French Basque Country (Pays basque français in French). In most contemporary sources it covers the arrondissement of Bayonne and the cantons of Mauléon-Licharre and Tardets-Sorholus, but sources disagree on the status of the village of Esquiule. Within these conventions, the area of Northern Basque Country (including the 29 square kilometres (11 square miles) of Esquiule) is 2,995 square kilometres (1,156 square miles).

The French Basque Country is traditionally subdivided into three provinces:

· Labourd, historical capital Ustaritz, main settlement today Bayonne

· Lower Navarre, historical capitals Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port and Saint-Palais, main settlement today Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port

· Soule, historical capital Mauléon (also current main settlement)

However, this summary presentation makes it hard to justify the inclusion of a few communes in the lower Adour region. As emphasized by Jean Goyhenetche, it would be more accurate to depict it as the reunion of five entities: Labourd, Lower Navarre, Soule but also Bayonne and Gramont.

Southern Basque Country

The Southern Basque Country, known in Basque as Hegoalde (literally, "the southern part") is the part of the Basque region that lies completely within Spain, and as such it is frequently also known as Spanish Basque Country (País Vasco español in Spanish). It is the largest and most populated part of the Basque Country. It includes two main regions: the Basque Autonomous Community (Vitoria-Gasteizas capital) and the Chartered Community of Navarre (capital city Pamplona).

The Basque Autonomous Community (7,234 km²) consists of three provinces, specifically designated "historical territories":

· Álava (capital: Vitoria-Gasteiz)

· Biscay (capital: Bilbao)

· Gipuzkoa (capital: Donostia-San Sebastián)

The Chartered Community of Navarre (10,391 km²) is a single-province autonomous community. Its name refers to the charters, the Fueros of Navarre. The Spanish Constitution of 1978 states that Navarre may become a part of the Autonomous Community of the Basque Country if it is so decided by its people and institutions (the Disposicion transitoria cuarta or "Fourth Transitory Provision"). To date, there has been no implementation of this law. Despite demands for a referendum by minority leftist forces and Basque nationalists in Navarre, it has been opposed by mainstream Spanish parties and Navarrese People's Union; the ruling party up until 2015. The latter has repeatedly asked for an amendment to the Constitution to remove this clause.

In addition to those, two enclaves located outside of the respective autonomous community are often cited as being part of both the Basque Autonomous Community and also the greater Basque Country:

· The Treviño enclave (280 km²), a Castilian enclave in Álava

· Valle de Villaverde (20 km²), a Cantabrian exclave in Biscay

· Navarre also holds two small administrative strips in Aragon, organised as Petilla de Aragón.

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