Class Notes 4
Key Social and Economic Changes in the 19th and 20th centuries
Hegoalde
• Industrialization (Bessemer Process of 1856)
• Urbanization
• Some tourism in Gipuzkoa (Donostia, Zarautz, Zestoa)
• Demographic exchange (immigration/emigration)
Iparralde
• Economic stagnation in the rural interior
• Growth of tourism on the coast (Biarritz)
• Emigration and limited immigration
Etxe (house, home), the most important word in Basque?
ETXE (house) + BERRI/BARRI (new) = ‘new house’:
ETXEBERRI(A), ETXEBARRI(A), ETCHEVERRY, DETCHEVERRY, ECHEVERRÍA, ECHEVARRÍA; also:
ETXEBARRIA > XABIER > JAVIER
ETXE + GOIEN (highest) = ‘highest house’: ETXEGOIEN, ETCHEGOIEN
GOIKO (upper) + ETXE = ‘upper house’: GOIKOETXEA, GOICOECHEA
ETXE + ARTE (between) = ‘between houses’: ETXART, ETCHART, ECHART(E)
BEHE(A) (lower) + ETXE = ‘lower house’: BEASKOETXEA, BEASCOECHEA
ETXE + BARREN (inner, lowest) = ‘inner/lowest house’: ETXEBARREN, ECHEBARREN(A)
ETXE + HANDI(A) (big) = ‘big house’: ETXEANDIA, ECHEANDIA
Also in concepts:
JATETXE < JAN (‘eat’) + ETXE (‘house’) = RESTAURANT
TXAKOLINA (Basque wine) < ETXEKO AIN (enough for the house)
The Baserri: Traditional Basque farmstead
Extended family farmsteads that were largely self-sufficient. Whole families took their social
identity from their baserri and the immutability of these farmsteads was at the core of a
seemingly changeless rural society.
Industrialization
Within the space of a generation developments in new technology placed Bilbao at the center
of the second industrial revolution in Europe during the late nineteenth century.
Basques in the Americas
Throughout the 19th and 20th centuries Basques emigrated to the Americas. They also became
prominent immigrant groups in countries like Argentina and Chile. In the US they settled in the
West and form prominent communities in Idaho, Nevada, and California. They are connected
today by a network of Euskal Etxeak (literally, “Basque houses” but meaning Basque Centers).
Boise has a Basque Block
Basque communities across the Americas maintain their traditions through restaurants, music
and dance groups, and the language. There is even a Basque-language preschool in Boise
(Boiseko Ikastola).
Tourism
Resorts (Biarritz and Donostia); Spas (Zestoa and Cambo-les-Bains/Kanbo)
Conclusions
• Significant period of industrialization in parts of Hegoalde between the 1870s and 1970s.
• Bilbao/Biscay key to the Second Industrial Revolution in Europe in the late 19th century.
• Biscay and Gipuzkoa became wealthy parts of Spain.
• Major population exchange during the same period (1870s to 1970s).
• Decline and subsequent reformulation of baserri culture.
• Decline of Basque in general.
• Maintenance of traditional culture and language in rural Iparralde and parts of northern
Navarre.