The Basque History of the World

Rating:
Summary: Hard to put down, but...
Review: I've always been interested in basque culture and language, have even tried to learn euskera on my own. That said, I also am very interested in spanish culture (castilian, galician, catalan etc.) as such and have lived in Madrid for a while.

I found this book very readable and hard to put down, Kurlansky has a knack for presenting the material in an entertaining and readable fashion without getting stylistically bland. Despite that, I have some gripes with it. Kurlansky is obviously a journalist and writes the book as such, but I for one would have wanted more of a historians account. His choice of not using footnotes or endnotes, but just supplying a general bibliography at the end, is very annoying, because that way he is able to put down statements without backing them up. I even found one wrong statement, that basque ships had been sighted in Iceland in 1412. That's wrong, these ships were english, ushering in what is called the English Age in icelandic history (basques didn't arrive in Iceland until the end of the 16th. century, there are at least no accounts available of earlier encounters). Kurlansky is not the only one guilty of making this mistake, but if he would have dug a bit further he would have found out the truth. So it goes to show, if he trusted is sources so blindly in this case, what else is inaccurate there? Again, the use of footnotes/endnotes would have solved this, as one would have been able to verify each statement.

Kurlansky is also quite romantic, and even if he tries to criticize when criticism is due, it's quite obvious that his sympathy lies with the basques. This mix works quite well in the earlies chapters on prehistory, but not as well when he talks about the political situation today. Although I doubt that what he says of the Madrid government is wrong, but he doesn't back it up sufficiently, again, something that would have been solved by using footnotes or endnotes. Furthermore, he doesn't tell much of the deeds of ETA except for the more heroic ones in the 60's and 70's. ETA has of course been guilty of extreme cruelty through the years, which Kurlansky fails to mention. He also fails to describe how ETA has changed through the years, getting more extremist every year as more moderate members leave. He also is guilty of inaccuracies such as stating that "Euskal Herritarrok" is just "Herri Batasuna" with another name, which is not entirely true. He's also not entirely right that the street violence (or "kale barroka") is not favourable to ETA or its supporters, as members of Herri Batasuna have recently shown support publically. He also doesn't mention that there are members within Herri Batasuna that feel that ETA should give up their violent struggle. I don't know why Kurlansky chose not to give a more balanced account, perhaps he found it necessary because the spanish (Madrid) press is usually is very biased against basque nationalism (not just ETA), and that is usually the viewpoint that comes across in the international media. Kurlanskys viewpoint deserves to be heard, though, the spanish government has not been the innocent bystander they like us to believe and it is amazing that accounts have not yet been settled after the Franco years. The authorities just seem to trust that these times will be forgotten in the "New Spain". Anyway, I give the book 3 stars, it's very readable and hard to put down and gives a good overview of the history of the basques, but shouldn't be taken at face value as it is not without bias and also is guilty of some inaccuracies and sometimes a bit careless handling of source material.

Rating:
Summary: LET US BE WHAT WE ARE GAREAN GAREANA LEGEZ
Review: Kurlansky has written a brilliant introduction to a mysterious people. It is also a timely one, although not universally popular considering its rather lax treatment of ETA violence. Kurlansky does perhaps harbour sympathies for the Basque people and even for the most extreme of their nationalist tendencies, but he does not let this completely cloud his judgment, and it is not entirely clear that Kurlansky "takes sides" or endorses one course of action or another. I can see why it would be easy to become so attached to the Basques and their culture, their language, and the ongoing fight they have pursued in order to keep these fundamentals of who they are intact. People deserve to keep their history, heritage, language, and cuisine, and the Basques have a long, rich, and misunderstood history which deserves the kind of recognition Kurlansky's book brings to their cause, wherever Kurlansky's personal sympathies lie.

I felt that Kurlansky presented basically unbiased information, particularly about the history of the Basques in centuries past. The book is filled with revelations about this formidable and fascinating culture, and I feel that these kinds of explorations in Kurlansky's research and writing dominated this work much more so than current political issues or separatist violence. Sure, it is easy enough for me to say this, completely isolated from the violence and the everyday problems these tense relations may create, but I can say that there are groups in the world who are routinely terrorized by other groups without provocation. (Perhaps "terrorized" is not the ideal word choice because I do not see a reign of terror in the making. I do see that some people may perceive the unrest as such depending on their vantage point).

I, however, was an interested reader who was wholly ignorant of Basque culture and history and wanted to learn more. I got lucky when I wandered through the Halifax, Nova Scotia airport one afternoon and found this book there. Kurlansky has written a well-organized, clear, and thoughtful introduction to the Basque people... people who are misunderstood, underrepresented, and unknown in some cases (I rarely meet Americans, for example, who know what a Basque is. When I tell them they scoff and wonder why I would care to know). I emphasize that I consider this book to be only an introduction or a stepping stone. Kurlansky has not provided the definitive and comprehensive history of the Basque people. He has merely provided a useful tool for further study. One thing that was a fascinating, albeit seemingly random, addition to his work was the interweaving of Basque culinary information. Although I sincerely enjoyed those tidbits, I found their placement a bit annoying.

At the heart of the book is the question that lingers on... "if Euskera is the oldest living language in Europe, are the Basques the oldest European culture?" Euskera has been called an impossible, obscure and incomprehensible language, and for much of history the Euskera speakers were left to themselves, and they developed and explored (as other reviewers point out). They became expert whalers and fishermen, the world's first capitalists, industrialists and the first modern bankers in Spain. Yet there is little more than speculation to corroborate ideas that the Basques were so advanced, particularly in crossing the Atlantic earlier than anyone else.

Major turning points for the Basques have included the 1600s, when, as a nationless nationality, they were more or less locked out of the fishing industry. In the 1700s, the abolition of the Basque traditional laws, the Fueros, followed by the abolition of traditionally collectively held land, also seemed to change things. A pivotal character in the history of Basque nationalism was Sabino Arana, who invented words to create a nation, if in language only, for the Euskera speaking people. "In the Basque language, which is called Euskera, there is no word for Basque. The only word to identify a member of their group is Euskaldun-Euskera speaker. Their land is called Euskal Herria-the land of Euskera speakers. It is language that defines a Basque." Arana wanted to change this by making a new word-Euskadi-to give their region a name.

This is another key question-what exactly makes a person Basque? Is it parentage, residence in Basqueland, or speaking the language? The definition of a Basque has changed over time, but Kurlansky did a fine job exploring some of the changes in attitude and questions surrounded what makes a person Basque. In recent years, there has been a renaissance of "Basqueness" and trying to discover Basqueness. People in the region have been learning and teaching Basque language and culture, and there has been a more prolific creation of a Basque literature. I felt that these issues were key to the book, or at least I hope they were, because that was the most beautiful idea I could think of. The Basque people have survived centuries of adversity, and I think it is much more useful to look at the everyday people rather than ETA extremism. I feel inspired to travel to the Basque region and also to take up the study of Euskera myself (for anyone interested, the University of Nevada in Reno, USA offers online courses and even a PhD program in Basque!)

Rating:
Summary: Despite flaws this is a good book
Review: Despite the fact this this is popular history this is a good read. Few books detail the Basques or their unique history and even fewer books are as illuminating as this one. From short histories of whaling to the birth of the Jesuit missionaries and other things this read is like a scroll of history. From detailing the odd and confounded Carlist wars to the Basque support of Republicanism, although they had nothing in common with the radical communists, and of course the modern issue of the ETA and the suppression of the Basques under Franco, this book seems to do it all. Immensely informative while not always willing to make judgment calls this book is still a must read. On par with other wonderful works like 1968 and 'The Chosen Few' this book also has great chapters on Basque food and the Basque language. Anyone will enjoy this book. The expert Spanish historian may have qualms with the authors slight bias but nevertheless this wide span of this book out-ways any criticism.

Seth J. Frantzman

Rating:
Summary: A good read spoilt
Review: This could have been a very nice book indeed, and so I hoped having throughly enjoyed "Cod" While the author suceeds in giving a sense of basque history and culture (specially good are chapters on fishing, whaling and food), the book is seriously spoilt by its badly substantiated political intent. I doubt not that the writer has as good a knowledge of the basque country as the next foreigner, and his unaccuracy just goes to show how complex the basque situation is. As someone who was born, bred and grown in the Basque Country (not a "basque" as I have no basque name and don't speak the language) I was dismayed at some of the affirmations of the book and some of the serious omissions, as mentioned by other readers. I love basque history and culture, and above all I love basque people. They deserve better than this. It is evident that this book was writen with love too. But the result is simply wrong: it glorifies the actions of a bunch of cruel assassins whom are hated by the majority of the basques. A very irresponsible thing to do.

Rating:
Summary: Misnamed, Fascinating Book, Great for Spanish History Buffs
Review: The most important facet of this book on the Basques is that it finally offers something new and daring to those of us who are somewhat familiar with the general facts on the subject of Basque history and politics. This was very much what I expected after reading the book's title, which makes it sound as if it were about how Basques have perceived world events and culture. Au contraire, the title is merely an attempt to attract readers, and in all truthfulness the book is actually a "History of the Basque World" .

Despite this criticism of little importance, I laud the book because here in Spain we are inundated with two extremist viewpoints on Basque issues: that of the most fanatical Basques who favor terrorism and independence, and that of the Spanish mainstream, which gives lip service to Basque autonomy and culture but then rails anything that has to do with the Basques (the usual madrileño or andalusian will opine "let them have their autonomy" and "it just disgusts me when they speak their caveman tongue" in the same conversation). Perhaps the forte of the book is that it is written by neither a Basque nor a (non-Basque) Spaniard, affording the author a somewhat more distant, less passionate viewpoint that allows him to relate historical events with much less of an ideological tint. And I found that he did so brilliantly and in an entertaining style, providing an interesting bookful of information to both those who know about the Basque Country and others who are being introduced to the topic for the first time, including the basic history of the region, local politics, culture, language, cuisine, current events, customs and relations with neighbors. You may criticize that he is "sympathetic" to the Basque cause (whatever you define that to be), but if he were not, then why would he have written a such an excellent book on the topic? He certainly shows no sympathy or support of any kind for terrorists, which is the only important factor in making his opinions as valid as anyone else's, and he certainly argues all of his points intelligently.

Rating:
Summary: Generally informative but take with a rock of salt
Review: Just like any other book, this one has its ups and downs. Unfortunately the downs seem to prevail in the overall picture. The "history" of the Basques is confusingly unsystematic, often not following the chronological sequence of events, and completely lost on the point of what is worth accenting and elaborating upon and what not (if you found the last sentence a bit disorderly, you already have an impression of what I mean.) Even though the author never added the ambitious "complete" to the title - maybe to avoid the obvious criticism that the text is far from exhaustive - he could have avoided a few dozens of the personal stories peppering this Basque pot. "Putting a human face" to history can not only be misleading, but can be politically dangerous especially when it shares covers with chapters on ETA and the government in Madrid. Mark Kurlansky seems humble enough never to make open statements on issues like globalization, nation versus state, ethnicity, culture, autonomy, and sovereignty, but leads the reader far enough to spell his opinions in evey blank space of the pages.
The ups come from the leisurely style of the writing, the variety of selected materials (also a down of course), but most of all from the fact that there are not even ten pounds (weightwise, not British quid) worth of books on the topic available to the English speaker.
Recommended to the curious and indiscriminate.

Rating:
Summary: Very enjoyable introduction to lesser known subject...
Review: The Basques certainly deserve their own history, even if this retelling is highly subjective and not objectively historical. Kurlansky seems more in the business of giving clues to the Basque world without spelling everything out. The importance of home or "etxea" in the Basque mindset is explained, as are the resurgences of Basque languages (there seems to be more than one,) and nationalism. The devolution of some aspect of that nationalism into pure violence, and the terrorism of the ETA, is not developed. But the Basque identities of historical figures like Saint Ignatius Loyola and the writer Miguel De Unamuno are satisfyingly explained, as are the differences between later Basque leaders like Sabino Arano, and the chief executive in exile during WWII, Aguirre. Beyond that it's a bit of a hodge-podge, going from the development of Basque trade and industry with the Americas, the creation of the dish "pil-pil," the roots of Basque theology, and the significance of Guernica both as the center of Basque identity and as the victim of the staggering attack by Franco during the Spanish Civil War. And of course, the other reviewer is right. Ferdinand and Isabella had several children, the most significant of which are Juana La Loca and Katherine of Aragon who was the unfortunate first wife of England's Henry VIII. Kurlansky got that wrong, but I assumed he was oversimplifying.

Rating:
Summary: Romantic history
Review: I spent about 4 years in the Basque Country (Donostia and Deba). While Mr. Kurlansky has gotten all the little anecdotes right and places Ignatius of Loyola , Elcano, Unamuno and
Pio Baroja in their rightful place as towering figures of Western
Culture and true universalists, this book is severely maimed by a
romanticized and unreal vision of the land it portrays. Especially
when it comes to gloss over the violent tactics of groups such as E.T.A. and others . This group had its moment and its justification but not anymore. Not to advocate terrorism, kill bystanders and use blackmail and extortion. The author misses completely the irony of these groups advocating nationalism, racism and violence (fascism) to promote their agenda. Hitler was just as romantic. It also misses the true "novelty" of the Basques as a nation and Euzkera as a language. The intentions of the Spanish government are always dubious while the "victim" murderers have only the common interest and progress in their mind . In short. his portrait is extremely biased and only one side
of the story. .......

Rating:
Summary: Very Interesting and Informative Reading
Review: I bought this book based on the quality of Mark Kurlansky's other works. As with his other books, Mark does a very thorough and effective job of bringing to light much little known information about a somewhat obscure topic, and actually makes it interesting to read. While this book is slightly difficult to read due to the abundance of Basque words, I still enjoyed it immensely and feel that it is worth the effort. The Basque truly are a unique and noble people with many things to teach the rest of the world. A nation within a nation, Basqueland is separated from its neighbors not by geographical or political boundaries, but by cultural boundaries, which is most likely the biggest reason why the improbable Basque nation is still in existence today.

Rating:
Summary: Interesting Historical Look at Northern Spain
Review: I was very interested in the Basque country after I learned that my family (ARMIJO) can be traced as early as the 13th Century to Laredo, Spain, a small resort beach town in the heart of Basque land. I learned a lot & reflected on a few customs that have been carried over in my family...for example, love of sardines & pride in my Spanish heritage. This was quite interesting to learn about the long history of the Basque people. It's amazing to realize that it is quite likely that the Basque people may very well be the first known Europeans.
I strongly recommend this for any one visiting Northern Spain, any historian interested in Europe &/or any one of Spanish ancestry. I recently (Oct. 2002) visited Laredo, Spain, Zaragoza, Spain (The Armijo Palace) and Biarritz, France...I felt at home and safe in these areas.