OVERCOMING FRONTIERS
At the beginning of the Early modern period, Spain and France began to consolidate. Administrative structures started to establish and become stronger.
In the 16th and 17th centuries the two kingdoms drew and delineated its borders, leaving the Basques apart on both sides of the Pyrenees.
Due to policies promoted during Early modern period, the community experienced various situations of linguistic regression and minorization.
Nevertheless, the Basque language managed to cross borders at this time. The fishermen took the language to places like Newfoundland and Iceland, creating various pidgins. On the other hand, the Basque language started to appear in written texts (Etxepare, Leizarraga, Axular…), especially religious texts.
Interviews:
Joseba Agirreazkuenaga: professor of History at the University of the Basque Country
Beñat Oihartzabal: member of Euskaltzaindia (Royal Academy of the Basque Language) and linguist at the IKER-CNRS
Miren Egaña-Goya: former head of the Basque Language Department at a Sixth Form College
Peter Bakker: researcher at the University of Aarhus (Denmark)
Music:
Khantoria: Ander Berrojalbiz, Maider Lopez, Virginia Gonzalo, Jose Menendez, Kerstin Ansorge