A Basque Bookshelf Amerikanuak: Basques in the New World William Douglas and Jon Bilbao Stanley G. Payne Rodney GallopBeltran: Basque Sheepman of the American West Beltran ParisBasque Sheepherders of the American West Photographs by Richard Lane Text by William A. Douglass Robert LaxaltThe Basques: The Franco Years and Beyond Robert G. ClarkA Time We Knew: Images of Yesterday in the Basque Homeland Photographs by William Albert Allard Text by Robert Laxalt Basques in the New World by William A. Douglass and Jon Bilbao The University of Nevada Press In the melting pot of peoples that make up the New World, probably less is known about the Basques than any other ethic group. It may come as a surprise to laymen and even some historians to learn that the Basques have been present in the New World for at least five centuries. The threads of this story have been unraveled by anthropologist William A. Douglass and historian Jon Bilbao. Seafaring Basques led the way in their pursuit of whales across uncharted oceans, certainly seeing Newfoundland and Canada in the early 1500s and perhaps long before. Christopher Columbus?s first expedition was dependent upon Basque ships and sailors. The exploits of Basque conquistadors, missionaries, and colonists formed a dramatic part of the history of South America, Mexico, and Spanish California. Basque sheepherders were the backbone of the now nearly-vanished range sheep empires of the American West. As background to understanding the Basque character and their homeland in the Pyrenean mountains and seacoasts between France and Spain, authors Douglass and Bilbao trace the Basques from their mysterious origins in prehistory to the age of exploration. Up to A Basque Bookshelf
Basque Nationalism by Stanley G. Payne University of Nevada Press The confrontation between the Franco regime and Basque nationalists in recent years has produced a series of spectacular political assassinations, trials, and reprisals. In this work, internationally noted historian Stanley G. Payne presents a vivid account of a century of ferment to establish an independent Basque country. In his probing into the causes and consequences of Basque nationalism from its origins until the present, he has provided a fascinating and well-written account of a viable opposition movement capable of challenging the unity of the Spanish state. At the same time, Professor Payne explores the many nuances, contradictory trends, and diverse opinions within the ranks of the Basque nationalists themselves. What emerges is the portrait of a movement that is fragmented into many groups of differing political ideologies, goals, and tactics. Basque Nationalism is a work of major importance for any student of Iberian history. In a broader sense, it is also critical to an understanding of how ethnic enclaves relate to central authority within modern nation-states. Up to A Basque BookshelfA Book of the Basques by Rodney Gallop University of Nevada Press Rodney Gallop?s classic work on the Basques was first published in England in 1930. It is a comprehensive study in English of the mysterious race that inhabits the Pyrenees mountains and seacoasts between France and Spain. This book probes into the unsolved origins of the Basques, their long struggle to preserve racial identity in the face of invasions, and, most importantly, the strength of character that has enabled the Basques to survive. Their complex language, folklore, ancient dances and sports, art, and architecture are also treated with insight. Gallop?s sound scholarship has yielded a book that is required reading for the serious student of ethnic cultures. His lucid literary style also makes this a vivid book. Up to A Basque BookshelfBeltran: Basque Sheepman of the American West by Beltran Parisas told to William A. Douglass University of Nevada Press Born and raised on a small farm in the Basque region of France, Beltran Paris emigrated to the American West in 1912 at the age of twenty-three. Unable to speak a word of English, Paris made the long journey to join his cousins in Wyoming. Moving on to Nevada, Paris worked as a sheepherder and then a camp tender in the deserts and mountains near Elko. He learned quickly and eventually purchased a ranch of his own, married, and started a family. By the end of his life Paris was the owner of an extensive ranching operation and several thousand acres of land. However, the road to success was not easy. Paris barely survived the farm crash of 1921 and the rigors of the depression and drought years, and later he lost considerable livestock in the disastrous blizzards of 1948-49. In his own words, Beltran Paris tells a story that is characteristic of the lives of many Basque immigrants who endured hardships but had rewarding experiences as well. Up to A Basque BookshelfBasque Sheepherders of the American WestPhotographs by Richard Lane Text by William A. DouglassUniversity of Nevada Press For more than a century, Basque sheepherders have been an integral part of the development of the American West. Leading a near solitary and nomadic existence in the region ?s vast deserts and mountains, the Basque herder was both pioneer and backbone of a frail human presence in an otherwise undisturbed natural setting. The sheep camp was superbly adapted to living conditions on the open range, affording the herder comfort and shelter from the elements, yet streamlined to permit easy portability from site to site.While Basque sheepherders were once ubiquitous on the open range of the thirteen western states, today they number only one hundred to two hundred individuals. Each aspect of the sheepherder ?s work is surveyed in this study, including lambing, trailing, shearing, docking, shipping, and winter and summer herding. The sheepherder?s personal life is also explored, from the lonely sheep camps to the Basque boardinghouse to the colorful festivals held in the West during the summer. The photographs are drawn from a variety of geographical areas and are representative of sheepherders throughout the American West.Up to A Basque BookshelfSweet Promised Land by Robert LaxaltUniversity of Nevada Press In this warm and moving story, Robert Laxalt paints an affectionate portrait of his immigrant father. Dominique Laxalt, a Basque-American sheepherder, is persuaded by his family to return home for a long-planned visit after living nearly half a century on the ranges of the American West. Accompanied by his son Robert, Dominique travels to his native Basque country in the French Pyrenees. His return to the village and mountain trails of his youth evokes ambiguous feelings as he describes to his relatives the life of hardship he has endured in the United States. The nostalgic trip to his native land ends poignantly as the elder Laxalt realizes that America has become his true home. Told with compelling sensitivity, this story portrays a family whose members share a strength of character drawn from their peasant ancestors yet remain separated by diverse cultures on different continents. Up to A Basque Bookshelf
The Basques: The Franco Years and Beyond by Robert G. Clark University of Nevada Press Robert Clark provides the first English-language treatment of Basque nationalism during the post-Franco era. The work complements earlier work of Stanley Payne, Basque Nationalism, in two ways. Whereas Payne employs a Madrid-centric perspective in order to analyze Basque nationalism as a regional challenge to central authority, Clark ?s view is Basque-centric and depicts the Spanish state as the abrogator of the rights of unique people and culture. Secondly, Payne?s work essentially terminates with the Spanish Civil War whereas the bulk of Clark?s work deals with the Franco period and its aftermath. Clark bases his analysis upon published sources and interviews with Basque nationalists of various persuasions. Clark also lends a person touch to his work, since his father-in-law, Manuel Irujo, was the last Minister of Justice in the Spanish Republican government and a member of the Basque government-in-exile.Up to A Basque BookshelfA Time We Knew Images of Yesterday in the Basque Homeland Photographs by William Albert Allard Text by Robert Laxalt University of Nevada Press In the late 1960s a profound change was taking place in the rural Basque culture of the Pyrenees. A way of life that had remained almost static for generations was coming to an end. The days of wooden shoes and oxen and hand-hewn yokes were numbered. The coming of the tractor embodied more than the appearance of a complex and impersonal machine, it was a symbol of progress and violent change in the lives and attitudes of peasant farmers. Photographer William Albert Allard and writer Robert Laxalt were there to capture the change in image and prose. In A Time We Knew, Allard ?s striking images and Laxalt?s lyrical prose capture forever the way it once was in the homeland of the Basques: village market days filled with animals and farm folk, handball and jai alai, courtings and song; the sound of tiny bells as the valley flocks wend their way in spring to grassy slopes above the timberline; the vanishing bard and the presence of song at the table, in the bistros, and on the mountain; cobblestone streets and country lanes and old farmhouses; mountain people for whom ?the little people? are reality and not superstition.Up to A Basque Bookshelf |
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