Abstract

The formation of the Basque diaspora in Latin America can be divided into several different periods. First, the so-called original diaspora, from the 16th to 18th century, of Basques who were part of the Spanish colonial regime. The second can be traced to the 19th century, consisting of a mixture of impoverished Basque migrants seeking jobs, especiallyin Uruguay and in Argentina, and of refugees fleeing from the Spanish War of Independence and the Carlist wars. The third wave is identified by, but not only through, the considerable numberof refugees from the Spanish Civil War  in the 1930’s. The fourth wave came during the 1970’s, with refugees from the Franco Dictatorship, ETA members and sympathisers. In this paper I will
argue that each new wave of migrants brought tension to the diaspora, having the Euskal Etxeak, or Basque houses, as a focus point. The main idea is to analyse the different tensions and political discussions of this set of diasporic waves in Latin America.

Keywords

Diaspora – Basque Diaspora – Basque Country – Euskal Etxea – Identity – Abertzale – Nationalism

Originally presented as a Paper “Historical background of the Basque Diaspora in Latin America: Integration and tensions” presented at 26th AEMI Conference in Santiago de Compostela, Spain. 2016 (29/09/2016)