The Basques are an indigenous ethno-linguistic group primarily inhabiting the Basque Country, a region that spans northeastern Spain and southwestern France. While geographically located in the Iberian Peninsula, Basques are often distinguished from other Iberian populations due to their unique language, culture, and genetic profile. Linguistically, Basque is a language isolate with no known relation to ancient Iberian or Indo-European languages, and is believed to be a descendant of the pre-Indo-European tongues once spoken across Western Europe. Genetically and culturally, Basques are more closely linked to the ancient Aquitani people of what is now southwestern France. Although the northern Aquitani have largely assimilated into French identity, their southern counterparts persisted culturally and linguistically as the Basques. As such, the Basques are considered a distinct non-Indo-European population indigenous to Western Europe, with deep historical roots predating modern national borders.
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History of the Basque people in the context of Duchy of Gascony
The Duchy of Gascony or Duchy of Vasconia was an ethnic Basque duchy located in present-day southwestern France and northeastern Spain, an area encompassing the modern region of Gascony. The Duchy of Gascony, then known as Vasconia, was originally a Frankish march formed to hold sway over the Basques. However, the duchy went through different periods, from its early years with its distinctively Basque element to the merger in personal union with the Duchy of Aquitaine to the later period as a dependency of the Plantagenet kings of England.
Gascony was under continuous English rule for approximately 300 years, from 1152 to 1453. Charles VII of France reconquered the territory as a final act of the Hundred Years' War and the northern part of the territory was annexed by the Kingdom of France in 1453. The corresponding portion within the Iberian Peninsula became the Kingdom of Navarre.