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Elijah Obeng

GEO 171
Professor Hunter
11/18/14
Book review to The Basque History of the World by Mark Kurlansky
A few phrases of Basque could lead to an arrest (1). Kurlansky highlights the
oppression of a group of people called the Basque that lived in Basque Country located in
the mountains of Spain. More specifically Basque land begins at the Adour River with its
mouth at Bayonne and in total is slightly smaller than New Hampshire. Basque land contains
seven provinces, four in Spain and three in France. The beginning quote describes the quality
of life under Francisco Franco (dictator of Spain from 1939 to his death in 1975), who
banned their language and tried to crush their culture and identity. Contrary to popular
opinion towards the Basque people, Kurlansky tries to retell the history of the Basque in a
more positive outlook. On the other side of the argument, several Spaniard view the Basque
as a problem due to their violent separatist movement that murdered several hundred people.
Brutal repression under General Franco, lead to a long campaign of bombings, murders and
kidnappings by intransigent fighters for Basque independence. The Basque language, which
is called Euskera has unclear origins; in retrospect the origins of the whole Basque people
are a bit of a mystery. The early Basques left no written records, and the first accounts of
them, two centuries after the Romans arrived in 218 B.C (19) Kurlansky states. Basques
have the highest concentration of Type O and Rh negative blood in the world and are

physically different than most Spaniards due to having longer facial features. The most
intriguing part about the Basque history is their language. A rather small vocabulary in
comparison to English by a few millions words has no linguistic relative. Meaning no one
has really found another language quite Euskera. Kurlansky makes the connection that it
doesnt belong to the Indo-European family of languages (23). If thats the case the Basque
language could predate before the Indo-European invasion which could mean it is Europe
oldest living language. If the Basque language could possibly be the oldest language in
Europe, could it also be the oldest European culture? This question is of much interest,
mystery, and controversy about the origin of the Basque people.
The Basque people are accredited to inventing the game known as pelote or, in
Spanish and English, pelota. They also created numerous sports including not only pelota but
wagon-lifting contests called orgo joko, and sheep fighting known as aharitalka. They were
the explorers who connected Europe to North America, South America, Africa, and Asia.
They were among the first capitalist, experimenting with tariff-free international trade. They
became leading industrialists: shipbuilders, steelmakers, and manufacturers. Kurlansky
admired Considering how small a group the Basques are, they have made remarkable
contributions to world history (4). However due to negative opinions almost no one wants
to remember the Basque role in building Spain itself, much like the Irish in Britain or African
Americans in the United States. For most of their history the Basque had no territorial
ambitions, they only wanted sovereignty and an ability to rule themselves without the
intrusion of Spain policy. The Basque were heavily influenced by the widespread Christianity
crusades. By the 19th century they were known as the most devout Christians. Along with the

Christianity movement, there came mass hysteria about witchcraft in the area. Some
historians estimated there were about 600 accused witches of being burned alive. Even into
the 20th century some parts of the Basque country still believed that a blood spot on the eye
was the mark of the devil. The Basque were also known to be extraordinary fishermen,
chasing whale and cod all the way to the North Atlantic. Through time the Basque always
wanted regional autonomy but due to the fact it was within the borders of Spain and France,
they always meet opposition.
Mark Kurlansky was born in Hartford, Connecticut. He received his BA from Butler
University in 1970 and then worked in New York as a playwright. However he was unhappy
about the direction of theater in New York and turned to journalism. For about 15 years he
worked as a foreign correspondent for a multitude of newspapers and magazines including
The International Herald Tribune, The Philadelphia Inquirer, The Miami Herald, The
Chicago Tribune, The Los Angeles Times, Time Magazine, etc. He has given numerous guest
lectures at Columbia University School of Journalism and Yale University. Kurlansky has
won quite a few awards as well including ALA Notable Book Awards and having several of
his books become New York Times Best Sellers. Kurlanskys purpose for writing The Basque
History of the World was to act as a sympathizer and positive supporter for the people of
Basque. As I stated earlier in the review many Spaniards have a negative connotation
towards the Basque but Kurlansky expresses sympathy for the Basque independence
movement; arguing that many of Spain's current and past policies toward its Basque minority
are unfair. Kurlansky even goes as far as supporting that the Basque are the oldest society in
Europe mostly due to their unique language Euskera. Kurlansky presents the data of cultural

studies, history, and politics of Basque much like a journalist would. Kurlansky even fuels
the fire of the belief that the Basque are a mythical people by his many entertaining
anecdotes, myths, and facts about them. Kurlansky reprises The Basque seem to be a
mythical people, almost an imagined people. Their ancient culture is filled with undated
legends and customs (18). Kurlansky justifies the logic for Basque autonomy and presents
reason for its historical use of terrorism.
The most reoccurring theme and questions that were brought up during the book was
the actual morality or actual outlook of the Basque people. Meaning were the Basque as bad
as some Spaniards felt they were or were they unfairly judged? The second theme that
frequently occurred was the debate on the origins of the Basque. Since early Basque history
doesnt have many written records their time origins are unknown, some debating that they
are pre-roman and even some believing they are the lost thirteenth tribe of Israel.
Kurlanskys presentation is for the most part effective due to his vast coverage of all of their
history. A devils advocate roll would have been a good inclusion in some parts of the book;
Mark Kurlansky's passion for the Basque people may give a bit biased side in the
presentation. This book is definitely for the general public; one of Kurlanskys main purposes
was to give the Basque people a positive history representation. Kurlansky definitely wanted
to educate people who either didnt know about the Basque or people who might have
thought negatively about them. Nothing in this book it too complicated for anyone not
specifically studying about the Basque, Spain, languages, etc. The book even included
pictorial representations about some abstract ideas. The authors presentation overall is pretty
effective. Kurlanskys eye for detail demonstrates political, literary, and culinary history into

an entertaining tale for the reader. Again as stated earlier, I think some opposition points
about the Basque sprinkled throughout the text would have benefited the book. I only say
this because nowhere in the world has some group of peoples history only been positive.
Such as in America, this countrys history has been an even mix of bad and good; but its
those experiences that molded not only America but the world today.

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