The Basques are one of the oldest cultures currently in existence, preserving one of the few languages continually spoken for thousands of years. Not even today have scholars been able to date either the origin of the people or the roots of the language they speak. However, there is no lack of theories and suppositions that have been discussed. Regardless of this, the Basques are one of the oldest living European cultures alive. The most modern and credible theory is that one brought up by the prehistorian Bosch Gimpera (Eiguren, 1972), which states that Basques are descendants of Paleolithic people who inhabited the Pyrenean Region of Southern France and Northern Spain.
Today, the Basque region is located between the Adur River, which separates it from France to the North, and the Ebro River to the South separating it from Spain. Historically the Basques have always lived in this area although they encompassed further regions in past times. Through the tumultuous history of the Iberian Peninsula (so called because the Iberians were among the first inhabitants of Hispania) the Basques never were conquered by the many would be invaders. The Basques encountered the Celts, Celtiberians, Phoenicians, Greeks, Carthaginians, Romans and Germanic tribes (Visigoths, Vandals, Franks, etc).
It is not until 1789, after the French Revolution, that France annexed the Basque region between the Adur River and the Pyrenees. In the South, the Basques lost their independence after the first Carlist War in October 25, 1839 becoming the "Basque Provinces" of Spain. However the Basques never gave up their freedom making an attempt in 1872 to regain their independence. After this there was a period when the language was prohibited from being spoken, as well as censorship of the press and of educators who were removed and sent to other regions.
The Year 1892 marked the "Basque Renaissance" with the birth of the Basque Nationalist party, playing an important role in the current events taking place now in Euskadi (Basque country). As other regions in Spain became restless with the monarchy unable to create the necessary social conditions for its people, Jose Maria Primo de Rivera was established in the 1920's to remove any vestige of freedom in the Basque region and any remaining use of the Basque language. In 1927 King Alfonso XIII ousted the dictator and proclaimed a more liberal monarchy, which in 1931 lost a plebiscite. Thus we had the birth of the First Republic on April 14, 1931. Because of some of the changes (land reform, workers' rights) and dissatisfaction with the new system, as early as November 1932 the rightists tried to rise in arms and were defeated. However, in 1933 the rightist came into power and attempted to regain and roll back the changes made during the First Republic. Given the changes brought about and the brutality used against the people, the Rightists lost power to the Republicans in February 1936 and the Second Republic was born. It was in November, on what is known as the "Basque Plebiscite", when 80 percent of the Basque voted for their independence and on October 7, 1936 when the Basque Nation was born.
The Basques played a very prominent role in the 1936-1939 Spanish Civil War. They also suffered many loses other than their independence. As a direct consequence of the armed conflict and the bombing of civilian centers such as Guernica during the Spanish Civil War, over 100,000 Basque children were shipped to countries that were supportive of the Spanish Republic. Of these, 4,000 arrived in Southampton, England, for two months stayed under canvass, and later were dispersed all over England. Seventy children were welcomed at the Cambria House in Caerleon, South Wales. Although most of them came back, there were many who did not.