Gloria P. Totoricagüena presents a thorough comparative examination of the remarkable endurance of Basque identity and culture in six countries of the far-flung Basque diaspora. Using the results of interviews and extensive anonymous surveys with more than eight hundred informants in the diaspora, plus extensive research in archives and printed sources in all six of her study countries, Totoricagüena reveals for the first time the complex and interrelated universe of these dispersed Basques. She explores the elements of their migration patterns and the institutions that have encouraged identity maintenance, the impacts on established communities of each new wave of immigrants, and the nature of economic and political ties with the homeland. Totoricagüena offers a superb quantitative study of an aspect of Basque culture that has been largely ignored by scholars—the diaspora. In doing so, she enlarges the understanding of cultural identity in general—how it is defined and preserved, how it evolves over time, and how both the politics of distant places and the most intimate family habits can shape an individual’s sense of self. Identity, Culture, and Politics in the Basque Diaspora is a major contribution to the knowledge of Basques and their persistent political and cultural traditions.

An investigation into the specifics of Basque migrations, cultural representations, diasporic politics, and ethnonationalism, using theories from sociology, political science, history, and anthropology. Distributed for the Center for Basque Studies.

Over the past four decades William A. Douglass has studied emigration from the European Basque homeland to several countries of North and South America, as well as Australia. Global Vasconia compiles nineteen of this essays, some of which were instrumental in defining the field of Basque diaspora studies.

This work, by William Douglass (who helped initiate the Basque Studies Program at the University of Nevada, Reno) and Jon Bilbao (author of several Basque reference works), is the most accessible overview of the Basque diaspora in the Western Hemisphere. Amerikanuak is a pioneering study of one of the American West’s most important ethnic minorities, an engaging, comprehensive survey of Basque migration and settlement in the Americas, and an essential introduction to the history of the Basque people and their five centuries of involvement in the New World. Research for the book took the authors through ten states of the American West, Mexico, Colombia, Peru, Chile, Argentina, Brazil, and Venezuela as they traced the exploits of Basque whalers in the medieval Atlantic, the Basque conquistadors, missionaries, colonists, and sheepherders who formed a dramatic part of the history of Spanish America. They also follow the story of the Basques back to their mysterious origins in prehistory to provide background for understanding the Basques’ character and their homeland in the Pyrenean mountains and seacoasts between France and Spain. This is a revised and updated edition of the original 1975 publication. New preface by William A. Douglass.

Nine specialists give us their analyses and diagnoses of the legal status of language planning and of the current situation of the Basque language in its homeland and abroad. Articles detail contemporary legal cases, laws, government policies and programs both in Euskal Herria and in the Basque diaspora that hinder or help the living Basque language, Euskara. Language coexistence in Canada is highlighted as a comparative reference.

From Columbus's first voyage to ""the Indies"" in 1492, Basques have participated in Spain's American enterprise. Supported by centuries of experience as mariners, shipbuilders, traders, miners and ironworkers; encouraged toward emigration by restrictive inheritance laws and a land-poor territory; and conditioned by a culture that prized hard work and social solidarity, the Basques were poised to play a significant role in the exploration and development of the New World. The first Basques arrived with Columbus, and well into the 20th century they continued to arrive seeking livelihood and refuge. ""Possible Paradises"", Jose Manuel Azcona Pastor's study of Basque emigration to the Americas, is a work considered to be of monumental importance. Covering mo re than five centuries of history, Azcona examines the roles and fates of the Basques who came to the New World. He also studies the impact of the New World on the Basque Country. He considers the role of Basques in the Spanish imperial expeditions of exploration and conquest, and their participation in transatlantic commerce and communication. The Basque diaspora, although worldwide in dimension, has had its greatest presence and importance in the Americas. Enhanced by numerous tables and graphs, maps, name lists and photographs, Azcona's pioneering study views the Basque presence in the New World through the broadest possible lens, linking Basque communities and activities from Argentina to the North American West.