Sabino Arana
Encyclopedia
Sabino Arana Goiri, self-styled as Arana ta Goiri'taŕ Sabin, (January 26, 1865 – November 25, 1903), was a Spanish
and Basque
writer. He was the founder of the Basque Nationalist Party (PNV)
and father of Basque nationalism
.
He died in Sukarrieta
at the age of 38 after falling ill with Addison's disease
during time spent in prison. He had been charged with treason for attempting to send a telegram to President Theodore Roosevelt
, in which he praised the United States for helping Cuba gain independence from Spain
.
One of the consequences of the Second Carlist War
was the substitution of the Ancien Régime system of Basque Fueros by a limited autonomy, due to the support in Navarre
and part of the Basque country to the defeated Carlist cause. The Basque Country and Navarre were integrated into the Spanish customs system. Basque industrialists profitted from the Spanish captive market
with the iron ore and the Bessemer converter and Biscay became "the iron California
". Workers from all of Spain were attracted to the area as labourers for the burgeoning industry.
Arana was born in a jauntxo ("petty noble") family from Abando
, a neighbourhood that had been recently incorporated into the city of Bilbao
as the new extension for the growth of the industrial era.
He claimed that he had a quasi-religious revelation on Easter
, 1882, that he communicated to his brother Luis Arana
. From then he devoted himself to the nationalist cause of Biscay, later extended to the Basque Country.
He was an early defender of the use of the Basque language
in all areas of society, to avoid its increasing marginalization in the face of the dominant Spanish.
He learned the language as a young man, but was ready to contest for a professor in Basque position at the Instituto de Bilbao, competing against Miguel de Unamuno
and the winner, Resurrección María de Azkue
who became an erudite scholar of the language.
He made a strong effort to establish a codified orthography and grammar for the Basque language, and proposed several neologisms to replace words of Spanish origin.
Some of this innovations like the characters ĺ
and ŕ
were finally not accepted in the standardization efforts for the Basque language of the 1970s that eventually came with the now standard Basque Batua
.
His first published work was Bizkaya por su independencia ("Biscay for its independence"), composed of a mix of historical, pseudo mythical stories and fabrications of earlier battles of the ancient people of Biscay.
In 1894 he founded the first center for the new nationalist party (Partido Nacionalista Vasco), the second-oldest political party in Spain, to provide a place for gathering and proselytizing.
Sabino Arana, like many Europeans of his time, believed that the essence of a country was defined by its blood or ethnic composition. Sabino Arana, coming from a Carlist background, created a xenophobic ideology centered on the purity of the Basque race and its so-called moral supremacy over other Spaniards (a derivation of the system of limpieza de sangre
of Modern-Age Spain), anti-Liberal Catholic integrism
, and deep opposition to the migration of other Spaniards to the Spanish Basque Region. He was disturbed by the immigration into Biscay of many workers from Western and Central Spain during the industrial revolution
, into a small territory with little political power, believing that their influence would result in the disappearance of the pure "Basque race".
He contrasted the Basque and the maketo (people from the rest of Spain, Maketania)
Basque Race
:
Another essential part of his ideology was devout Catholicism; he considered this to be an essential part of the Basque identity. However his Basque nationalism kept him away from Carlism
that was the dominant ultra-Catholic and conservative movement in the area and the ideology of his father.
Despite his religious integrism
and his extreme xenophobic and racist views, he is considered by many Basques to be the gadfly
that sparked the movement for the cultural revival of the Basques, and for the freedom of his people. The PNV
, the party in power in the Basque country from the end of Francoism until 2009, founded by him has moved away from his most controversial ideas but not from his figure.
He was a prolific writer, with over 600 journalism articles, most of them with a propaganda purpose. He liked to shock and provoke, in order to get attention from a society that he deemed unaware of its fate. Overall he was in favour of an ethnic cleansing that would eliminate any trace of Spanish blood in order to restore the imaginary pureness of the Basque race.
There are three key aspects of Sabino Arana's political figure:
During his time in prison he proposed the foundation of a "League of pro-Spain Basques", which would have been in favor of Basque autonomy within Spain. It is still unclear whether he had sincerely changed his views or he was trying to improve the conditions of his imprisonment. His death left the question unanswered and neither his brother Luis nor the party followed through with his proposal.
These articles were made in his first ideology as latter he joined several non Basque politicians as Ramon de la Sota, who became a former member of his party.
and ethnocentrism
and his ideas of a pure race.
The Partido Nacionalista Vasco, holders of the intellectual property of his works, has chosen not to reprint them since 1976, keeping only the more "moderate" part of his message in their charter. On the other hand, some Basques still revere him as the father of the nationalist movement, who managed to start the turnaround of the decay of the Basque language and culture. Many Basque cities have streets named after him.
The estate of his Abando home is now Sabin-Etxea ("Sabino-House"), the EAJ-PNV headquarters.
Jon Juaristi
has remarked that perhaps the most influential part of his heritage is the neologistic list of Basque versions of names in his Deun-Ixendegi Euzkotarra ("Basque saint-name collection", published in 1910). Instead of the traditional adaptations of Romance names, he proposed others he made up and that in his opinion were truer to the originals and adapted to the Basque phonology. For example, his brother Luis became Koldobika, from Frankish Hlodwig. The traditional Peru, Pello or Piarres ("Peter") became Kepa from Aramaic כיפא (Kepha). He believed that the suffix -[n]e was inherently feminine, and new names like Nekane ("pain"+ne,"Dolores
") or Garbine ("clean"+ne, "Immaculate [Conception
]") are frequent among Basque females. Even the name of the son-in-law of the king of Spain is Iñaki Urdangarin
, Iñaki being an Arana alternative for Ignatius
instead of the Basque traditional Inazio.
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
and Basque
Basque people
The Basques as an ethnic group, primarily inhabit an area traditionally known as the Basque Country , a region that is located around the western end of the Pyrenees on the coast of the Bay of Biscay and straddles parts of north-central Spain and south-western France.The Basques are known in the...
writer. He was the founder of the Basque Nationalist Party (PNV)
Basque Nationalist Party
The Basque National Party is the largest and oldest Basque nationalist party. It is currently the largest political party in the Basque Autonomous Community also with a minor presence in Navarre and a marginal one in the French Basque Country...
and father of Basque nationalism
Basque nationalism
Basque nationalism is a political movement advocating for either further political autonomy or, chiefly, full independence of the Basque Country in the wider sense...
.
He died in Sukarrieta
Sukarrieta
Sukarrieta is a town and municipality located in the province of Biscay, in the Autonomous Community of Basque Country, northern Spain.-External links:*...
at the age of 38 after falling ill with Addison's disease
Addison's disease
Addison’s disease is a rare, chronic endocrine disorder in which the adrenal glands do not produce sufficient steroid hormones...
during time spent in prison. He had been charged with treason for attempting to send a telegram to President Theodore Roosevelt
Theodore Roosevelt
Theodore "Teddy" Roosevelt was the 26th President of the United States . He is noted for his exuberant personality, range of interests and achievements, and his leadership of the Progressive Movement, as well as his "cowboy" persona and robust masculinity...
, in which he praised the United States for helping Cuba gain independence from Spain
History of Cuba
The known history of Cuba, the largest of the Caribbean islands, predates Christopher Columbus' sighting of the island during his first voyage of discovery on 27 October 1492...
.
Background
Second Carlist War
The Second Carlist War, or the War of the Matiners or Madrugadores , was a short civil war fought primarily in Catalonia by the Carlists under General Ramón Cabrera against the forces of the government of Isabella II...
was the substitution of the Ancien Régime system of Basque Fueros by a limited autonomy, due to the support in Navarre
Navarre
Navarre , officially the Chartered Community of Navarre is an autonomous community in northern Spain, bordering the Basque Country, La Rioja, and Aragon in Spain and Aquitaine in France...
and part of the Basque country to the defeated Carlist cause. The Basque Country and Navarre were integrated into the Spanish customs system. Basque industrialists profitted from the Spanish captive market
Protectionism
Protectionism is the economic policy of restraining trade between states through methods such as tariffs on imported goods, restrictive quotas, and a variety of other government regulations designed to allow "fair competition" between imports and goods and services produced domestically.This...
with the iron ore and the Bessemer converter and Biscay became "the iron California
California Gold Rush
The California Gold Rush began on January 24, 1848, when gold was found by James W. Marshall at Sutter's Mill in Coloma, California. The first to hear confirmed information of the gold rush were the people in Oregon, the Sandwich Islands , and Latin America, who were the first to start flocking to...
". Workers from all of Spain were attracted to the area as labourers for the burgeoning industry.
Arana was born in a jauntxo ("petty noble") family from Abando
Abando
----Abando was the name of an old municipality of Biscay , that was eventually absorbed by Bilbao. Nowadays, the name refers to the central district and neighbourhood of this city, holding the provincial administration, the long-distance RENFE Bilbao-Abando train station, three subway stations ,...
, a neighbourhood that had been recently incorporated into the city of Bilbao
Bilbao
Bilbao ) is a Spanish municipality, capital of the province of Biscay, in the autonomous community of the Basque Country. With a population of 353,187 , it is the largest city of its autonomous community and the tenth largest in Spain...
as the new extension for the growth of the industrial era.
He claimed that he had a quasi-religious revelation on Easter
Easter
Easter is the central feast in the Christian liturgical year. According to the Canonical gospels, Jesus rose from the dead on the third day after his crucifixion. His resurrection is celebrated on Easter Day or Easter Sunday...
, 1882, that he communicated to his brother Luis Arana
Luis Arana
Luis Arana Goiri , self-styled as Arana ta Goiri'taŕ Koldobika was a Basque nationalist politician and founder of the Basque Nationalist Party along with his brother Sabino Arana. He served as president of the PNV 1911?–1916, 1922–1930 , and 1932–1933....
. From then he devoted himself to the nationalist cause of Biscay, later extended to the Basque Country.
Ideology
Basque language
Basque is the ancestral language of the Basque people, who inhabit the Basque Country, a region spanning an area in northeastern Spain and southwestern France. It is spoken by 25.7% of Basques in all territories...
in all areas of society, to avoid its increasing marginalization in the face of the dominant Spanish.
He learned the language as a young man, but was ready to contest for a professor in Basque position at the Instituto de Bilbao, competing against Miguel de Unamuno
Miguel de Unamuno
Miguel de Unamuno y Jugo was a Spanish essayist, novelist, poet, playwright and philosopher.-Biography:...
and the winner, Resurrección María de Azkue
Resurrección María de Azkue
Resurrección María de Azkue was an influential Basque priest, musician, poet, writer, sailor and academic. He made several made several major contributions to the study of the Basque language and was the first head of the Euskaltzaindia, the Academy of the Basque Language...
who became an erudite scholar of the language.
He made a strong effort to establish a codified orthography and grammar for the Basque language, and proposed several neologisms to replace words of Spanish origin.
Some of this innovations like the characters ĺ
L
Ł or ł, described in English as L with stroke, is a letter of the Polish, Kashubian, Sorbian, Łacinka , Łatynka , Wilamowicean, Navajo, Dene Suline, Inupiaq, Zuni, Hupa, and Dogrib alphabets, several proposed alphabets for the Venetian language, and the ISO 11940 romanization of the Thai alphabet...
and ŕ
R
R is the eighteenth letter of the basic modern Latin alphabet.-History:The original Semitic letter may have been inspired by an Egyptian hieroglyph for tp, "head". It was used for by Semites because in their language, the word for "head" was rêš . It developed into Greek Ρ and Latin R...
were finally not accepted in the standardization efforts for the Basque language of the 1970s that eventually came with the now standard Basque Batua
Batua
Standard Basque is a standardised version of the Basque language, developed by the Basque Language Academy in the late 1960s, which nowadays is the most widely and commonly spoken Basque-language version throughout the Basque Country...
.
His first published work was Bizkaya por su independencia ("Biscay for its independence"), composed of a mix of historical, pseudo mythical stories and fabrications of earlier battles of the ancient people of Biscay.
In 1894 he founded the first center for the new nationalist party (Partido Nacionalista Vasco), the second-oldest political party in Spain, to provide a place for gathering and proselytizing.
Sabino Arana, like many Europeans of his time, believed that the essence of a country was defined by its blood or ethnic composition. Sabino Arana, coming from a Carlist background, created a xenophobic ideology centered on the purity of the Basque race and its so-called moral supremacy over other Spaniards (a derivation of the system of limpieza de sangre
Limpieza de sangre
Limpieza de sangre , Limpeza de sangue or Neteja de sang , meaning "cleanliness of blood", played an important role in modern Iberian history....
of Modern-Age Spain), anti-Liberal Catholic integrism
Integrism
Integrism is a term coined in early 20th century polemics within the Catholic Church, especially in France, as an epithet to describe those who opposed the "modernists", who sought to create a synthesis between Christian theology and the liberal philosophy of secular modernity. The term was...
, and deep opposition to the migration of other Spaniards to the Spanish Basque Region. He was disturbed by the immigration into Biscay of many workers from Western and Central Spain during the industrial revolution
Industrial Revolution
The Industrial Revolution was a period from the 18th to the 19th century where major changes in agriculture, manufacturing, mining, transportation, and technology had a profound effect on the social, economic and cultural conditions of the times...
, into a small territory with little political power, believing that their influence would result in the disappearance of the pure "Basque race".
He contrasted the Basque and the maketo (people from the rest of Spain, Maketania)
Basque Race
Basque people
The Basques as an ethnic group, primarily inhabit an area traditionally known as the Basque Country , a region that is located around the western end of the Pyrenees on the coast of the Bay of Biscay and straddles parts of north-central Spain and south-western France.The Basques are known in the...
:
- "The Bizkaino walks confidently and in a manly fashion; the Spaniard does not know how to walk, or if he does, he is of feminine type."
- Bizkaitarra, no. 29.
- "It is necessary to isolate ourselves from the maketos. Otherwise, in this land we walk on, it is not possible to work toward the Glory of God."
- Bizkaitarra, no. 19.
- "We, the Basques, must avoid the mortal contagion, maintain firm our faith in our ancestors and the serious religiosity that distinguishes us, and purify our customs, before so healthy and exemplary, now so infected and at the point of corruption by the influence of those who have come from outside."
- La Patria, no. 39.
- "It is known that of course, from this cross of the maketo with the Bizkaino, all that blooms in our country is irreligiousity and immorality. The facts prove this and explain it perfectly."
- Bizkaitarra, no. 6 bis.
- "We have already indicated, on our part, that favoring the irruption of the maketos is fomenting immorality in our country, because if it is true that the customs of our People have degenerated notably in these times, it is without doubt due to the frightening invasion of the maketos, who bring with them blasphemy and immorality."
- Bizkaitarra, no. 10.
- "It terrifies them to hear that maketos should be driven out of towns with stones. Ah, those people who love peace! They are those who are worthy of the hate of patriots."
- Bizkaitarra, no. 21
- "A great number of them seem to be undeniable testimony of Darwin's theoryEvolutionismEvolutionism refers to the biological concept of evolution, specifically to a widely held 19th century belief that organisms are intrinsically bound to increase in complexity. The belief was extended to include cultural evolution and social evolution...
, since rather than men they resemble apes, rather less beastly than gorillas: do not search in their faces for the expression of human intelligence nor of any virtue; their eyes only reveal idiocy and brutishness." - Bizcaitarra, no. 27.
- "Every Bizkaino should be anti-liberal and anti-Spanish."
- Bizkaitarra, no. 1
Another essential part of his ideology was devout Catholicism; he considered this to be an essential part of the Basque identity. However his Basque nationalism kept him away from Carlism
Carlism
Carlism is a traditionalist and legitimist political movement in Spain seeking the establishment of a separate line of the Bourbon family on the Spanish throne. This line descended from Infante Carlos, Count of Molina , and was founded due to dispute over the succession laws and widespread...
that was the dominant ultra-Catholic and conservative movement in the area and the ideology of his father.
Despite his religious integrism
Integrism
Integrism is a term coined in early 20th century polemics within the Catholic Church, especially in France, as an epithet to describe those who opposed the "modernists", who sought to create a synthesis between Christian theology and the liberal philosophy of secular modernity. The term was...
and his extreme xenophobic and racist views, he is considered by many Basques to be the gadfly
Gadfly (social)
A gadfly is a person who upsets the status quo by posing upsetting or novel questions, or just being an irritant. The term has been used to describe many politicians and social commentators....
that sparked the movement for the cultural revival of the Basques, and for the freedom of his people. The PNV
Basque Nationalist Party
The Basque National Party is the largest and oldest Basque nationalist party. It is currently the largest political party in the Basque Autonomous Community also with a minor presence in Navarre and a marginal one in the French Basque Country...
, the party in power in the Basque country from the end of Francoism until 2009, founded by him has moved away from his most controversial ideas but not from his figure.
He was a prolific writer, with over 600 journalism articles, most of them with a propaganda purpose. He liked to shock and provoke, in order to get attention from a society that he deemed unaware of its fate. Overall he was in favour of an ethnic cleansing that would eliminate any trace of Spanish blood in order to restore the imaginary pureness of the Basque race.
There are three key aspects of Sabino Arana's political figure:
- He was an innovator, being the first to proclaim that the Basques are a separate race.
- He was not a conventional conservative; he strongly opposed slavery (legal in Spanish-held Cuba until ten years before its independence) and defended the right of South African Zulus to their land.
- He was an indefatigable worker, taking action in many areas; he learned the Basque language as an adult, undertook a number of activities to promote the Basque language and culture, created a political movement, and inventing the symbols (flagIkurriñaThe ikurrina flag or ikurriña is a Basque symbol and the official flag of the Basque Country Autonomous Community of Spain.-Design:...
, anthem, country nameEuzkadiEuzkadi may refer to:*Basque Country *Euzkadi , a Basque nationalist newspaper published from 1913 to 1937*Euzkadi, a Mexican tire manufacturer...
) used to this day by Basque nationalists.
During his time in prison he proposed the foundation of a "League of pro-Spain Basques", which would have been in favor of Basque autonomy within Spain. It is still unclear whether he had sincerely changed his views or he was trying to improve the conditions of his imprisonment. His death left the question unanswered and neither his brother Luis nor the party followed through with his proposal.
These articles were made in his first ideology as latter he joined several non Basque politicians as Ramon de la Sota, who became a former member of his party.
The mixed influence of Sabino Arana in the Basque society
Sabino Arana's ideas are considered to have spawned the nationalist movement. Today, he is viewed as a controversial figure, due to his xenophobiaXenophobia
Xenophobia is defined as "an unreasonable fear of foreigners or strangers or of that which is foreign or strange". It comes from the Greek words ξένος , meaning "stranger," "foreigner" and φόβος , meaning "fear."...
and ethnocentrism
Ethnocentrism
Ethnocentrism is the tendency to believe that one's ethnic or cultural group is centrally important, and that all other groups are measured in relation to one's own. The ethnocentric individual will judge other groups relative to his or her own particular ethnic group or culture, especially with...
and his ideas of a pure race.
The Partido Nacionalista Vasco, holders of the intellectual property of his works, has chosen not to reprint them since 1976, keeping only the more "moderate" part of his message in their charter. On the other hand, some Basques still revere him as the father of the nationalist movement, who managed to start the turnaround of the decay of the Basque language and culture. Many Basque cities have streets named after him.
Jon Juaristi
Jon Juaristi
Jon Juaristi Linacero is a Spanish poet, essayist and translator in Spanish and Basque, as well as a self-confessed former ETA militant...
has remarked that perhaps the most influential part of his heritage is the neologistic list of Basque versions of names in his Deun-Ixendegi Euzkotarra ("Basque saint-name collection", published in 1910). Instead of the traditional adaptations of Romance names, he proposed others he made up and that in his opinion were truer to the originals and adapted to the Basque phonology. For example, his brother Luis became Koldobika, from Frankish Hlodwig. The traditional Peru, Pello or Piarres ("Peter") became Kepa from Aramaic כיפא (Kepha). He believed that the suffix -[n]e was inherently feminine, and new names like Nekane ("pain"+ne,"Dolores
Dolores
-Places:*Argentina**Dolores, Buenos Aires*Belize**Rancho Dolores*Colombia** Dolores, Tolima*Guatemala**Dolores, El Petén*Mexico** Dolores Hidalgo, a town in Guanajuato** Dolores, Baja California Sur** Dolores, Chihuahua*Philippines** Dolores, Abra...
") or Garbine ("clean"+ne, "Immaculate [Conception
Immaculate Conception
The Immaculate Conception of Mary is a dogma of the Roman Catholic Church, according to which the Virgin Mary was conceived without any stain of original sin. It is one of the four dogmata in Roman Catholic Mariology...
]") are frequent among Basque females. Even the name of the son-in-law of the king of Spain is Iñaki Urdangarin
Iñaki Urdangarin
-References:-External links:*...
, Iñaki being an Arana alternative for Ignatius
Ignatius
Ignatius is a male given name of presumed Latin or Etruscan origin, believed to mean "fiery one".It may refer to:-Given name:*Ignatius Kutu Acheampong , Ghanaian military ruler*Ignatius Bonomi , British architect...
instead of the Basque traditional Inazio.
External links
- Sabino Arana in the Spanish-language Auñamendi Entziklopedia.