Basque Chileans
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|
|---|---|
| Total population | |
| (1,600,000 - 3,200,000 10% to 20% of Chile's population) |
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| Regions with significant populations | |
| Santiago, Viña del Mar, Valparaíso, Punta Arenas, Concepción. | |
| Languages | |
| Chilean Spanish, Euskera (Basque), French | |
| Religion | |
| Roman Catholicism | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| Basque people, Basque diaspora, Spanish people, French people, Basque Argentine, Basque Mexican, Basque Uruguayan |
Many Basques arrived in Chile in the 16th,17th,18th,19th and early 20th century from their homeland in northern Spain (see Basque Provinces) and parts of southwestern France, as conquistadors, soldiers, sailors, merchants, priests and labourers. Due to their traditional hard work and entrepreneurship, many of them rose to the top of the social scale and intermarried into the Chilean elites formed by Basques, giving birth to the new Basque-Chilean aristocracy in Chile. This union is the basis of the Chilean elite of today. But also, they immensely contributed to the ethnic make up of the bulk of the Chilean population. Many years after the first waves of settlers, thousands of Basque refugees fleeing Spanish Civil War in 1939 also settled and have many descendants in the country and have even intermarried with Spanish ethnic groups other than Castilians, and other European ethnic groups. An estimated 1.6 million (10%) to 3.2 million (20%) Chileans have a surname (one or both) of Basque origin.
Miguel de Unamuno once said: "There are at least two things that clearly can be attributed to the Basques: the Society of Jesus and the Republic of Chile."
The Basque presence in Chile began in the conquista period, for in the armies of the first colonizers came a contingent important soldiers from the Basque Provinces and from Navarra. In the 16th century, of the 157 Peninsular families that settled in Chile, 39 had Basque surnames. This number progressively grew, as reflected in the number of governors of Basque origin.
Forms a regional immigration corridor between Spain and Chile, one that is large, visible, and continues over time. Basque immigration can be divided into historical periods: discovery, foundation, and colonial period; the wave of immigration of the 18th century; and the recent immigrants (19th and 20th centuries).
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Wikipedia