Basque Chileans

Basque Chileans

Vasco-chilenos Txileko euskaldunek
Total population
(1,600,000 - 3,200,000 10% to 20% of Chile's population)
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%) and 3.2 million (20%) Chileans have a surname (one or both) of Basque origin.^{[1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8]}

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."^[9]

History

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).

During the 18th century, the country experimented a mass immigration coming from the Basque provinces and Navarre, by the end of the 18th century represents 27% of the Chilean population.^[10] This raised the Basques to being the most important regional group in the population, displacing the natives and descendants of those born in New Castile, Old Castile, and Andalucía. These immigrant families initially dedicated themselves to their preferred form of business, and in successive years produced many alliances with families of Castilian origin possessing lands and titles, giving birth to a new social group known in Chilean history as the "Castilian-Basque Aristocracy."

In the second half of the 19th century came a new wave of Basque immigration, this time as much from the Spanish regions as the French. This migratory flood are extended until the end of the Spanish Civil War.

Notable Basque-Chileans

• Pedro Aguirre Cerda,^[11] President of Chile (1938–1941)
• Isabel Allende,^[12] writer
• Salvador Allende,^[13] President of Chile (1970–1973)
• Maricarmen Arrigorriaga,^[14] actress
• José Manuel Balmaceda,^[15] President of Chile (1886–1891)
• Manuel Baquedano, ^[16] Commander-in-chief of the Chilean Army during the War of the Pacific
• Juan Guzman Cruchaga (1895–1979) was a Chilean poet and diplomat. He won the Chilean National Prize for Literature in 1962
• Alberto Blest Gana,^[17] writer and diplomat
• Felipe Camiroaga,^[18] actor and TV host
• Javiera Carrera,^[19] patriot
• José Miguel Carrera,^[20] Army general, President of the Government Junta and hero of the War of Chilean Independence
• Federico Errázuriz Zañartu,^[21] President of Chile (1871–1876)
• Domingo Eyzaguirre,^[22] politician
• Alejandro Gorostiaga,^[23] Army officer
• Lucía Hiriart,^[24] former First Lady of Chile (1973–1990)
• Alberto Hurtado Cruchaga,^[25] Jesuit priest and saint
• Marta Larraechea,^[26] former First Lady of Chile (1994–2000)
• Alberto Larraguibel,^[27] Army officer and equestrian
• Fernando Larraín,^[28] actor
• Hernán Larraín,^[29] politician
• María Eugenia Larraín,^[30] model
• Roberto Matta Echaurren,^[31] painter
• Pablo Neruda,^[32] poet and Nobel laureate
• Bernardo O'Higgins Riquelme,^[33] Army general, Supreme Director and hero of the War of Chilean Independence
• Augusto Pinochet Ugarte,^[34] Army General and military dictator (1973–1990)
• Sebastián Piñera Echenique,^[35] President of Chile (2010–2014)
• Manuel Rodríguez Erdoíza,^[36] guerrilla fighter and hero of the War of Chilean Independence
• Fernando Solabarrieta,^[37] journalist and sports commentator
• Benjamín Vicuña Mackenna,^[38] politician, historian and writer
• Paz Yrarrázaval,^[39] actress
• Adolfo Zaldívar,^[40] politician
• Andrés Zaldívar,^[41] politician
• Aníbal Zañartu,^[42] politician

Notable Basque-Chilean families

• Allende family^[43]
• Balmaceda family^[44]
• Carrera family^[45]
• Cruchaga family
• Errázuriz family^[32]
• Larraín family^[46]

See also

• Italian Chilean
• British Chilean
• German Chilean
• Palestinian Chilean

References

1. Diariovasco.
2. entrevista al Presidente de la Cámara vasca.
3. vascos Ainara Madariaga: Autora del estudio "Imaginarios vascos desde Chile La construcción de imaginarios vascos en Chile durante el siglo XX".
4. Basques au Chili.
5. Contacto Interlingüístico e intercultural en el mundo hispano.instituto valenciano de lenguas y culturas. Universitat de València Cita: " Un 20% de la población chilena tiene su origen en el País Vasco".
6. (Spanish) La población chilena con ascendencia vasca bordea entre el 15% y el 20% del total, por lo que es uno de los países con mayor presencia de emigrantes venidos de Euskadi.
7. DE LOS VASCOS, OÑATI Y LOS ELORZA Waldo Ayarza Elorza.
8. (Spanish) Presencia vasca en Chile.
9. "«La Compañía de Jesús y la República de Chile son las dos grandes hazañas del pueblo vascongado», solía decir don Miguel de Unamuno". Miguel de Unamuno used to say "The Company of Jesus and the Republic of Chile are the two great achievements of the Basque people."
11. Pedro Aguirre Cerda.
12. Isabel Allende
13. Salvador Allende.
14. Maricarmen Arrigorriaga.
15. José Manuel Balmaceda.
17. Alberto Blest Gana.
18. Felipe Camiroaga.
19. Javiera Carrera
20. José Miguel Carrera
21. Federico Errázuriz Zañartu.
22. Domingo Eyzaguirre.
23. Alejandro Gorostiaga.
24. Lucía Hiriart.
25. Alberto Hurtado Cruchaga.
26. Marta Larraechea.
27. Alberto Larraguibel.
28. Fernando Larraín.
29. Hernán Larraín.
30. María Eugenia "Kenita" Larraín.
31. Roberto Matta Echaurren.
32. Possible Paradises, Basque Emigration to Latin America By José Manuel Azcona Pastor.
33. Bernardo O'Higgins.
34. Augusto Pinochet Ugarte.
35. Sebastián Piñera Echenique
36. Manuel Rodríguez Erdoiza.
37. Fernando Solabarrieta.
38. Benjamín Vicuña Mackenna.
39. Genealogía de familias Chilenas; Irarrázaval, Yrarrázabal, Irarrázabal
40. Adolfo Zaldívar.
41. Andrés Zaldívar.
42. Aníbal Zañartu.
43. Allende family.
44. Balmaceda family.
45. Carrera family
46. Larraín family.

External links

• Imaginarios vascos desde Chile La construcción de imaginarios vascos en Chile durante el siglo XX