The Basques

The Basques belong to the Bay of Biscay and the Pyrenees. They are a distinct people, not only from the rest of Spain, but from the rest of Europe. Their language has no affinity to any Aryan dialect, but it resembles in some respects the Finnish. The Finns belong to the extreme north of Europe, yet seem to be allied to a race in the extreme south of Europe. The Basques are, then, "the Finns of Spain." That is, they represent a remnant of the aboriginal race, Iberians, who peopled Spain before the Celtic invasion. Pushed back and swept aside by conquering races in those two extremes of Europe, Spain and Finland, the Finns and Basques are the only vestiges of the earliest inhabitants of the European continent. The Basques have little intercourse either with their French or Spanish neighbors; they are ardent Roman Catholics, but retain many of their pagan usages, such as the offering of food on the graves of their dead for the use of the departed spirits.