The ikurrina flag (in Basque)Euskaltzaindia
Dictionary of the Standard Basque
retrieved 2010-10-04. or ikurriña ( Spanish spelling of the Basque term) is a Basque symbol and the official flag of the

Basque Country Basque Country may refer to: * Basque Country (autonomous community), as used in Spain ( es, País Vasco, link=no), also called , an Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Spain (shown in pink on the map) * French Basque Country o ...

Autonomous Community of Spain. This flag consists of a white cross over a green saltire on a red field.

Terminology

The name is a neologism by Luis and Sabino Arana, from 'mark, sign' (itself a neologism extracted from 'to read'), comparable to the Catalan and Faroese . In Basque, it has the generic meaning of 'flag', but specially the one of the

, as defined by the

Euskaltzaindia Euskaltzaindia (; often translated Royal Academy of the Basque Language) is the official academic language regulatory institution which watches over the Basque language. It conducts research, seeks to protect the language, and establishes stand ...

(Royal Academy of the Basque Language). The original Biscayne spelling of the Aranas was (the final is the Basque definite article, in singular). The modern standard Basque spelling is .

Design

Similar in pattern to the Union Jack, the flag was designed by the founders of the

Basque Nationalist Party The Basque Nationalist Party (, EAJ ; es, Partido Nacionalista Vasco, PNV; french: Parti Nationaliste Basque, PNB; EAJ-PNV), officially Basque National Party in English,) was rejected by party members in November 2011. Nonetheless, the party did ...

EAJ-PNV, Luis and Sabino Arana, and is commonly regarded as the national but unofficial symbol of the

(''Euskal Herria''). It is widely seen in the French Basque Country and forms part of the unofficial flag of Saint Pierre and Miquelon, the French overseas community in

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...

that was settled by French Basque and also many Spanish Basque sailors. The Ikurriña is also the flag of the

(EAJ-PNV). A controversy exists because at first it was only the symbol of a section of the party (the section representing the province of Biscay) and many people thought that another flag must represent the entire country. The red ground symbolizes the Biscayne people, the green saltire might represent the Oak of Guernica, a symbol of the old laws of Biscay, or

Fueros (), (), () or () is a Spanish legal term and concept. The word comes from Latin , an open space used as a market, tribunal and meeting place. The same Latin root is the origin of the French terms and , and the Portuguese terms and ; all ...

; and over them, the white cross, God's symbol of Basque Catholic devotion. Thus, red, white and green have become the national Basque colors.

History

The flag was designed in 1894 to represent the province of Biscay in a set of one flag for each of the seven Basque provinces and one for the whole country; however, since PNV activity was scarce outside of Biscay, only the Biscayne flag was publicly recognized. It was hoisted for the first time in the "Euzkeldun Batzokija", the club that preceded EAJ-PNV. The party adopted it in 1895 and, in 1933, proposed it as the flag of the whole

. Since the Basque people had accepted the "ikurriña", at the suggestion of the socialist counselor Aznar, the Basque Government adopted it as the flag of the Basque Autonomous Region in 1936. This flag was used as the Naval jack of the

Basque Auxiliary Navy The Basque Auxiliary Navy ( es, Marina de Guerra Auxiliar de Euzkadi, eu, Eusko Itsas Gudarostea) was a section of the Spanish Republican Navy operating in the Bay of Biscay between 1936 and 1937. It began operations in October 1936 at the behes ...

, a section of the Spanish Republican Navy operating in the

Bay of Biscay The Bay of Biscay (), known in Spain as the Gulf of Biscay ( es, Golfo de Vizcaya, eu, Bizkaiko Golkoa), and in France and some border regions as the Gulf of Gascony (french: Golfe de Gascogne, oc, Golf de Gasconha, br, Pleg-mor Gwaskogn), ...

during the Spanish Civil War.La Marina de Guerra Auxiliar de Euzkadi 1936-1937
/ref> In 1938, after the military defeat of the Basque Government, the regime of General Franco prohibited this flag —although it continued to be used in the Northern Basque Country. In the following decades it became a symbol of defiance – the first actions of the clandestine group

ETA Eta (uppercase , lowercase ; grc, ἦτα ''ē̂ta'' or ell, ήτα ''ita'' ) is the seventh letter of the Greek alphabet, representing the close front unrounded vowel . Originally denoting the voiceless glottal fricative in most dialects, ...

involved placing flags in public places. The Basque flag was legalised again in 1977 during the

Spanish transition to democracy Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Cana ...

. Two years later, the Basque Government adopted it as the flag of the Basque Country (autonomous community), Basque autonomous community. It is also used as an unofficial flag for some sectors of Basque society in other provinces.

Gallery

File:Euskadi.jpg, A Basque Flag File:Batasuna.svg, The Basque left-wing nationalist party Herri Batasuna used a logo inspired by the Ikurriña File:Oiartzunen nafar ekitaldia.jpg, Riders with the Flag of Navarre, ''ikurrina'' and the ''Arrano beltza'' File:Abadiño bandera 2.JPG, Parade in Abadiño, Biscay

References

* ''Apuntes para la historia del nacionalismo vasco:'
''las banderas de los ex-Estados históricos vascos o regiones autónomas''
Luis Arana, Luis de Arana Goiri, 1930. Scanned pages of a typewritten manuscript. *

External links

www.ikurrinamunduan.com
Photographs in which the Ikurriña appears outside the borders of Euskal Herria.

used a similar flag in the 18th century. {{DEFAULTSORT:Ikurrina Basque culture Flags of Spain Flags of indigenous peoples National flags Flags with crosses