Europe | Divided by an uncommon language

Genetically, Basques aren't that different from other Spaniards

All descend from the same Stone Age migrants

Basquing in reflected glory
|MADRID

WITH THEIR unique language, unrelated to all other European tongues, the continent’s oldest cave paintings, and their seafaring, gastronomic and choral traditions, the Basques have long had a strong sense of identity. Nationalist propagandists have gone further, claiming that the Basques form an ancient and superior race, the first Europeans. In some versions they descend directly from the biblical Noah.

This article appeared in the Europe section of the print edition under the headline “Yes, Basques are different”

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