This article was tranlated by Iustrans
A few days ago, the US newspaper The Washington Post published an article in its “world views” section written by Ishaan Tharoor explaining that Icelanders repealed a law from the 17th century that allowed “killing Basques ” last April.
We had already reported on the aforementioned repeal, which took place during the events commemorating the 400th anniversary of the murder of 32 Basque sailors who were shipwrecked on the most western shores of Iceland.
Needless to say, as we have already explained several times, both countries have moved past that sad event. The truth is that the relationship between Basques and Icelanders has been friendly and fruitful for a long time. This is clearly demonstrated by the existence of a Basque-Icelandic pidgin dictionary dated to the 17th century. A friendship whose influence has continued to the present day thanks to the Vináttufélag og Baska Íslands (Association of Friendship between Iceland – Basque Country).
This story is quite interesting so we do not mind mentioning it again.
The Washington Post – 27/5/2015 – USA
In Iceland, it’s no longer legal to kill Basques on sight
In late April, one of the world’s strangest laws was quietly revoked. Authorities in Iceland’s Westfjords district, the scenic northwestern corner of the island nation, repealed a 400-year-old decree ordering the death on sight of any Basque person found in the region. This old grudge stems from a grisly incident in 1615, when misunderstandings and suspicions between locals and a group of shipwrecked whalers from what’s now the northern coast of Spain led to the slaughter of 32 Basques. The decree was ordered by the district’s bloodthirsty magistrate. Of course, newer laws have since been put in place, and no person from the Basque country has been in actual danger for a very long time.
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Last Updated on Dec 20, 2020 by About Basque Country
