On July 14, we celebrate not the storming of the Bastille, but the Ikurriña

This article was translated by John R. Bopp

Today, on July 14, around the world, the media will be remembering how France celebrates its national holiday.  For the Basques north of the Pyrenees, the start of the French Revolution brought with it a hard time of repression, and the elimination of its national freedoms, buried under the idea of a united French Republic born of the Jacobin minds that dominated in those days.  It was a mentality strongly rooted within the groups of power in the new France, and our Basque brethren north of the Pyrenees must deal with that every day.

Likewise, we we Basque south of the Pyrenees must also deal with that Jacobin mentality, thanks to the poor copy Spanish liberalism has been pushing since the Constitution of Cadiz.

That’s why we were so happy to find an article in Baskultura titled “Le 14 juillet au Pays Basque, Bastille, Fédération ou ikurriña? (July 14th in the Basque Country, Bastille, Federation, or the Ikurriña?“.  Written in the Northern Basque Country for those living there, it recalls some truths that the “official history” of the Republic hides or omits.

But, above all, it remembers the event that the Basques celebrate every July 14.  As we recalled back in 2015, on this day in 1894, the ikurriña flew for the first time.  It was at the inauguration of the “Euskeldun Batzokija” association, housed at number 22 Correo Street in Bilbao when the flag, designed by brothers Sabino and Luis Arana, first saw the light of day.

Baskultura also reminds us that this Sunday is the day of the Ikurriñaren Pesta or Festival of the Ikurriña.

Baskultura – 12/7/2018 – Euskadi

Le 14 juillet au Pays Basque, Bastille, Fédération ou ikurriña?

A Bayonne comme dans d’autres villes et villages de France et de Navarre, le 14 juillet sera « commémoré » par des feux d’artifice, des bals et diverses festivités. L’occasion de rappeler quelques événements historiques « incontournables ». A la télévision, dans Secrets d’histoire sur France 2, Stéphane Bern vient d’évoquer fort justement « Madame Royale, l’orpheline de la Révolution » après avoir relaté en une autre occasion les destins tourmentés des « éminences roses » de la Révolution, du château de Versailles aux rives du lac Léman, du palais du Louvre aux confins de la Belgique…

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Last Updated on Jul 14, 2023 by About Basque Country