The Basque nationalist movement had its roots in the early 1876 when the Spanish government revoked the "fueros" or Basque legal systems and juridical identity, the last remnants of Basque sovereignty. The Fueros were the Basque constitutional system and gave Basque citizens a unique position in Spain with special tax and political status; additionally, Basques didn't have to serve in the Spanish army but had their own system of defence, which in the case of the naval army was traditionally bigger and stronger by itself than that of the rest of the Spanish army. The separatist movement began to evolve in the 1950's, during the dictatorship of Francisco Franco, there having been debates about the subject as early as the 18th century, with important actions to counteract the Spanish Bourbon court's attempts to suppress the Basque Foral system.

Basque separatists want a fully independent state consisting of the Basque Autonomous community (Álava, Vizcaya and Guipúzcoa), the Navarran Autonomous Community and the Pyrénées-Atlantiques (Labourd, Basse-Navarre and Soule), the latter being currently parts of France. These seven territories are the traditional Euskal Herria. .

Basque nationalist organizations

• Acción Nacionalista Vasca
• Aralar
• Batasuna
• Comunión Nacionalista Vasca
• ELA-STV
• ETA
• Euskadiko Ezkerra
• Eusko Alkartasuna
• Iparretarrak
• Jagi-Jagi
• LAB
• Nafarroa Bai
• Partido Nacionalista Vasco
• Udalbiltza

Unidad Alavesa and Unión del Pueblo Navarro are parties exclusive to the Basque land but not following Basque nationalism.

See also

• Politics of France, Politics of Spain, Sabino Arana, Carlism, Jose Antonio Aguirre, ikurriña