ABSTRACT
The characteristic features the future American president observed during his stay in the capital city of Biscay were thus a very specific sort of Basque self-government within the Spanish kingdom, complemented by its own customs and habits, as well as an ancient language. The Basque Country received the visit of another German traveler whose testimonies would have a huge impact on an international scale. One more important source for the scrutiny of Basque life in pre-industrial times are the encyclopedias and handbooks that in the 18th and 19th centuries disseminated knowledge of numerous topics to the newly cultivated middle classes. While the fate of the Basques on Spanish soil was to evolve in a different direction compared to their compatriots in France. The history of Basque particularism is the history of a long process of ethno-genesis by which Basques became aware of their idiosyncrasy as a people that was different from other peoples in their part of the world.
