and Italy each numbered in the millions.
It was not until the 20th century that the
number of Hispanic immigrants climbed
into the millions as well. Nevertheless,
Hispanic newcomers formed part of the
quilt of ethnic groups that marked late
19th-century America.Immigration from Spain
The late 19th century was a time of tur-
moil in Spain. In 1868 a revolution
deposed Isabella II (1830–1904; reigned
1833–1868), who had succeeded her father
Ferdinand VII. During the six years that
followed, Spain was ruled successively by a
regent, an elected monarch, three presi-
dents, and a prime minister. Civil war,
political unrest, and economic depression
plagued the nation. Not until 1874 was a
relatively enduring regime instituted,
when the Bourbon monarchy was re-
stored with Isabella’s son, Alfonso XII
(1857–1885; reigned 1874–1885), as king.
In the face of such instability, some
Spanish people did see fit to emigrate, but
relatively few came to the United States.
Most emigrants settled in the remaining
Spanish colonies (Cuba and Puerto Rico)
or Hispanic-American countries, where
the language and cultural barriers were
smaller. Still, immigration to the United
States from Spain did increase at the turn
of the century, reaching 8,731 during
1891–1900 and 27,935 during 1901–1910.
Among the Spanish newcomers were
the Basques. In a sense, these people
were not Hispanic, because their native
language was not Spanish but Euskera, a
language believed to be unrelated to
other European languages. As speakers of
Euskera, Basques call themselves
Euskaldunaks. They are probably the old-
est ethnic group in Europe, having pre-
served their distinct cultural identity from
antiquity to the present. They have a
long history of valiantly defending the
autonomy of their homeland in north
central Spain and southwestern France.
Despite the autonomous culture of the
Basques, their destiny has long been
intertwined with that of Spain. Basques
first came to the New World with the
Spanish conquistadores and they have
contributed to Spanish history such
famous figures as St. Ignatius of Loyola
(1491–1556), founder of the Jesuits, a
Roman Catholic order.Basques enjoyed autonomy in Spain
from the time of Ferdinand and Isabella
to 1876, when the Spanish Basque
provinces were absorbed by the crown.
Many Basques then emigrated to the
United States, settling mainly in the
West, particularly Nevada, Idaho,
Oregon, California, and Wyoming.
Skilled shepherds, they flourished in the
sheepherding industry and enriched the
region’s culture with such traditions as the
Basque festivals still held in Reno and
Elko, Nevada. The Idaho Basque
Museum and Cultural Center in Boise
commemorates Basque contributions.
One of the best-known Basque contribu-
tions is the game jai alai, imported into
Cuba about 1900 and imported from
there to the United States in the 1920s.Immigration from Cuba
In the late 19th century, the last vestiges
of Spain’s once mighty American empire
were Cuba and Puerto Rico. Both of
these Caribbean islands were rocked by
independence struggles and economic
hardship during this period, prompting
their residents to leave them for the
United States.
In Cuba the most significant conflict
before the Spanish-American War in 1898
was the Ten Years’ War (1868–1878),
which began shortly after the revolution in
Spain that deposed Isabella II. For much
of the 19th century, Cubans had been
demanding increased political power, abo-
lition of slavery, tariff reform, and equal
rights for Creoles and peninsulares; Spain
had responded by increasing repression,
banning political meetings, and raising
taxes.
On October 10, 1868, Cuban rebels
under Carlos Manuel de Céspedes
(1819–1874) declared independence in the
town of Yara, in what became known as El
Grito de Yara, “The Cry of Yara.” During
the ensuing Ten Years’ War, about 200,000
people died as rebels waged guerrilla war-
fare and Spanish troops harshly counterat-
tacked. The Treaty of El Zanjón ended the
war in 1878, promising abolition of slavery
and other reforms. (A much shorter con-
flict, the Guerra Chiquita, or “Little War,”
of 1879–1880, followed but was no more
successful in gaining independence.)
Slavery was abolished in 1886, but
other promises were never fully kept. A112 ATLAS OF HISPANIC-AMERICAN HISTORY
“In choosing sheepherders,
the best will be found among
the Mexicans, Basques, or
Portuguese. These latter two
do not, as a rule, take service
except with their own people:
their aim is ultimately to
possess a share in the herds,
and to rise to the position of
owners.”
—Major W. Shepherd, Prairie
Experiences in the Handling of
Cattle and Sheep, 1885