This book explores the process by which the French Basque country acquired a folkloric regional identity in the long nineteenth century. It argues that, despite its origins in pre-modern customs, this stereotypical identity was invented as part of France's process of nation-building. The abolition of privileges in 1789 prompted a new interest in local culture as the defining feature of provincial France, shaping the transition from the pre-'modern' province to the 'modern' region. The relationship between the region and the nation, however, was difficult. Regional culture favoured the integration of the French Basque provinces into the French nation-state but also challenged the authority of the central state. As a result, Basque region-building reveals the strengths and weaknesses of the unitary model of French nationhood, in the nineteenth century as well as today.
| ISBN: | 9781526194886 |
| Publication date: | 20th January 2026 |
| Author: | Talitha Ilacqua |
| Publisher: | Manchester University Press |
| Format: | Paperback |
| Pagination: | 272 pages |
| Series: | Studies in Modern French and Francophone History |
| Genres: |
European history |
This book explores the process by which the French Basque country acquired a folkloric regional identity in the long nineteenth century. It argues that, despite its origins in pre-modern customs, this stereotypical identity was invented as part of France's process of nation-building. The abolition of privileges in 1789 prompted a new interest in local culture as the defining feature of provincial France, shaping the transition from the pre-'modern' province to the 'modern' region. The relationship between the region and the nation, however, was difficult. Regional culture favoured the integration of the French Basque provinces into the French nation-state but also challenged the authority of the central state. As a result, Basque region-building reveals the strengths and weaknesses of the unitary model of French nationhood, in the nineteenth century as well as today.
Inventing the Modern Region features in the following genres: European history
Inventing the Modern Region is available in Paperback, Hardback
Inventing the Modern Region was written by Talitha Ilacqua and published by Manchester University Press
Inventing the Modern Region has 272 pages
Yes it is part of Studies in Modern French and Francophone History series
£22.50