Gascony and the Basque Country
The history of Gascony and the Basque Country goes back several centuries, in the lands we know today as Navarre. Called Vasconia by the Romans, the region was then called Gascogne. It is the cradle of the lingua navarrorum (Navarre language, or Basque). A language that, for centuries, was spoken all the way up to Bordeaux (Burdigala) in the north, and in the south, throughout the different Pyrenean valleys to the lands surrounding the Ebro River.
Little by little, Roman invaders spread Latin and Occitan languages throughout the area. Over the centuries, and due to the migration of the Basque, considered the oldest people in Europe, it lost speakers. In 1963, the first Ikastola was created, and Basque was once again taught, starting in kindergarten.