What Are We? By Sabino Arana Summary

In 1895, what was it to be Basque, and how did it differ from being Spanish? In Sabino Arana’s 1895 paper entitled “What Are We?” we see Arana sets out to define these differences between his people the Vizcaya (a providence in the Basque country), from the Spanish people through an impassioned article published in a Basque newspaper. This writing was penned directly to the Vizcayans in the 1895 Bizkaitarra (Bilbao) newspaper article published on June 16th, 30th, and July 7th. Arana’s reputation leads current day readers to apply the thoughts and ideals to all the Basque regions at the time. This persuasive essay leans on heavily on pathos to convince the Basque people of their national supremacy as opposed to the Spanish inferiority. By utilizing patriotic language around facts about the foundation and political makeup of the two groups, Arana is able to utilize his rhetoric and lay down a groundwork of belief that will later earn him the title of “the father of Basque …show more content…
In and around 1895 was the era of “the end of Spanish dominance.” Due to a declining world image, Spain at this point is in a period of attempting restoration. This era is the perfect time for Arana to publish his piece on Spanish inferiority, as the political turmoil the nation is in would only boost his arguments. The Basques at this time were trying for their independence, and were looking for anything to aid in their attempts. Looking at the authorship of this piece, it is important to note that Arana employees several instances of falsified history and several moments of scientific racism. He cares more about convincing his audience of his point than he does about the truth. This adds a skew to modern day context, because even though Arana was a very important member in Basque national history, he is seen now as a national blight due to his unabashed racist