Baztan
Baztan (or Baztán) can refer to the following:
Baztan (river)
The Baztan is a river that flows westwards towards Artesiaga and from Oronoz-Mugairi, not far from the Señorío de Bértiz Nature Park, it is known as the Bidasoa river. For the last 15 km, it acts as the border between France and Spain and flows into the Gulf of Biscay between Hendaye and Irun.
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Baztan (comarca)
Baztan is a rural comarca located in a wide valley in Navarre, Spain, with the Baztan river running through it. Down the valley, the river is one of two forming the Bidasoa, on the Atlantic basin. The valley belongs to the Merindad de Pamplona, a historic administrative unit of Navarre.
The valley provides the access to the French Basque regions of Lapurdi and Lower Navarre by means of the Izpegi Pass and Dantxarinea.
History
Early on in the 15th century the Baztan people earned their freedom from nobility as a consequence of their legendary bravery in the battle of Las Navas de Tolosa. This gave them a right to self-rule, with several important consequences: it strengthened territorial organization, helped demographic balance by preventing more inhabitants from coming into a valley with limited resources, the major exception being the Agotes (cf. the Cagots). As in many other Basque areas, the inhabitants of Baztan were all considered yeomen (nobles) universally, and some Baztan inhabitants made a fortune at the Court in Madrid and in America.
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