THE BASQUE HERITAGE

The Basque are very unique to say the least.   They have gone through so much in history and are a very proud people.   The Basque homeland is in northern Spain and it includes the Pyreenes and parts of southern France.   

Prehistoric history shows them as Celts.   They worshipped trees and had one sacred tree per month thus the name Urquidez means "birch tree"  or "birch stand" presumably worshipped by the Basque people.

From this one Basque last name of URKIDE the tree started to branch into various branches.    The last names URQUIDI and  URQUIDEZ are Castilianized.   Through typographical error the URQUIDEZ family name has been changed to URQUIDES on many and has become a new "variant" of the Urquidez last name.

The Basques are unique in themselves.    There are those who claim that their DNA is not found anywhere in the world.    There are those who dramatize or embellish the Basque people by saying they are the remanents of the lost empire of Atlantis.    I have come across some anthropologists who have stated this.    The uniqueness of the Basque nation and their language can come from many sources but one can not rule out the Atlantis theory.  

If one researches the Basque peoples one reads of some rather fascinating historical facts that have affected the Basque people and by inference - the Urquidezes.    One first reads of the tribes that lived in the Basque region that the Roman legions were not able to conquer.   One of the most feared Basue tribes were the Calabarri   http://forwhattheywereweare.blogspot.com/2011/10/history-of-basque-wars-i.html    One reads of the Vikings who invaded northern Spain.