Baztan

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 , 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 . History Early 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 and helped demographic balance by preventing migration 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 considered yeomen (nobles) universally, and some Baztan inhabitants made a fortune at the Court in Madrid and in America.