Asia
There is a small, but thriving Basque population based in Asia. Some of the first Christian missionaries in Asia were of Basque descent such as the Jesuit Francis Xavier who died on Sancian Island off the Chinese Coast.
The Jesuit Pedro Arrupe was a witness of the Nagasaki atomic bomb in 1945.
Outside of Asia in Oceania, some thousands of French Basque shepherds, farmers and fishermen were invited to settle in Australia and New Zealand.
The Philippines, having been a Spanish colonial territory for 333 years, was a destination for a small number of conquistadors, merchants, clergy, sailors and entrepreneurs that were mostly of Basque origin. These families of Basque lineage, over time, slowly integrated into the Philippine social landscape, developing themselves into some of the most prominent families in the country. This is evident to this day in the market dominance of Basque-originating families such as the Aboitiz shipping magnates, the Zobel de Ayala family and political clans like the Zubiris and the Ozámiz.
Pre-World War Shanghai had a small colony of Basque professional jai alai players.
Read more about this topic: Basque Diaspora
Famous quotes containing the word asia:
“I believe that the fundamental proposition is that we must recognize that the hostilities in Europe, in Africa, and in Asia are all parts of a single world conflict. We must, consequently, recognize that our interests are menaced both in Europe and in the Far East.”
—Franklin D. Roosevelt (1882–1945)
“I have no doubt that they lived pretty much the same sort of life in the Homeric age, for men have always thought more of eating than of fighting; then, as now, their minds ran chiefly on the “hot bread and sweet cakes;” and the fur and lumber trade is an old story to Asia and Europe.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)
“Incarnate devil in a talking snake,
The central plains of Asia in his garden,
In shaping-time the circle stung awake,
In shapes of sin forked out the bearded apple....”
—Dylan Thomas (1914–1953)