Even if you concede that the basques did have an early start on exploiting the Newfoundland fisheries, that would have given them an edge for a few centuries af

Even if you concede that the basques did have an early start on exploiting the Newfoundland fisheries, that would have given them an edge for a few centuries after the year 1000 (more like 1400 if you wait for the necessary navigation technology). By the 3rd century AD, all of Iberia except for the Basque was speaking a romance language. So, this theory -- very poorly documented in itself -- fails to explain at the very least these mere 7 to 10 centuries of preservation of Basque identity. EDIT: by the way, I totally buy that Europeans were fishing for cod in Newfoundland before Columbus, and that at least some of those were basques. 15th century Portuguese maps calling those waters "Mare Baccalearum" are proof enough for me.