He gradually obtained full possession of Navarre and the Basque provinces, outside of the fortresses, which he had not the means to besiege.
Though the three Basque Provinces were thus united to the crown of Spain, they still remained a land apart (tierra apartada).
In appearance Xavier was neither Spanish nor Basque.
The principal evidence which Humboldt adduced in its support was the possibility of explaining a vast number of the ancient topographical names of Spain, and of other asserted Iberian districts, by the forms and significations of Basque.
Of the Provinces, Guipuzcoa is the only one which is wholly Basque, Alava is the least so.