Basque Coast

The Basque coast borders the southeastern Bay of Biscay, where Atlantic waters meet the shores of present-day France and Spain. Fishing ports and river mouths connected coastal communities to trade across the bay and farther into the Atlantic. Strong winds and waves could make these waters dangerous for shipping.

Basque crews hunted whales in the Bay of Biscay from at least the Middle Ages, pursuing North Atlantic right whales for valuable oil. By the sixteenth century some vessels sailed across the Atlantic to whaling grounds near Labrador. Oil processed at stations such as Red Bay was carried back for sale in Europe, extending a coastal industry into a distant maritime network.