War of the Pyrenees
The three Basque provinces were then shaken by traumatic events after the intervention of the French Convention army during the War of the Pyrenees (1793–95). Besides prohibiting the native Basque language for public use, with Bertrand Barère even declaring that "fanaticism speaks Basque", an indiscriminate mass-deportation of civilians followed resulting in the expulsion from their homes of thousands and a death toll of approx. 1,600 in Labourd.