**Etymology and Names:**
– ‘Bizkaia’ is a cognate of ‘bizkar’ meaning low ridge or prominence.
– ‘Bizkaia’ is the official name used on official documents and media in Spanish in the Basque Country.
– ‘Vizcaya’ is the name in Spanish language recommended by the Royal Spanish Academy.
– ‘Vizcaya’ is an alternative name for the province.
**History:**
– Biscay inhabited since the Middle Paleolithic with surviving Basque language and traditions.
– Biscay became a major commercial and industrial area in the modern age.
– Rapid industrialization in the 19th and 20th centuries due to iron ore abundance.
– Biscay’s history intertwined with Basque Country in the Middle Ages.
**Prehistoric Periods:**
– Middle Paleolithic period saw Neanderthal dwellings in Biscay.
– Various cultures like Aurignacian, Gravettian, Solutrean, and Magdalenian present in Biscay.
– Neolithic contact in Basque Country dated to the 4th millennium BCE.
– Megalithism became common for burials in Biscay.
**Modern Developments:**
– Bilbao important for commerce in modern age.
– Discovery of iron resources in Biscay in 1850s led to industrialization.
– Biscay supported Republicans in Spanish Civil War.
– Democracy restored in Spain after Franco’s death in 1975.
**Geography and Administration:**
– Biscay bordered by Cantabria, Burgos, Gipuzkoa, Álava, and Cantabrian Sea.
– Average high temperatures in Bilbao range from 13°C in January to 26°C in August.
– Biscay historically divided into merindades and modernly into seven comarcas or regions.
– Juntas Generales is the unicameral assembly with normative authority in Biscay.
