Why did Francisco Franco suppress minority languages such as Basque?

by Argentina_es_blanca

Did he just think Basque/Catalan/Galician was detrimental to Spanish unity?

Aelstan

Exactly that, to try and unify Spain under one language with no other loyalties. Also, by attempting to destroy individual cultures you can more easily control a whole population, the British did the same in Ireland.

badfandangofever

Those languages were considered symbols of the national identities he was trying to suppress. These identities were considered enemies of the national unity.