Many of the prominent and rich mestizo families in the Philippines (Aboitiz, Elizalde, Araneta, Zobel de Ayala, Zubiri) trace their lineage from the Basque regions. I have a cursory knowledge of the unrest and disenfranchisement that contributed to the Basque diaspora but I can't reconcile their marginalization in Spain with the way they eventually dominated the cultural and economic life in the Philippines. Did this mean that the immigrant Basques agitated much less than the nationalists, which meant they were more favored by the state? Or did regional differences between the Spanish just get overpowered by the impetus to create a more unified front against their colonial subjects?
Furthermore, are there also outsized Basque interests in other Spanish colonies? I know that they played a large part in the Age of Exploration, but did they became superpowers in other colonies by virtue of being first?
(I've read Basques in the Philippines by Marciano de Borja years ago in college, but what I remember of it was that it was much more narrative-heavy. It simply recounted the deeds of Basque individuals and didn't much focus on the how and why.)
A reply to /u/splatticusflinch
The Basques (of the crown of Navarre) were not always marginalized. During the Habsburg times, the crown of Navarre was considered a safe, but rather unattractive, territory where governance was fairly well developed but there were no significant riches or population resources. Tellingly, Charles V did not even attend his coronation there, he sent a proxy instead. This is different from the crown of Aragon, where there were many agitations against the royals, for example leading to the Revolt of the Catalans in 1640. However, in this time the Philippines was administered through New Spain, which was in turn under the crown of Castille. There were restrictions such that only Castille-sanctioned endeavors were allowed, although the population that emigrated from Spain to the colonies was always very heterogeneous.
Over time, the purity of blood became the basis of class in the Americas. The elites played up their Spanish links versus their native american links. This transferred to the Philippines, too.
During the War of Spanish Succession, the Navarese became allied with the eventual winner the Bourbon Philip V. As a reward, they maintained their fueros (privileges) whereas the Aragonese fueros was abolished and absorbed into the government of the crown of Castille.
It took until the Carlist wars to see the seeming alignment we see today, that is that both the Catalans and Basques vie for varying degrees of autonomy and/or independence.
Now I shall summon my colleague /u/tobbinator to fill in as appropriate from this period onwards, as this is veering well out of my area of knowledge.
And in closing, I feel the same way you do, I have read "The world according to the Basques" which is an interesting (heavily narrative) read but not a great read for the history.