The new political design triggered also cross-border smuggling, and French Basques emigrated to the USA and other American destinations in large numbers. They account for about half of the total emigration from France during the 19th century, estimated at 50.000 to 100.000 inhabitants. The same fate—North and South America altogether—was followed by many other Basques, who during the following decades set out from Basque and other neighbouring ports (Santander, Bordeaux) in search for a better life, e.g. the bard Jose Maria Iparragirre, composer of the Gernikako Arbola, widely held as the Basque national anthem. In 1844, the Civil Guard, a paramilitary police force (cited in Iparragirre's popular song Zibilak esan naute), was established with a view to defend and spread the idea of a Spanish central state, particularly in rural areas, while the 1856 education reform consciously promoted the use of the Castilian (Spanish) language.
