ETA, an acronym for Euskadi Ta Askatasuna, was an armed Basque nationalist and far left separatist organization in the Basque Country between 1959 and 2018. The group was founded in 1959 and later evolved from a group promoting traditional Basque culture to a paramilitary group engaged in a violent campaign of bombing, assassinations, and kidnappings throughout Spanish territory and especially in the Southern Basque Country. Its goal was gaining independence for the Basque Country. ETA was the main group within the Basque National Liberation Movement and was the most important Basque participant in the Basque conflict.