The three Basque provinces of Álava, Vizcaya, and Guipúzcoa had more of interest in their internal organization than in their external political history, since in the latter respect they were closely united to Navarre and Castile, which states disputed the dominion of these provinces. They were usually subject to one power or the other, although some of their towns, together with others of the Castilian north coast, formed themselves into leagues (_hermandades_), and enjoyed a certain amount of independence in their dealings with England and France. A number of popular beliefs exist with regard to the history of these provinces, one of which is that they have never been conquered. It is true that no conqueror ever stamped out the indomitable spirit and the customs of the people, but the land was rarely independent. It is believed that the Moslem invasion of the eighth century did not extend to these provinces, but at a later time they did suffer from Moslem incursions. With the organization of the kingdom of Asturias, both Álava and Vizcaya seem to have been either dependent on that realm or at least in close relationship with it. At times, from the eighth to the tenth centuries, the counts of Álava were also counts of Castile. Passing into the hands of Sancho the Great of Navarre, Álava was incorporated in that kingdom until the reign of Alfonso VIII of Castile. Alfonso VIII won the battle of Vitoria, and conquered the land in 1200. Thenceforth it remained under the sovereignty of the Castilian monarch, although with an assembly, the _Cofradía_ (Fraternity, or Association) of Arriaga, of its own. In 1332, in the reign of Alfonso XI, the incorporation with Castile was made complete, although with a retention of the charters and liberties of the province. Vizcaya also vacillated between Navarre and Castile as a more or less independent, protected country, until in 1370 it passed over to the Castilian crown by inheritance of the wife of Henry III. The course of events in Guipúzcoa was very similar. In 1200 the province submitted to the conqueror of Vitoria, and from that time forth the external political history of Guipúzcoa was that of Castile. _Granada_ [Sidenote: Inconsequential character of Granadine political history.]