Aquitaine
French Région |native_name = Région Aquitaine |common_name = Aquitaine |image_flag = Aquitaine_region_flag.png|image_flag_size = 115px|image_logo = Aquitaine_logo.png|image_logo_size = 125px|flag = (Région flag)|capital =
Bordeaux |area = 41,309 | area_scale = 10 |Regional president =
Alain Rousset(
PS) (since
1998)|population_rank = 6th|population_census = 2,908,359 |population_census_year = 1999 |population_estimate = 3,072,000 |population_estimate_year = 2005 |population_density = 74 |population_density_year = 2005 |arrondissements = 18 |cantons = 235 |communes = 2,296 |départements =
DordogneGirondeLandesLot-et-GaronnePyrénées-Atlantiques |image_map = Aquitaine map.png |footnotes=|}}
Aquitaine (
Gascon and
Occitan:
Aquitània;
Basque:
Akitania) (anciently "Guyenne") now forms a
région in south-western
France along the
Atlantic Ocean and the
Pyrenees mountain range on the border with
Spain.
Area: 41,400 km
2 (7.6 % of France's total area)
The region is bounded to the south by
Spain, to the east by
Midi-Pyrénées, to the north by
Poitou-Charentes and
Limousin and to the west by the Atlantic Ocean (
Bay of Biscay ).
Major cities in Aquitaine include
Bordeaux,
Pau,
Bayonne,
Mont-de-Marsan,
Biarritz, and
Périgueux. Smaller major city :
Agen.
Major geographical features include:
*The
Côte d'Argent, one of the most famous coasts in France.
*The Basin d'
Arcachon, a large lagoon where collecting shellfish is common.
*The confluence of the
Garonne and the
Dordogne rivers which leads to the vast
Gironde estuary.
*The south of the region includes parts of the
Pyrenees mountains.
*The
Dune de Pilat, near Arcachon is the largest
sand dune in
Europe.
In
Roman times, the
province of
Gallia Aquitania originally comprised the region of
Gaul between the Pyrenees Mountains and the
Garonne River, but
Augustus Caesar added to it the land between the Garonne and the
Loire River. At this stage the province extended inland as far as the
Cevennes and covered an area about one third of the size of modern France. Aquitaine was quite thoroughly
Romanized in its culture, unlike northern Gaul.
The
4th century AD saw the Roman province of Aquitaine divided into three separate provinces:
*
Aquitania prima, the north-eastern portion, including the territories which later became
Berry,
Bourbonnais,
Auvergne,
Velay,
Gévaudan,
Rouergue,
Albigeois,
Quercy and
Marche*
Aquitania secunda, the northwestern portion, with its capital at Burdigala (
Bordeaux) and comprising the future
Bordelais,
Poitou,
Saintonge,
Angoumois and western
Guyenne*
Aquitania tertia or
Aquitania Novempopulana (of the "nine peoples"), the southernmost and most strongly Basque portion, adjoining the Pyrennees and covering what later became
Bigorre,
Comminges,
Armagnac,
Béarn, the
Basque country,
Gascony, etc.
In the
5th century, as
Roman rule collapsed, the
Visigoths filled the power vacuum, until they were driven out in
507 AD by the
Franks, with a mixed army of
mercenaries and federates, who included
Burgundians. When
Clotaire II died in
629, he divided the kingdom of the Franks and gave Aquitaine to his son
Charibert II, who set up his capital at Toulouse and strengthened his claims by marrying Gisela, the heiress of Aquitania Novempopulana; however, Frankish control was never very secure; they were primitive by comparison and had only the most rudimentary sense of urban life and the
res publica. Aquitaine put up little resistance to the
Moors in the
8th century, but
Charles Martel drove them out, and Aquitaine passed into the
Carolingian Empire.
The heirs of
Charlemagne divided and redivided their inheritance, and Aquitaine passed out of the control of
Neustria, the western kingdom of Charlemagne's house, and in the
9th century the leading local counts gradually freed themselves of the vestiges of royal control.
Bernard Plantevelue (ruling 868-86) and his son,
William I (ruling 886-918), whose power base was in
Auvergne, called themselves
dukes of Aquitaine for a time.
William V (ruling 995-1030) refounded a new duchy of Aquitaine, that was based in Poitou, and this power center survived. Aquitaine contained
Poitiers,
Auvergne, and
Toulouse. In
1052 the duchy of
Gascony (French:
Gascogne) became part of "Aquitania", by personal union of duke
William VIII. Aquitaine achieved a high literate court culture of
courteoisie that peaked under William VIII (ruled 1058-86). Duke
William IX, "the
troubadour" was a poet himself, and Poitiers became a center of the musical poetry of the troubadours. When
William X died (1137), his daughter
Eleanor of Aquitaine, the greatest heiress of France, married her guardian,
Louis VII of France and followed him on
crusade, then had the marriage annulled under the pretext of kinship in 1152 to marry his greatest rival
Henry II of England. She maintained an elegant
chivalric court at
Poitiers. Her sons,
Richard I and
John, and their successors as kings of England were dukes of Aquitaine (later known as Guienne).
Fighting during the
Hundred Years' War enabled
Edward III of England to establish the principality of Aquitaine in 1361, freed from any dependence on France, but France recaptured it by 1453. After that the history of Aquitaine became part of the
history of France.
See also:
Dukes of Aquitaine family tree,
Rulers of Auvergne,
Languedoc,
History of Toulouse.
Population: 2,967,000 (4.97% of the total French population) (2002)
Languages
French is the majority language of the region. Other native languages include the
Basque Language in the far south of the region, and various forms of
Occitan, including the Perigord variety.Immigrants have brought
English,
Spanish,
Arabic and many other non native tongues into the region.
*
Agriculture: ::The
grape is by far the biggest product of the region. ::
Forestry is also productive in the north of the region, including Europe's largest
pine forest.::
Cattle raising.
*
Extractive Industries: ::
Natural Gas and
petrol are both found and extracted in the area, by companies such as
ELF Aquitaine.
*
Industry:::
Wine-making,
distilling and by-products are hugely important to the area as an industry and culturally. According to the US State Department, 7 million hectolitres of wine are produced in Bordeaux. ::
Aerospace, in particular
Dassault systems.
*
Services::Education, with universities at Pau and Bordeaux, which has over 80,000 students::Tourism is hugely popular, in particular along the
Côte d'argent for sun and surfers. There are major resorts at Bayonne, Biarritz,
St. Jean de Luz and
Hendaye.
Chateaux visiting in the Dordogne and
hiking and
skiing in the Pyrennes are also popular. Holiday homes and camping sites abound.
The region is home to many successful sports teams. In particular worth mentioning are:
*
Girondins de Bordeaux, one of France's most successful
association football teams.
Rugby Union is particularly popular in the region. Clubs include:
*
Biarritz Olympique, finalists in the most recent
Heineken Cup.
*
Bègles-Bordeaux*
Aviron Bayonnais*
Section Paloise (Pau)
Bull-fighting is also popular in the region.Major
Surfing championships regularly take place on Aquitaine's coast.
Aquitaine is famous for its wine and related products, including:
*The
Bordeaux wine (known as
Claret in the Anglophone world) region is perhaps the most famous
red wine region in the world. Areas include
Pomerol,
Saint-Emilion,
Graves and the
Médoc.
*The region also produces
Sauternes a famous sweet
white wine.
*
Lillet, a
fortified wine, is produced in Bordeaux.
*The south-west also produces wine, although it is not nearly as recognised as Bordeaux.
*The
Armagnac brandy producing area lies within the region.
*
Bergerac wine is produced in the Dordogne.
Famous food products from the area include:
*
Pâtés, including
pâté de fois gras and
pâté basque.
*
Cèpes are commonly used in the region's cuisine.
*The
Dordogne is famed for its
truffles.
CassouletMagret de canardCanelés*
Basque people*
Basque Country (autonomous community)*
Gascony*
History of Aquitaine*
Conseil Régional d'Aquitaine*
AngloINFO Aquitaine - information in English
*[
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