Aquitaine (Occitan: Aquitània; Basque: Akitania), archaic Guyenne/Guienne (Occitan: Guiana), is one of the 26 regions of France, in the south-western part of metropolitan France, along the Atlantic Ocean and the Pyrenees mountain range on the border with Spain. In the Middle Ages it was a kingdom and later a duchy, with boundaries considerably larger than the modern ones.

Geography

The modern region Aquitaine covers an area of 41,308 km², 7.6 per cent of France's total area. It 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.

Major cities in Aquitaine include Bordeaux, Pau, Bayonne, Mont-de-Marsan, Biarritz, Bergerac, and Périgueux.

Major geographical features include:

• The Côte d'Argent, one of the most famous coasts in France.
• The Bassin d'Arcachon, a large lagoon famous for its oyster farming.
• 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.
• The Landes Forest - the largest pine forest in Western Europe.

History

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.

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 Pyrenees and covering what later became Bigorre, Comminges, Armagnac, Béarn, the Basque country, Gascony, etc.

Europe in 600 AD, showing the County of Aquitaine.

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. Thus, 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 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 feudal overlord Louis VII of France and followed him on crusade, then had the marriage annulled under the pretext of consanguinity 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.

Demographics

Population (2007): 3,123,000 (5.05% of Metropolitan France's population)

Languages

French is the predominant language of the region. Other native languages include various forms of Occitan, including Gascon (and its Béarnais dialect) and the Périgord variety, and the Basque language in the far south of the region. Immigrants have brought English, Spanish, Arabic, and many other non-native tongues into the region.

Major communities

Economy

• 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 Pyrenees are also popular. Holiday homes and camping sites abound.

Sport

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:

• Aviron Bayonnais
• Biarritz Olympique, finalists in the most recent Heineken Cup.
• CA Bordeaux-Bègles Gironde
• Section Paloise

Bull-fighting is also popular in the region.

Major Surfing championships regularly take place on Aquitaine's coast.

Food and drink

Aquitaine is famous for its wine and related products, including:

• The Armagnac brandy producing area lies within the region.
• The Bergerac wine is produced in the Dordogne.
• The Bordeaux wine (known as Claret in the United Kingdom) region is perhaps the most famous red wine region in the world. Areas include Pomerol, Saint-Emilion, Graves and the Médoc.
• The Lillet, a fortified wine, is produced in Bordeaux.
• The region also produces Sauternes a famous sweet white wine.
• The south-west also produces wine, although it is not nearly as recognized as Bordeaux.
• Wine cellars are a very popular tourist attarction in the region.

Famous food products from the area include:

• Pâtés, including paté de fois gras and pâté basque.
• Canelés;
• Cassoulet;
• Confit de canard.
• The Dordogne is famed for its truffles.

See also

• Basque people
• Basque Country (historical territory)
• Bordeaux wine regions
• Gascony
• Occitania

External links

• Regional Concil of Aquitaine
• http://csfrance.amb-usa.fr/EconomicBordeux.pdf
• Photos of Aquitaine
• Regional business and information site
• Visits : Historical monuments

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