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== History == {{For timeline}} === 5th century BC to 11th century AD === {{Multiple image | align = left | total_width = 400 | image1 = Bordeaux - Pilliers de Tutelle.jpg | caption1 = ''Les Piliers de Tutelle'' | image2 = Bordeaux - Palais Gallien 2.jpg | caption2 = The Roman amphitheatre |}} Around 300 BC, the region was the settlement of a [[List of Celtic tribes|Celtic tribe]], the [[Bituriges Vivisci]], who named the town '''Burdigala''', probably of [[Aquitanian language|Aquitanian]] origin. In 107 BC, the [[Battle of Burdigala]] was fought by the Romans who were defending the [[Allobroges]], a [[Gauls|Gallic tribe]] allied to Rome, and the [[Tigurini]] led by [[Divico]]. The Romans were defeated and their commander, the [[Roman consul|consul]] [[Lucius Cassius Longinus (consul 107 BC)|Lucius Cassius Longinus]], was killed in battle.<ref>{{Cite web |last1=Sivan |first1=H. |first2=R. |last2=Mathisen |title=Places: 138248 (Burdigala) |url=https://pleiades.stoa.org/places/138248 |access-date=29 March 2020 |publisher=Pleiades |archive-date=18 September 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200918080522/https://pleiades.stoa.org/places/138248 |url-status=live}}</ref> The city came under [[ancient Rome|Roman]] rule around 60 BC, and it became an important commercial centre for [[tin]] and [[lead]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.romanports.org/en/the-ports/116-burdigala.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200330034006/https://www.romanports.org/en/the-ports/116-burdigala.html |archive-date=30 March 2020 |url-status=live |title=Burdigala (France) |access-date=29 March 2020}}</ref> During this period were built the amphitheatre and the monument ''Les [[Piliers de Tutelle]]''. In 276 AD, it was sacked by the [[Vandals]]. The Vandals attacked again in 409, followed by the [[Visigoths]] in 414, and the [[Franks]] in 498, and afterwards the city fell into a period of relative obscurity. [[File:Bituriges Vivisci.jpg|thumb|Coins of the [[Bituriges Vivisci]], 5th–1st century BC, derived from the coin designs of [[Greeks in pre-Roman Gaul]]. [[Cabinet des Médailles]].]] [[File:Merovingian tremisses minted in Bordeaux by the Church of Saint Etienne late 6th century.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Merovingian dynasty|Merovingian]] [[Tremissis|tremisses]] minted in Bordeaux by the Church of Saint-Étienne, late sixth century. [[British Museum]].]] In the late 6th century AD the city re-emerged as the seat of a county and an archdiocese within the [[Merovingian dynasty|Merovingian]] [[Francia|kingdom of the Franks]], but royal Frankish power was never strong. The city started to play a regional role as a major urban center on the fringes of the newly founded Frankish [[Duchy of Vasconia]]. Around 585 Gallactorius was made [[County of Bordeaux|Count of Bordeaux]] and fought the [[Basques]]. In 732, the city was plundered by the troops of [[Abdul Rahman Al Ghafiqi|Abd er Rahman]] who stormed the fortifications and overwhelmed the [[Aquitaine|Aquitanian]] garrison. [[Odo the Great|Duke Eudes]] mustered a force to engage the [[Umayyad Caliphate|Umayyads]], eventually engaging them in the [[Battle of the River Garonne]] somewhere near the river [[Dordogne (river)|Dordogne]]. The battle had a high death toll, and although Eudes was defeated he had enough troops to engage in the [[Battle of Tours|Battle of Poitiers]] and so retain his grip on Aquitaine. In 737, following his father Eudes's death, the Aquitanian [[Hunald I|duke Hunald]] led a rebellion to which [[Charles Martel|Charles]] responded by launching an expedition that captured Bordeaux. However, it was not retained for long, during the following year the Frankish commander clashed in battle with the Aquitanians but then left to take on hostile Burgundian authorities and magnates. In 745 Aquitaine faced another expedition where Charles's sons Pepin and Carloman challenged Hunald's power and defeated him. Hunald's son [[Waiofar|Waifer]] replaced him and confirmed Bordeaux as the capital city (along with Bourges in the north). During the last stage of the [[Pepin the Short#Expansion of the Frankish realm|war against Aquitaine]] (760–768), it was one of Waifer's last important strongholds to fall to the troops of King [[Pepin the Short]]. Charlemagne built the fortress of [[Fronsac, Gironde|Fronsac]] (''Frontiacus'', ''Franciacus'') near Bordeaux on a hill across the border with the Basques (''Wascones''), where Basque commanders came and pledged their loyalty (769). In 778, [[Seguin I of Gascony|Seguin (or Sihimin)]] was appointed count of Bordeaux, probably undermining the power of the Duke [[Lupo II of Gascony|Lupo]], and possibly leading to the [[Battle of Roncevaux Pass]]. In 814, Seguin was made Duke of [[Duchy of Vasconia|Vasconia]], but was deposed in 816 for failing to suppress a Basque rebellion. Under the [[Carolingian dynasty|Carolingians]], sometimes the [[Count of Bordeaux|Counts of Bordeaux]] held the title concomitantly with that of [[Duke of Gascony|Duke of Vasconia]]. They were to keep the Basques in check and defend the mouth of the Garonne from the [[Viking]]s when they appeared in c. 844. In Autumn 845, the Vikings were raiding Bordeaux and Saintes, count [[Seguin II of Gascony|Seguin II]] marched on them but was captured and executed. Although the [[Port de la Lune|port of Bordeaux]] was a buzzing trade center, the stability and success of the city was threatened by [[Vikings|Viking]] and [[Normans|Norman]] incursions and political instability. The restoration of the [[Ramnulfids|Ramnulfid]] [[Duke of Aquitaine|Dukes of Aquitaine]] under [[William IV, Duke of Aquitaine|William IV]] and his successors (known as the [[House of Poitiers]]) brought continuity of government.<ref name="britannica">{{Cite web |url=https://www.britannica.com/place/Bordeaux |title=Bordeaux |website=Encyclopaedia Britannica |access-date=30 March 2020 |archive-date=28 April 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200428135852/https://www.britannica.com/place/Bordeaux |url-status=live}}</ref> === 12th century to 15th century, the English era === From the 12th to the 15th century, Bordeaux flourished once more following the marriage of [[Eleanor of Aquitaine|Eléonore]], Duchess of [[Duchy of Aquitaine|Aquitaine]] and the last of the [[House of Poitiers]], to [[Henry II of England|Henry II Plantagenêt]], [[Counts and dukes of Anjou|Count of Anjou]] and the grandson of [[Henry I of England]], who succeeded to the English crown months after their wedding, bringing into being the vast [[Angevin Empire]], which stretched from the [[Pyrenees]] to Ireland.<ref>''Le duché de Bretagne et la politique Plantagenêt aux XII et XIII siecles'', Judith Everard. ", ''in'' Marin Aurell and Noël-Yves Tonnerre éditeurs. ''Plantagenêts et Capétiens, confrontations et héritages'', Poitiers. Brepols, 2006, Turnhout. Collection ''Histoires de famille. La parenté au Moyen Âge'', p. 202</ref> After granting a tax-free trade status with England, Henry was adored by the locals as they could be even more profitable in the wine trade, their main source of income, and the city benefited from imports of cloth and wheat.<ref name="bordeaux-port.fr">{{Cite web |url=https://www.bordeaux-port.fr/en/port-bordeaux/history |title=History | Port de Bordeaux |website=www.bordeaux-port.fr |access-date=15 February 2020 |archive-date=15 February 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200215031446/https://www.bordeaux-port.fr/en/port-bordeaux/history |url-status=live}}</ref> The belfry (Grosse Cloche) and [[Bordeaux Cathedral|city cathedral St-André]] were built, the latter in 1227, incorporating the artisan quarter of Saint-Paul.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.lonelyplanet.com/france/bordeaux/background/history/a/nar/5e51aa7a-15f6-47ad-8ad8-719613858dc0/359293 |title=History in Bordeaux, France |first=Lonely |last=Planet |website=Lonely Planet |access-date=15 February 2020 |archive-date=15 February 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200215031436/https://www.lonelyplanet.com/france/bordeaux/background/history/a/nar/5e51aa7a-15f6-47ad-8ad8-719613858dc0/359293 |url-status=live}}</ref> Under the terms of the [[Treaty of Brétigny]] it became briefly the capital of an independent state (1362–1372) under [[Edward, the Black Prince]], but after the [[Battle of Castillon]] (1453) it was annexed by France. === 15th century to 17th century === In 1462, Bordeaux created a local parliament. Bordeaux adhered to the [[Fronde]], being effectively annexed to the [[Kingdom of France]] only in 1653, when the army of [[Louis XIV of France|Louis XIV]] entered the city. === 18th century, the golden era === [[File:Deuxieme vue du port de Bordeaux prise du château Trompette.jpg|thumb|upright=1.2|[[Port of the Moon]] in 1759]] The 18th century saw another golden age of Bordeaux.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.commanderie.org/showRegion.action |title=Commanderie |website=www.commanderie.org |access-date=2 February 2018 |archive-date=3 February 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180203065355/https://www.commanderie.org/showRegion.action |url-status=live}}</ref> The [[Port of the Moon]] supplied the majority of Europe with coffee, cocoa, sugar, cotton and indigo, becoming France's busiest port and the second busiest port in the world after London.<ref name="bordeaux-port.fr" /> Many downtown buildings (about 5,000), including those on the quays, are from this period. Bordeaux was also a major trading centre for slaves.<ref>{{cite news |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] |title=Bordeaux struggles with slave past |date=28 September 2009}}</ref> In total, the Bordeaux shipowners deported 150,000 Africans in some 500 expeditions.<ref name="trading and slavery">{{Cite book |last1=François |first1=Hubert |first2=Christian |last2=Block |first3=Jacques |last3=de Cauna |title=Bordeaux in the 18th century : trans-Atlantic trading and slavery |publisher=Le Festin |year=2018 |isbn=978-2-36062-009-8 |edition=2nd |location=Bordeaux}}</ref> === French Revolution: political disruption and loss of the most profitable colony === {{unsourced section|date=May 2025}} At the beginning of the [[French Revolution]] (1789), many local revolutionaries were members of the [[Girondists]]. This Party represented the provincial bourgeoisie, favorable towards abolishing aristocracy privileges, but opposed to the Revolution's social dimension. The Gironde valley's economic value and significance was satiated by the city's commercial power which was in dire contrast to the emerging widespread poverty affecting its inhabitants. Trade and commerce were the driving factors in the region's economic prosperity, still this resulted in a significant number of locals struggling to survive on a daily basis due to lack of food and resources. This socioeconomic disparity served as fertile ground for discontent, sparking frequent episodes of mass unrest well before the tumultuous events of 1783. In 1793, the [[Montagnard (French Revolution)|Montagnards]] led by [[Robespierre]] and [[Jean-Paul Marat|Marat]] came to power. Fearing a bourgeois misappropriation of the Revolution, they executed a great number of Girondists. During the purge, the local Montagnard Section renamed the city of Bordeaux "Commune-Franklin" (Franklin-municipality) in homage to [[Benjamin Franklin]]. At the same time, in 1791, a [[Haitian Revolution|slave revolt]] broke out at [[Saint-Domingue]] (current [[Haiti]]), the most profitable of the French colonies. In the lively era of the 18th century, Bordeaux emerged as a center of economic activity, particularly known at first for its successful wine trade. The city's placement along the Gironde River was very strategic, helping to facilitate the transportation of produce to markets both internationally and domestically, which led to an increase in exports and Bordeaux's economic prosperity. There was a significant transformation to the economic landscape of Bordeaux in 1785, which was spurred by the attraction of large profits, traders and merchants in Bordeaux began to turn their attention to the slave trade. This was a very important moment in the city's economic history seeing as it diversified its commercial expansion, at a serious moral cost. This introduced a new layer of difficulty to Bordeaux's economic activities. Even though it brought along significant wealth to certain segments of society, it complicated the socio-economic inconsistencies within the region. The entry into the slave trade brought even more tension within Bordeaux society. The trade exacerbated the divide between an elite with growing wealth and those living in poverty. This economic divide laid out the foundation for the mass unrest that would break out in the French Revolution. Three years later, the Montagnard Convention abolished slavery. In 1802, Napoleon revoked the manumission law but lost the war against the army of former slaves. In 1804, Haiti became independent. The loss of this "Pearl" of the West Indies generated the collapse of Bordeaux's port economy, which was dependent on the colonial trade and trade in slaves. Towards the end of the [[Peninsular War]] of 1814, the [[Duke of Wellington]] sent [[William Beresford, 1st Viscount Beresford|William Beresford]] with two divisions and seized Bordeaux, encountering little resistance. Bordeaux was largely anti-[[Bonapartist]] and the majority supported the [[House of Bourbon|Bourbons]]. The British troops were treated as liberators. Distinguished historian of the French revolution Suzanne Desan explains that "examining intricate local dynamics" is essential to studying the Revolution by region. === 19th century, rebirth of the economy === {{unsourced section|date=May 2025}} [[File:Hugo d'Alesi, vue cavalière de Bordeaux, 1899, Archives de Bordeaux métropole.jpg|thumb|upright=1.2|Aerial view of the [[Port of the Moon]] in 1899]] From the [[Bourbon Restoration in France|Bourbon Restoration]], the economy of Bordeaux was rebuilt by traders and shipowners. They engaged to construct the first bridge of Bordeaux, and customs warehouses. The shipping traffic grew through the new [[French colonial empire|African colonies]]. [[Georges-Eugène Haussmann]], a longtime prefect of Bordeaux, used Bordeaux's 18th-century large-scale rebuilding as a model when he was asked by Emperor [[Napoleon III of France|Napoleon III]] to transform the quasi-medieval Paris into a "modern" capital that would make France proud. [[Victor Hugo]] found the town so beautiful he said: "Take [[Versailles, Yvelines|Versailles]], add [[Antwerp]], and you have Bordeaux". In 1870, at the beginning of the [[Franco-Prussian war]] against [[Kingdom of Prussia|Prussia]], the French government temporarily relocated to Bordeaux from Paris.<ref name="britannica" /> That recurred during [[World War I]] and again very briefly during [[World War II]], when it became clear that Paris would fall into German hands. === 20th century === [[File:Bundesarchiv Bild 101I-074-2852-36A, Bordeaux, Platzkonzert der Wehrmacht.jpg|thumb|upright=1.2|The Place de la Comédie during the [[German military administration in occupied France during World War II|German occupation]]]] During World War II, Bordeaux fell under [[German military administration in occupied France during World War II|German occupation]]. In May and June 1940, Bordeaux was the site of the life-saving actions of the Portuguese consul-general, [[Aristides de Sousa Mendes]], who granted thousands of Portuguese visas, which were needed to pass the Spanish border, to refugees fleeing the German occupation. From 1941 to 1943, the [[Regia Marina|Italian Royal Navy]] established [[BETASOM]], a submarine base at Bordeaux. Italian submarines participated in the [[Battle of the Atlantic]] from that base, which was also a major base for German [[U-boats]] as headquarters of [[12th U-boat Flotilla]]. The massive, reinforced concrete U-boat pens have proved impractical to demolish and are now partly used as a cultural center for exhibitions.<ref>{{Cite web |date=9 June 2020 |title=World's largest digital arts centre opens in Bordeaux submarine base |url=https://www.france24.com/en/20200609-world-s-largest-digital-arts-centre-opens-in-bordeaux-submarine-base |website=France 24 |language=en |access-date=9 July 2020 |archive-date=17 June 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200617071806/https://www.france24.com/en/20200609-world-s-largest-digital-arts-centre-opens-in-bordeaux-submarine-base |url-status=live}}</ref> === 21st century, listed as World heritage === In 2007, 40% of the city surface area, located around the [[Port of the Moon]], was listed as [[World Heritage Site]]. [[UNESCO]] inscribed Bordeaux as "an inhabited historic city, an outstanding urban and architectural ensemble, created in the age of the Enlightenment, whose values continued up to the first half of the 20th century, with more protected buildings than any other French city except Paris".<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1256/ |title=Bordeaux, Port of the Moon |first=UNESCO World Heritage |last=Centre |website=UNESCO World Heritage Centre |access-date=30 October 2020 |archive-date=27 October 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201027221056/https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1256 |url-status=live}}</ref>
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