Editing Franche-Comté (section)

==History==
[[File:La Ratification - de la Paix - Entre les deux Couronnes - de France et d'Espagne . - estampe - btv1b69453454.jpg|thumb|right|170px|Ratification of the [[Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle (1668)]]]]

The region has been inhabited since the [[Paleolithic age]] and was occupied by the [[Gauls]]. It was then heavily settled by [[Germanic peoples]] during the [[Germanic migrations]], most notably the [[Burgundians]], who settled in the region after the Gauls had vacated the area. Later, it was part of the territory of the [[Alemanni]] in the fifth century, then the [[Kingdom of Burgundy]] from 457 to 534. The Burgundians adopted [[Chalcedonian Christianity]], [[Christianization|Christianizing]] the region. In 534, it became part of the [[Franks|Frankish]] kingdom. In 561 it was included in the [[Merovingian]] Kingdom of Burgundy under [[Guntram]], the third son of [[Clotaire I]]. In 613, [[Clotaire II]] reunited the Frankish Kingdom under his rule, and the region remained a part of the Kingdom of Burgundy under the later Merovingians and [[Carolingian]]s.

===Free County of Burgundy=== 
Under the [[Treaty of Verdun]] (843), all north-western regions of Carolingian Burgundy were designated to the [[West Francia]], while the rest of Burgundy went to the [[Middle Francia]]. By the end of the 9th century, the West-Frankish part was organized as the [[Duchy of Burgundy]], while eastern regions belonged to the [[Kingdom of Burgundy]], that was gradually divided into several feudal polities. One of them, encompassing much of the [[Upper Burgundy]],{{sfn|Hauff|2017|p=1-12}} became known as the [[County of Burgundy]], and since 1032 it belonged to the [[Holy Roman Empire]]. The name "''Free County of Burgundy''" ({{lang|fr|Franche Comté de Bourgogne}}; {{lang|de|Freigrafschaft Burgund}}) did not appear officially until 1366. 

The ''Free County'' ({{lang|fr|Franche Comté}}) was acquired by [[John the Fearless]], Duke of Burgundy, thus placing the Free County under the same feudal lord as the Duchy.{{sfn|Stein|2017|p=}} They were separated again by the end of the 15th century, since duke and count [[Charles the Bold]] died in 1477 without sons, and his cousin King [[Louis XI of France]] consequently failed to secure all of Burgundy, ceding the Free County to the [[Philip I of Castile|Philip of Austria]] by the [[Treaty of Senlis]] in 1493. In 1506, Philip was succeeded by his son [[Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor|Charles]], the future king of Spain (1516) and the Holy Roman Emperor (1519). All of his Burgundian domains, including the Free County were later passed to his son [[Philip II of Spain]], thus solidifying the political ties between Habsburg domains in Burgundy and the [[Habsburg Spain]]. Although ruled by [[Spanish Habsburgs]], the Free County was never annexed into the Kingdom of Spain, and thus remained a domain within the Holy Roman Empire.{{sfn|Parker|2019|p=}}

===Province of the Kingdom of France===
{{Infobox former subdivision
|common_name            = Franche-Comté
|subdivision            = Government
|nation                 = Kingdom of France
|year_start             = 1668/1674
|year_end               = 1790
<!-- Images -->
|image_flag             = Flag of Franche-Comté.svg
|image_border           = <!-- Default: "border"; for non-rectangular flag, type "no" -->
|flag_type              = <!-- Displayed text for link under flag. Default "Flag" -->
|flag                   = <!-- Link target under flag image. Default: Flag of {{{common_name}}} -->
|image_coat             = Blason fr Franche-Comté.svg
|symbol_type            = <!-- Displayed text for link under symbol. Default "Coat of arms" -->
|symbol                 = <!-- Link target under symbol image. Default: Coat of arms of {{{common_name}}} -->
|image_map              = Franche-Comte in France (1789).svg
|image_map_caption      = 
<!-- Flag navigation: Preceding and succeeding entities "p1" to "p5" and "s1" to "s8" -->
|p1                     = County of Burgundy
|flag_p1                = Arms of County of Burgundy.svg
|border_p1              = <!-- Default: "border"; for non-rectangular flag, type "no" -->
|image_p1               = <!-- Use: [[Image:Sin escudo.svg|20px|Image missing]] -->
|s1                     = Jura (department)
|flag_s1                = Blason département fr Jura.svg
|border_s1              = <!-- Default: "border"; for non-rectangular flag, type "no" -->
|image_s1               = <!-- Use: [[Image:Sin escudo.svg|20px|Image missing]] -->
|s2                     = Haute-Saône
|flag_s2                = Blason département fr Haute-Saône.svg
|border_s2              = <!-- Default: "border"; for non-rectangular flag, type "no" -->
|image_s2               = <!-- Use: [[Image:Sin escudo.svg|20px|Image missing]] -->
|s3                     = Doubs
|flag_s3                = Blason département fr Doubs.svg
|border_s3              = <!-- Default: "border"; for non-rectangular flag, type "no" -->
|image_s3               = <!-- Use: [[Image:Sin escudo.svg|20px|Image missing]] -->
<!-- Area and population of a given year (up to 5) -->
}}
Franche-Comté was captured by France in 1668, but returned to [[Spain]] under the [[Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle (1668)|Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle]]. It was conquered a second time in 1674, and finally was ceded to France in the [[Treaty of Nijmegen]] (1678), leaving the Holy Roman Empire as a result.{{sfn|Dee|2009|p=}} 

Enclaves such as [[Montbéliard]] remained outside French control.

[[File:1771 Bonne Map of Burgundy, Franche-Comté, and Lyonnais, France - Geographicus - Bourgogne-bonne-1771.jpg|thumb|upright|1771 map of Burgundy, Franche-Comté and Lyonnais by [[Rigobert Bonne]]]]
The Franche-Comté was one of the last parts of France to have [[serfdom]]. In 1784, half of the population consisted of serfs, accounting for 400,000 out of the 1&nbsp;million French serfs. Landowners took one-twelfth of the sale's price if a serf (''mainmortable'') wanted to sell up. Serfs were not forced to stay on the land, but the lord could claim ''droit de suite'', whereby a peasant who died away from his holding left it to the lord, even if he had heirs. A runaway serf's land was forfeit after ten years. [[Louis XVI]] issued a decree banning these practices on 8 August 1779, but the [[Parlement of Besançon]] blocked this until 1787.

===After 1790===
The population of the region fell by a fifth from 1851 to 1946, reflecting low French natural growth and migration to more urbanized parts of the country. Most of the decline occurred in [[Haute-Saône]] and [[Jura (department)|Jura]], which remain among the country's more agriculture-dependent areas.