Editing Oléron (section)

==History==
Oléron has been known since the 1st century, where [[Pliny the Elder]] refers to it in his [[Natural History (Pliny)|Natural History]] as Uliaros (''"in aquitanico sinu Vliaros")''.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Henderson |first=Jeffrey |title=Pliny Natural History: Book IV: Chapter XIX |url=https://www.loebclassics.com/view/pliny_elder-natural_history/1938/pb_LCL352.203.xml?amp;readMode=verso |access-date=31 May 2023 |website=Loeb Classical Library |language=en |archive-date=31 May 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230531204201/https://www.loebclassics.com/view/pliny_elder-natural_history/1938/pb_LCL352.203.xml?amp;readMode=verso |url-status=live }}</ref>
[[File:FR 17 Saint-Georges-d'Oléron - Château Fournier.jpg|thumb|upright=1.3|Château Fournier, located in Saint-Georges d'Oléron, bears witness to the island's wine-growing past. Today, it has been transformed into a retirement home.]]
Towards the end of the 3rd century, the Roman emperor [[Probus (emperor)|Probus]] extended the privilege of owning vineyards and producing wine to all Gauls, and this led to a culture of winemaking developing on the island.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Historique |url=https://www.vignoble-ile-oleron.fr/le-vignoble/historique/ |access-date=31 May 2023 |website=Vignoble de l'île d'Oléron |language=fr-FR |archive-date=31 May 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230531100530/https://www.vignoble-ile-oleron.fr/le-vignoble/historique/ |url-status=live }}</ref> This lasted until the end of the 19th century, when [[Great French Wine Blight|the arrival of phylloxera]] decimated almost all the vines. The vineyards did not recover, and grape production today is mainly for Cognac ''bois ordinaires''.<ref>{{Cite web |last=AlejTech.sk |title=Coulon XO Île d'Oléron Très Vieille Réserve |url=https://www.cognacinfo.com/fr/bouteille/coulon-/coulon-xo-ile-d-oleron-tres-vieille-reserve.html |access-date=5 June 2023 |website=cognacinfo.com |language=fr |archive-date=5 June 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230605210807/https://www.cognacinfo.com/fr/bouteille/coulon-/coulon-xo-ile-d-oleron-tres-vieille-reserve.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

In the 7th and 8th century, the island, along with [[Ré]], formed the ''Vacetae Insulae'' or Vacetian Islands, according to the ''[[Aethicus Ister|Cosmographia]]''.<ref>[[#Sources|Collins' book]], p. 214.</ref> Vaceti was another name for the [[Vascones]], the reference is seen evidence of Basque (Gascon) control of the islands by that time.{{citation needed|date=September 2023}}

It was at Oléron in about 1152 to 1160 that [[Eleanor of Aquitaine]] introduced the first [[Admiralty law|'maritime' or 'admiralty' laws]] in that part of the world: the [[Rolls of Oléron]]. In 1306, [[Edward I of England]] granted the island to his son, [[Edward II]], as part of the [[Duchy of Aquitaine]].

In 1793, during the French Revolution, the villages of the isle of Oléron were renamed. The Château d'Oléron became "Equality", Saint-Trojan became "La Montagne", Dolus became "Sans-Culotte", Saint-Pierre became "La Fraternité" and Saint-Georges became "L'Unité". The overall territory of Oléron became '''the island of Liberty'''.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Noms des communes de la Charente-Maritime sous la Révolution française — Geneawiki |url=https://fr.geneawiki.com/index.php/Noms_des_communes_de_la_Charente-Maritime_sous_la_R%C3%A9volution_fran%C3%A7aise |access-date=1 June 2023 |website=fr.geneawiki.com |archive-date=1 June 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230601210441/https://fr.geneawiki.com/index.php/Noms_des_communes_de_la_Charente-Maritime_sous_la_R%C3%A9volution_fran%C3%A7aise |url-status=live }}</ref> A few years later, the original names were given back to the villages and towns.

During the [[Second World War]], the island was occupied by German forces and fortified. It was liberated by [[Free French Forces]] in an [[amphibious assault]] code-named [[Royan pocket|Operation Jupiter]] on 29 April 1945. The [[French cruiser Duquesne (1925)|French cruiser ''Duquesne'']] fired 550 heavy shells at the German artillery batteries, and the garrison surrendered on the following day.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Auphan |first1=Paul |last2=Mordai |first2=Jacques |date=1959 |title=The French Navy in World War II |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DKuqDAAAQBAJ&dq=The+French+Navy+in+World+War+II+%22Operation+Jupiter%22+April+29&pg=PA353 |location=Annapolis MD |publisher=United States Naval Institute |pages=353–354 |isbn=978-1-59114-566-0 |access-date=2021-11-17 |archive-date=2024-05-30 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240530062302/https://books.google.com/books?id=DKuqDAAAQBAJ&dq=The+French+Navy+in+World+War+II+%22Operation+Jupiter%22+April+29&pg=PA353#v=onepage&q=The%20French%20Navy%20in%20World%20War%20II%20%22Operation%20Jupiter%22%20April%2029&f=false |url-status=live }} (2016 edition)</ref>

The isle of Oléron is known today for the quality of its [[oyster]] production.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Historique {{!}} huîtres Marennes Oléron |url=https://www.huitresmarennesoleron.info/terroir_historique.html#:~:text=L%27histoire%20des%20Hu%C3%AEtres%20Marennes,moderne%20des%20Hu%C3%AEtres%20Marennes%20Ol%C3%A9ron. |access-date=1 June 2023 |website=www.huitresmarennesoleron.info |archive-date=1 June 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230601210442/https://www.huitresmarennesoleron.info/terroir_historique.html#:~:text=L%27histoire%20des%20Hu%C3%AEtres%20Marennes,moderne%20des%20Hu%C3%AEtres%20Marennes%20Ol%C3%A9ron. |url-status=live }}</ref>