Editing Pyrénées-Atlantiques (section)

==History==
Originally named '''Basses-Pyrénées''', it was one of the 83 [[departments of France]] created during the [[French Revolution]], on 4 March 1790.<ref>{{Cite book |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=K2X7S9G4eRsC&pg=PA128 |title=Collection générale des décrets rendus par l'Assemblée nationale |date=1790 |publisher=Baudouin |volume=11 |location=Paris |page=151 |language=fr |chapter=Décret général sur la division de la France en 83 départements}}</ref> It comprised the territories of [[Labourd]] and [[Soule]] (in the provinces of [[Guyenne]] and [[Gascony]]), as well as [[Basse-Navarre|Lower Navarre]] (still, at least nominally, part of the [[Kingdom of Navarre]]) and the Béarn.<ref>The history of the region, under the ''[[Ancien Régime]]'', can be found in the articles about those individual regions.</ref> It was initially divided in six districts, with the prefecture at [[Navarrenx]], before being moved to Pau on 14 October 1790.

[[File:Béarn - Pays Basque dans les Pyrénées-Atlantiques.svg|thumb|left|[[French Basque Country]] (western side) and the [[Béarn]] (eastern side)]]
The 1790 administrative reform brought about [[End of Basque home rule in France|the end of native institutions and laws]]. All Basque estates representatives from Labourd overtly opposed the new administrative layout since it suppressed their institutions and laws. The representatives of Lower Navarre refused to vote in Paris arguing that they were not part of the [[Kingdom of France]]; those of Soule voted against. The brothers [[Dominique Joseph Garat|Garat]], representing Labourd, eventually voted yes, thinking that it would give them a say in upcoming political decisions.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Bolinaga |first=Iñigo |title=La alternativa Garat |publisher=Txertoa |year=2012 |isbn=978-84-7148-530-4 |page=44 |language=es}}</ref>

In 1800, during the Consulate, the six initial districts were replaced by five [[Arrondissements of France|arrondissements]]: Pau, Orthez, Bayonne, Mauléon and Oloron.

In 1926, as part of a vast reform launched by the government of [[Raymond Poincaré]], the arrondissements of Orthez and Mauléon were abolished, resulting in the three current arrondissements.

In the 1950s, the Basses-Pyrénées were one of the departments composing the newly created [[Regions of France|region]] of [[Aquitaine]].

In 1969, the name of the department was changed to "Pyrénées-Atlantiques", because the inhabitants of the department found the name of the Basses-Pyrénées pejorative compared to that of the [[Hautes-Pyrénées]].<ref>{{Citation |title=Décret du 10 octobre 1969 AUTORISANT LE DEPARTEMENT DES BASSES-PYRENEES A PORTER LE NOM DE PYRENEES-ATLANTIQUES |url=https://www.legifrance.gouv.fr/jorf/id/JORFTEXT000000332059 |access-date=2024-12-02}}</ref><ref>This process occurred in almost all departments whose name included the word "bas" or "inférieur", for example Loire-Inférieure, which became Loire-Atlantique in 1957. Exception: Bas-Rhin.</ref>

On January 1, 2016, the regions of Aquitaine, [[Poitou-Charentes]] and [[Limousin]] merged to form the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region.