Editing Charente-Maritime (section)

=== Contemporary times ===

==== Charente-Inférieure During the First Empire ====
[[File:Gérard - Michel Regnaud de Saint-Jean d'Angély.jpg|left|thumb|[[Michel-Louis-Étienne Regnaud de Saint-Jean d'Angély|Michel Regnaud]], imperial councilor and count.|294x294px]]
After [[Coup of 18 Brumaire|Napoleon’s coup]], Charente-Inférieure overwhelmingly supported the [[First French Empire|Empire]] in 1804, with local leaders attending the coronation.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2008 |title=Les charentais présents au sacre de l'empereur Napoléon Ier |trans-title=The Charentais present at the coronation of Emperor Napoleon I |url=http://www.histoirepassion.eu/?1804-Les-Charentais-presents-au-sacre-de-l-empereur-Napoleon-1er |access-date=May 25, 2010 |website=histoirepassion.eu |language=fr}}</ref> [[Michel-Louis-Étienne Regnaud de Saint-Jean d'Angély|Michel Regnaud]] rose as a key imperial figure.<ref>{{Cite web |date=February 16, 2021 |title=Regnault de Saint-Jean-d'Angély |url=https://www.appl-lachaise.net/regnaud-de-saint-jean-dangely-michel-louis-etienne-comte-1761-1819/ |access-date=May 25, 2010 |website=Cimetière du Père Lachaise - APPL |language=fr}}</ref> Napoleon visited in 1804, initiating Fort Boyard’s construction, halted by British threats.<ref name=":28">{{Cite web |last=Charente-Maritime Commission des arts et monuments |date=1908 |title=Le voyage de l'empereur Napoléon Ier en Charente-Inférieure |trans-title=The journey of Emperor Napoleon I to Charente-Inférieure |url=https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k2140615.image.f116 |access-date=May 25, 2010 |website=Gallica |language=fr}}</ref> The 1809 [[Battle of the Basque Roads|Battle of Aix Island]] saw British forces under [[Thomas Cochrane, 10th Earl of Dundonald|Thomas Cochrane]] destroy much of the French fleet.<ref name=":29">{{Cite web |date=February 18, 2001 |title=Fort Boyard : un chef-d'œuvre arrivé trop tard |trans-title=Fort Boyard: a masterpiece that arrived too late |url=http://www.charente-maritime.org/pays_rochefortais/patrimoine_littoral/littoral_fort_boyarda.htm |access-date=May 25, 2010 |website=charente-maritime.org |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20010218102820/http://www.charente-maritime.org/pays_rochefortais/patrimoine_littoral/littoral_fort_boyarda.htm |archive-date=18 February 2001 |language=fr}}</ref> Napoleon reinforced coastal defenses with forts like Énet.<ref>{{Harvtxt|Flohic|2002|p=623-624}}</ref> In 1810, [[La Rochelle]] became the prefecture. After defeats in 1814, Napoleon was exiled from [[Île-d'Aix|Île d’Aix]] to [[Saint Helena]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=December 10, 2006 |title=De Waterloo à l'Île d'Aix - L'embarquement de Napoléon 1er pour l'exil par J. L'Azou |trans-title=From Waterloo to the Island of Aix - Napoleon I's embarkation into exile by J. L'Azou |url=http://ameliefr.club.fr/Waterloo-Ile-d-Aix1815.html |access-date=May 25, 2010 |website=ameliefr.club.fr |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061210163830/http://ameliefr.club.fr/Waterloo-Ile-d-Aix1815.html |archive-date=10 December 2006 |language=fr}}</ref>[[File:1852 Levasseur Map of the Department De La Charente Maritime - Geographicus - CharenteInf-levasseur-1852.jpg|thumb|Charente-Inférieure in 1852.|261x261px]]
==== Charente-Inférieure During the Restoration ====
[[File:4sergentsdelarochelle.jpeg|left|thumb|The [[Four Sergeants of La Rochelle|four sergeants]] before execution.|205x205px]]
The [[Bourbon Restoration in France|Restoration]] saw indifference in Charente-Inférieure, though peace spurred rural growth.<ref>{{Harvtxt|Boutinet|2001|p=70}}</ref> Marsh reclamation in [[Hiers-Brouage|Brouage]] began under sub-prefect Charles-Esprit Le Terme.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Marais de la Seudre - Balades et randonnées |trans-title=Seudre Marshes - Walks and hikes |url=https://www.ile-oleron-marennes.com/preparer-mes-vacances/quoi-faire/balades-et-randonnees/marais-de-la-seudre |access-date=May 25, 2010 |website=ile-oleron-marennes.com |language=fr}}</ref> Cultural societies emerged, and the 1833 Guizot law reduced illiteracy from 53.7% (1832) to 2.4% (1901).<ref>{{Harvtxt|Boutinet|2001|p=200}}</ref> The 1822 [[Four Sergeants of La Rochelle|four sergeants’ plot]] against [[Louis XVIII]] gained national attention.<ref name=":64">{{Cite web |last=Manière |first=Fabienne |date=2022 |title=Les quatre sergents de La Rochelle |trans-title=The four sergeants of La Rochelle |url=https://www.herodote.net/21_septembre_1822-evenement-18220921.php |access-date=March 17, 2025 |website=herodote.net |language=fr}}</ref>

==== Charente-Inférieure During the July Monarchy ====
The [[July Revolution]] and [[Louis Philippe I|Louis-Philippe I]]’s reign brought economic crises, sparking 1839 riots in La Rochelle and Marans. Deputies [[Jules Armand Dufaure|Jules Dufaure]] and [[Tanneguy Duchâtel]] rose to ministerial roles.<ref name=":64" />

==== Charente-Inférieure During the Second Republic ====
The 1848 revolution was welcomed, with Napoleon becoming President, and then Emperor after the 1851 coup.<ref>{{Harvtxt|Combes|2001|p=377}}</ref>

==== Charente-Inférieure During the Second Empire ====
The [[Second French Empire|Second Empire]] boosted agriculture and [[Cognac]] production, with vineyards growing from 111,000 hectares (1839) to 164,651 (1876), aided by an 1860 trade treaty.<ref>{{Harvtxt|Boutinet|2001|p=74}}</ref> Railroads developed, starting with the Rochefort-La Rochelle-Poitiers line in 1857.<ref>{{Harvtxt|Boutinet|2001|p=71}}</ref> [[Prosper de Chasseloup-Laubat]] became Minister of Marine in 1860.<ref>{{Harvtxt|Combes|2001|p=380}}</ref>

====Charente-Inférieure during the Third Republic (1870-1940)====
===== The Slow Establishment of the Republican Idea =====
Charente-Inférieure remained Bonapartist post-1870, with Baron [[Eugène Eschassériaux]] leading conservatives until 1893.<ref name=":30">{{Cite web |date=October 9, 2008 |title=Les républicains en Charente-Inférieure de 1870 à 1914 |trans-title=Republicans in Charente-Inférieure from 1870 to 1914 |url=http://pagesperso-orange.fr/lespelletan/Muel1.htm |access-date=May 25, 2010 |website=pagesperso-orange.fr |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081009205614/http://pagesperso-orange.fr/lespelletan/Muel1.htm |archive-date=9 October 2008 |language=fr}}</ref> Republican gains came in 1876 with [[Jules Armand Dufaure|Jules Dufaure]] as President of the Council (1876-1879).<ref name=":65">{{Harvtxt|Combes|2001|p=385}}</ref> [[Phylloxera]] devastated vineyards from 1872, dropping production from 7 million to 70,000 hectoliters by 1880; Saintonge rebuilt vineyards, while Aunis shifted to dairy, led by Eugène Biraud’s 1888 cooperative.<ref>{{Harvtxt|Boutinet|2001|p=74}}</ref> Coastal resorts like Royan boomed with rail access by 1875, hosting figures like [[Émile Zola]] during the [[Belle Époque]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=February 28, 1886 |title=La Gazette des bains de mer de Royan-sur-l'Océan |trans-title=The Gazette of the sea baths of Royan-sur-l'Océan |url=https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k6674855j.item |access-date=March 17, 2025 |website=Gallica |language=fr}}</ref> In 1895, [[Alfred Dreyfus]] was held in Saint-Martin-de-Ré before deportation.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Alfred |first=Dreyfus |date=February 3, 2010 |title=Lettre d'Alfred à Lucie Dreyfus sur un formulaire administratif |trans-title=Letter from Alfred to Lucie Dreyfus on an administrative form |url=http://www.dreyfus.culture.fr/en/pedagogie/pedago-doc-lettre-alfred-a-lucie-dreyfus.htm |access-date=May 25, 2010 |website=dreyfus.culture.fr |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100203233009/http://www.dreyfus.culture.fr/en/pedagogie/pedago-doc-lettre-alfred-a-lucie-dreyfus.htm |archive-date=3 February 2010 |language=fr}}</ref>

===== The Belle Époque: Radical Domination =====
Radicals dominated post-1898, with [[Émile Combes]] of Pons as President of the Council (1902-1905), pushing the 1905 Church-State separation law.<ref name=":66">{{Harvtxt|Vallée|Nury|2007|p=250-251}}</ref> In 1910, a rail crash at Saujon killed 38 and injured 80.<ref name=":31">{{Cite book |last=Le Dret |first=Yves |url=https://www.patrimoine-nouvelle-aquitaine.fr/Default/doc/BiblioMed/561bb4eb-ec51-4488-9183-5f6e7b47493a/le-train-en-poitou-charentes-tome-1-la-naissance-du-chemin-de-fer-en-poitou-charentes?_lg=fr-FR |title=Le train en Poitou-Charentes, Les Chemins de la Mémoire Éditeur, tome 1 : La naissance du chemin de fer en Poitou-Charentes |publisher=Les Chemins de la Mémoire |year=2004 |isbn=2-84702-111-6 |location=Saintes |page=39 |language=fr |trans-title=The train in Poitou-Charentes, volume 1: The birth of the railway in Poitou-Charentes}}</ref>

===== A Great War Is Seen from Afar =====
World War I mobilization began on August 1, 1914; Charente-Inférieure supported the war effort with converted factories and U.S. bases like Saint-Trojan-les-Bains (1917).<ref name=":67">{{Harvtxt|Vallée|Nury|2007|p=260-261}}</ref> The unfinished Talmont port project halted with the 1918 armistice.<ref>{{Harvtxt|Mounier|2004|p=38-39}}</ref>

===== Between the Wars =====
Post-war population dropped from 451,044 (1911) to 418,310 (1921), worsened by a 1920 oyster epizootic.<ref>{{Harvtxt|Papy|1940|p=310}}</ref> The Rochefort arsenal closed in 1927, but La Pallice port expanded by 1930.<ref>{{Harvtxt|Deveau|1974|p=119}}</ref> The [[Great Depression]] hit in 1931, ending the [[Années folles|Roaring Twenties]]. Radicals held strong in 1936 (42%), with strikes following the [[Popular Front (France)|Front Populaire]] victory.<ref name=":33">{{Harvtxt|Boutinet|2001|p=79}}</ref>

==== World War II ====
German occupation began June 23, 1940, after the armistice; Charente-Inférieure hosted Alsace-Lorraine refugees from 1939.<ref>{{Harvtxt|Flohic|2002|p=484}}</ref> The [[Atlantic Wall]] fortified the coast, and La Pallice gained a [[Kriegsmarine]] submarine base by 1941.<ref name=":34">{{Cite web |date=June 1, 2006 |title=Le Fil de l'Histoire |trans-title=The Thread of History |url=http://lionelcoutinot.club.fr/occupation/ch6b.html |access-date=May 25, 2010 |website=lionelcoutinot.club.fr |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060601021345/http://lionelcoutinot.club.fr/occupation/ch6b.html |archive-date=1 June 2006 |language=fr}}</ref> Resistance faced harsh repression, with deportations to camps like [[Drancy internment camp|Drancy]].<ref name=":35">{{Cite web |title=Lieux de détention en Charente-Maritime |trans-title=Places of detention in Charente-Maritime |url=http://www.afmd.asso.fr/IMG/doc/lieux_de_d_tention_en_17.doc |access-date=May 25, 2010 |website=afmd.asso.fr |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140809052220/http://www.afmd.asso.fr/IMG/doc/lieux_de_d_tention_en_17.doc |archive-date=9 August 2014 |language=fr}}</ref> The name changed to Charente-Maritime in 1941.<ref>{{Harvtxt|Collectif|1994|p=116}}</ref> Liberation began in August 1944, with Royan bombed by the [[Royal Air Force|RAF]] in 1945 (442 civilian deaths) and freed in April via Operation Venerable.<ref name=":38">{{Cite web |title=La Poche de Royan |trans-title=The Royan Pocket |url=https://www.cheminsdememoire.gouv.fr/fr/la-poche-de-royan |access-date=May 25, 2010 |website=cheminsdememoire.gouv.fr |language=fr}}</ref> Oléron was liberated on April 30, and La Rochelle surrendered on May 9, 1945.<ref name=":39">{{Cite web |title=L'amiral Schirlitz |trans-title=Admiral Schirlitz |url=http://francois.delboca.free.fr/port/fsschirl.html |access-date=May 25, 2010 |website=francois.delboca.free.fr |language=fr}}</ref>

==== Post-war ====
===== 1945-1960: The Feverish Years of Reconstruction =====
Royan, 85% destroyed, was rebuilt as a modernist “urban laboratory” under Claude Ferret in the 1950s.<ref name=":40">{{Harvtxt|Delmas|1991|p=81}}</ref> Saintes launched the “Castors Saintais” housing cooperative in 1950.<ref name=":41">{{Harvtxt|Flohic|2002|p=1035}}</ref> Rail lines closed, replaced by roads like Rochefort-Aigrefeuille-d’Aunis by 1950.<ref name=":42">{{Harvtxt|Blier|2003|p=130-133}}</ref>

===== 1960-1975: Modernization Underway =====
The [[Trente Glorieuses]] brought industrial growth, with [[Simca|SIMCA]] in Périgny (1965) and CIT-Alcatel in La Rochelle (1970).<ref name=":69">{{Harvtxt|Soumagne|1987|p=156}}</ref> Agriculture modernized, but rural exodus hit hard, with commune mergers like Montendre in 1972.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Montendre - Notice Communale |trans-title=Montendre - Municipal Notice |url=http://cassini.ehess.fr/fr/html/fiche.php?select_resultat=23350 |access-date=May 25, 2010 |website=cassini.ehess.fr |language=fr}}</ref> Urbanization grew, with La Rochelle’s agglomeration exceeding 100,000 by 1975; tourism surged with the Oléron viaduct (1966) and [[La Palmyre Zoo]] (1967).<ref name=":70">{{Cite web |title=Chenac-Saint-Seurin-d'Uzet - Notice Communale |trans-title=Chenac-Saint-Seurin-d'Uzet - Municipal Notice |url=http://cassini.ehess.fr/fr/html/fiche.php?select_resultat=9123 |access-date=May 25, 2010 |website=cassini.ehess.fr |language=fr}}</ref>

===== 1975-1990: Continued Modernization Against a Backdrop of Economic Crisis =====
A 1976 drought and 1982 floods hit hard.<ref>{{Harvtxt|Genet|2007|p=149}}</ref> Agriculture shifted to cereals and oilseeds like sunflower.<ref name=":71">{{Harvtxt|Soumagne|1987|p=88}}</ref> De-industrialization cut 10,000 jobs by 1985, with unemployment peaking above 15%.<ref>{{Harvtxt|Soumagne|1987|p=138}}</ref> Peri-urbanization emerged, and infrastructure grew with the A10 freeway (1981) and [[Île de Ré]] bridge (1988).<ref>{{Harvtxt|Genet|2007|p=88}}</ref> Royan became a tourist hub, hosting 400,000 visitors seasonally.<ref>{{Harvtxt|Soumagne|1987|p=165}}</ref>