Editing Bayonne (section)

==History==

===Prehistory===
In the absence of accurate objective data there is some credence to the probable existence of a fishing village on the site in a period prior to [[ancient times]]. Numerous traces of human occupation have been found in the Bayonne region from the [[Middle Paleolithic]] especially in the discoveries at [[Saint-Pierre-d'Irube]], a neighbouring locality.<ref group="Note">Neanderthal Stone tools (from 80,000 to 45,000 BC corresponding to the [[Mousterian]] period, the [[Riss Glaciations]], and [[Würm II]])</ref> On the other hand, the presence of a mound about {{convert|14|m|ft|abbr=off}} high has been detected in the current Cathedral Quarter overlooking the Nive, which formed a natural protection and a usable port on the left bank of the Nive. At the time, the mound was surrounded north and west by the Adour swamps. At its foot lies the famous "Bayonne Sea"—the junction of the two rivers—which may have been about {{convert|1200|m|ft|abbr=off}} wide between Saint-Esprit and the Grand Bayonne and totally covered the current location of Bourg-Neuf (in the district of Petit Bayonne). To the south, the last bend of the Nive widens near the Saint-Léon hills.<ref>Association Lauburu, ''The Cathedral in the heart of the city'', 1992 {{in lang|fr}}</ref><ref name="ReferenceA">Eugène Goyheneche, ''Bayonne and the Bayonnaise Region from the 12th to the 15th century'', Thesis by the E.N.C., 1949 {{in lang|fr}}</ref> Despite this, the narrowing of the Adour valley allows easier crossing than anywhere else along the entire length of the estuary.<ref>Pierre Laborde. ''History of Bayonne'', 1991 {{in lang|fr}}.</ref>

In conclusion, the strategic importance of this height was so obvious it must be presumed that it has always been inhabited.<ref name="ReferenceA" />

===Ancient times===
[[File:Aquitani tribes map-fr.svg|thumb|Map of [[Novempopulania]] indicating the position of the [[Tarbelli]] territory north-west of the Pyrenees]]

The oldest documented human occupation site is located on a hill overlooking the Nive and its confluence with the Adour.<ref group="PiH" name="p3" />

In the 1st century AD, during the Roman occupation, Bayonne already seems to have been of some importance since the Romans surrounded the city with a wall to keep out the [[Tarbelli]], [[Aquitani]], or the [[proto-Basque]] who then occupied a territory that extended south of modern-day [[Landes (department)|Landes]], to the modern French Basque country, the [[Chalosse]], the valleys of the [[Adour]], the mountain streams of [[Pau, Pyrénées-Atlantiques]], and to the [[Gave d'Oloron]].<ref>Charles Athanase Walckenaer, ''Ancient Historical Geography and comparison of the Cisalpine and Transalpine Gauls, followed by a geographical analysis of ancient routes and accompanied by a nine map Atlas'', Vol. 1, P. Dufart, 1839, 1085 pages {{in lang|fr}}.</ref>

The archaeological discoveries of October and November 1995 provided a shred of evidence to support this projection. In the four layers of sub-soil along the foundation of the Gothic cathedral (in the "apse of the cathedral" area), a 2-metre depth was found of old objects from the end of the 1st century—in particular sigillated Gallic ceramics from [[Montans]] imitating Italian styles, thin-walled bowls, and fragments of [[amphorae]].<ref group="Note">Sigillata ceramics of red brick colour, the resulting relief decoration is decorated before firing by stamping</ref> In the "southern sector" near the cloister door, there were objects from the second half of the 1st century as well as coins from the first half of the 3rd century.<ref>In ''The Week in Basque Country'', M. Esteban, March 1996 {{in lang|fr}}</ref>

A very high probability of human presence, not solely military, seems to provisionally confirm the occupation of the site at least around the third century.{{citation needed|date=November 2022}}

A Roman [[Castra|castrum]] dating to the end of the 4th century has been proven as a fortified place of [[Novempopulania]]. Named ''Lapurdum'', the name became the name of the province of ''Labourd''.<ref group="Note">The ''Notitia Dignitatum imperii Romani'', dating from 340 to 420 AD, mentions the seat of the tribune of the cohort of Novempopulania in these terms: "In provincia Novempopulana tribunus cohortis Novempopulanae Lapurdo"</ref> According to Eugene Goyheneche, the name ''Baiona'' designated the city, the port, and the cathedral while that of ''Lapurdum'' was only a territorial designation.<ref>[http://hal.inria.fr/docs/00/38/73/91/PDF/origine_dialectes_definitiboa.pdf ''On the presumed origin of the division of the Basque language''], Hector Iglesias, consulted on 5 August 2014 {{in lang|fr}}.</ref> This Roman settlement was strategic as it allowed the monitoring of the trans-Pyrenean roads and of local people rebellious to the Roman power. The construction covered 6 to 10 hectares according to several authors.<ref>Renée Mussot-Goulard, ''The Gascons'', Atlantica, 2001 {{in lang|fr}}</ref><ref group="Note">Gérard Coulon, ''The Gallo-Romains: life, work, beliefs, diversions—54 BC – 486 AD'', Paris, 2006, Errance, Hespérides collection, {{ISBN|2-87772-331-3}}, p. 21 {{in lang|fr}}, retains the number 10 hectares.</ref><ref group="Note">According to Eugène Goyheneche in ''Basque Country: Soule, Labourd, Lower Navarre'', Société nouvelle d’éditions régionales et de diffusion, Pau, 1979, BnF FRBNF34647711, the old Roman wall which is still visible in parts was in the shape of a polygon of {{convert|1125|m|ft|abbr=off}} perimeter in an area of {{convert|6|to(-)|9|ha|abbr=off}}.</ref>

===Middle Ages===
The geographical location of the locality at the crossroads of a river system oriented from east to west and the road network connecting Europe to the [[Iberian Peninsula]] from north to south, predisposed the site to the double role of fortress and port.<ref group="EG" name="p149">p. 149.</ref> The city, after being Roman, alternated between the [[Vascones]] and the English for three centuries from the 12th to the 15th century.{{citation needed|date=November 2022}}

The Romans left the city in the 4th century and the Basques, who had always been present, dominated the former Novempopulania province between the [[Garonne]], the Ocean, and the Pyrénées.{{citation needed|date=November 2022}} Novempopulania was renamed [[Vasconia]] and then Gascony after a Germanic deformation (resulting from the [[Visigoth]] and [[Franks|Frankish]] invasions). Basquisation of the plains region was too weak against the advance of romanization. From the mixture between the Basque and Latin language [[Gascon language|Gascon]] was created.<ref>Jacques Allières, ''The Basques'', Paris, Presses universitaires de France,?March 2003 (1st ed. 1997), 127 p. {{ISBN|213053144X}} and {{ISBN|9782130531449}}, {{OCLC|77097933}}. {{in lang|fr}}</ref>

Documentation on Bayonne for the period from the [[High Middle Ages]] are virtually nonexistent,<ref group="Note">Peter Hourmat, (''History of Bayonne from its origins to the French Revolution of 1789'', Society of Sciences Letters Arts of Bayonne,1986, pp. 27 to 35 {{in lang|fr}})deplores the lack of sources for the period 5th century to the 10th century: "If the existence of a major military site is attested by the remains of the tower walls of a castrum, the headquarters or refuge of a cohort in the last days of the Roman Empire, in the half a millennium that followed the collapse of the latter plunges us into an almost total ignorance of who occupied the area of the castrum and the identity of the people. A heavy silence covers the fate of Lapurdum and documents at our disposal for five centuries can be counted on the fingers of one hand and these lead to different or contradictory interpretations ... . So this story becomes a long series of question marks, for example that of Novempopulania".</ref><ref group="Note">The [[Treaty of Andelot]] signed in 587 between [[Guntram]], king of Burgundy, and [[Brunhilda of Austrasia]], mentions Lapurdo; it documents the return to Brunhilda of several cities including Aire, Couserans and ''Lapurdo'', each "with its territories" ("cum terminibus"). Manex Goyhenetche indicates that in the 6th century, the term ''civitas'' was used to designate a fortress. "The [[Franks|Frankish]] dynasties of Austrasia and Neustria by the Treaty of Andelot, consolidated their grip on part of the former territory of the ''Nine Peoples'' [...] In the 4th century Lapurdum continued to exist and by the end of the 6th century returned to its function as a fortress. Lapurdum controlled firstly the routes leading to the Pyrenean passes and secondly the [[cabotage]] routes of the Frankish fleets from [[Bordeaux]] to [[Asturias]] ".</ref><ref>Manex Goyhenetche, ''General History of Basque country, Prehistory, Roman era, Middle Ages'', Vol. 1, Elkarlanean, Donostia and Bayonne, 1998, 492 pages, {{ISBN|2-913156-20-7}}, BnF FRBNF37031711, p. 134 {{in lang|fr}}.</ref> with the exception of two Norman intrusions: one questionable in 844 and a second attested in 892.<ref group="EG" name="p152">p. 152.</ref>

When Labourd was created in 1023, Bayonne was the capital and the Viscount resided there.<ref group="Note">The Vicount resided in Chatelet (''lou Castet''), next to the entry to the current ''Cinq Cantons'' (Five Cantons) which was the Roman gate leading to the port source: Eugene Goyheneche, ''The Basque Country: Soule, Labourd, Lower Navarre'', New Society regional editions and distribution, Pau, 1979 (Record BNF FRBNF34647711).</ref> The history of Bayonne proper started in 1056 when Raymond II the Younger, Bishop of Bazas, had the mission to build the Church of Bayonne<ref group="Note">It can be deduced that it existed prior to that date.</ref><ref group="EG" name="p152" />

The construction was under the authority of Raymond III of Martres, [[Bishop of Bayonne]] from 1122 to 1125, combined with Viscount Bertrand for the [[Romanesque architecture|Romanesque]] cathedral, the rear of which can still be seen today, and the first wooden bridge across the Adour extending the Mayou bridge over the Nive, which inaugurated the heyday of Bayonne.<ref group="EG" name="p152" /> From 1120, new districts were created under population pressure. The development of areas between the old Roman city of Grand Bayonne and the Nive also developed during this period, then between the Nive and the Adour at the place that became Petit Bayonne. A [[Jacobin|Dominican Order]] Convent was located there in 1225 then that of the [[Cordeliers]] in 1247.<ref group="EG" name="p152" /> Construction of and modifications to the defences of the city also developed to protect the new districts.<ref group="PiH" name="p9">p. 152.</ref>

In 1130, the King of Aragon [[Alfonso the Battler]] besieged the city without success. Bayonne became an [[Angevin Empire|Angevin]] possession when [[Eleanor of Aquitaine]] married [[Henry Plantagenet]], the future king of England, in 1152.<ref group="PiH" name="p6">p. 6.</ref> This alliance gave Bayonne many commercial privileges. The Bayonnaises became carriers of Bordeaux wines and other south-western products like resin, ham, and [[Isatis tinctoria|woad]] to England.<ref group="EG" name="p171">p. 171.</ref> Bayonne was then an important military base. In 1177, King Richard separated the Viscounty of Labourd whose capital then became [[Ustaritz]]. Like many cities at the time, in 1215 Bayonne obtained the award of a municipal charter and was emancipated from feudal powers.<ref>On 12 April 1215 [[John, King of England]], granted Bayonne a legal personality that would last throughout the Middle Ages and, to some extent, until the [[French Revolution]]. The form of the charter resembled that of [[La Rochelle]]. According to Eugene Goyheneche, "the city is governed by the "Hundred Peers" who were actually a mayor, twelve deputies, twelve councilors, and seventy-five peers who were co-opted and proposed each year by the mayor for the king's choice. The mayor was head of the administrative, judiciary, and military: he had custody of the keys to the city and some mayors were admirals in the bayonnaise fleet. The king was represented by a marshal" source: Eugene Goyheneche, The Basque Country: Soule, Labourd, Lower Navarre, Societe new regional editions and distribution, Pau, 1979 (Record BNF FRBNF34647711) {{in lang|fr}}.</ref>

The official publication, in 1273, of a [[Coutume]] unique to the city, remained in force for five centuries until the separation of Bayonne from Labourd.<ref group="EG" name="p160">p. 160.</ref><ref group="Note">Relations with Labourd were often difficult and caused many bloody conflicts. The most famous of them took place in 1343 when the mayor of Bayonne, Pé de Poyane, killed five labourdin nobles: an episode which, according to Eugene Goyheneche, had its origin in a fictional story of ''On the Proudines bridge'' at [[Villefranque, Pyrénées-Atlantiques|Villefranque]], retold by [[Augustine Chaho]] and [[Hippolyte Taine]].</ref>

Bayonnaise industry at that time was dominated by shipbuilding: wood ([[oak]], [[beech]], [[chestnut]] from the Pyrenees, and [[pine]] from [[Landes forest|Landes]]) being overabundant.<ref group="EG" name="p162">p. 162.</ref> There was also maritime activity in providing crews for [[whaling]], commercial marine or, and it was often so at a time when it was easy to turn any merchant ship into a warship, the English [[Royal Navy]].<ref group="EG" name="p163">p. 163.</ref><ref group="Note">For example a Bayonnais fleet participated in the [[Siege of Calais (1346)|Siege of Calais]] led by the English in 1346 which consisted of 15 vessels and 439 men source: Eugene Goyheneche, The Basque Country: Soule, Labourd, Lower Navarre, Society new regional editions and distribution, Pau,1979 (Record BNF FRBNF34647711), p. 163. {{in lang|fr}}.</ref>

===Renaissance and modern times===
[[File:Bayonne place du réduit vue de la citadelle.JPG|thumb|View of the ramparts overlooking the river]]
[[File:Echauguette (Bayonne).jpg|thumb|alt=Photographie d'une échauguette de pierre blanche se détachant au-dessus d'un pont.|The [[Bartizan]] on the Redoubt, restored in 2005]]
[[File:Bayonne remparts.jpg|thumb|The ramparts of Bayonne]]

[[Jean de Dunois]] – a former companion at arms of [[Joan of Arc]]—captured the city on 20 August 1451 and annexed it to the Crown "without making too many victims", but at the cost of a war indemnity of 40,000 gold [[Écu]]s payable in a year,<ref group="PH" name="p159">p. 159.</ref>—thanks to the opportunism of the bishop who claimed to have seen "a large white cross surmounted by a crown which turns into a fleur-de-lis in the sky" to dissuade Bayonne from fighting against the royal troops.<ref group="Note">The siege lasted nine days from 12 to 20 August 1451 according to Pierre Hourmat, ''History of Bayonne origins to the French Revolution of 1789'', Society of Arts Science & Arts of Bayonne,1986, p. 143.</ref><ref group="PH" name="p142">p. 142.</ref>

The city continued to be fortified by the kings of France to protect it from danger from the Spanish border. In 1454, [[Charles VII of France|Charles VII]] created a separate judicial district: the ''[[Seneschal]] of Lannes''<ref>Léon Cadier, [https://web.archive.org/web/20140716001642/http://1886.u-bordeaux3.fr/items/show/9538 '' Seneschal of Lannes under Charles VII, royal administration and provincials states''], A. Picard, Paris, 1885, 92 pages, consulted 16 June 2014 {{in lang|fr}}.</ref> a "single subdivision of [[Guyenne]] during the English period" which had jurisdiction over a wide area including Bayonne, [[Dax, Landes|Dax]] and [[Saint-Sever]] and which exercised civil justice, criminal jurisdiction within the competence of the district councilors. Over time, the "Seneschal of the Sword", which was at Dax, lost any role other than protocol, and Bayonne, along with Dax and Saint-Sever, became the de facto seat of a separate Seneschal under the authority of a "lieutenant-general of the Seneschal".<ref group="PH" name="p160">p. 160.</ref>

In May 1462, King [[Louis XI]] authorized the holding of two annual fairs<ref group="Note">Two annual fairs: one on the first day of Lent and the other 1 August: "[...] grant them free fairs in perpetuity of all Aydes, imposicions, impostz and any other subsidies qualxconques, which one will be held the first day of karesme and the other on the first day of August [...]" as [https://books.google.com/books?id=4-ZZAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA469 letters patent of Louis XI] established at [[Montferrand, Puy-de-Dôme|Montferrand]] in May 1462.</ref> by letters patent after signing the Treaty of Bayonne after which it was confirmed by the coutoumes of the inhabitants in July 1472 following the death of [[Charles de Valois, Duke de Berry]], the king's brother.<ref group="PH" name="p164">p. 164.</ref>

At the time the [[Spanish Inquisition]] raged in the Iberian Peninsula, [[Spanish and Portuguese Jews]] fled Spain and also later, Portugal, then settled in Southern France, including in [[Saint-Esprit (Pyrénées-Atlantiques)]], a northern district of Bayonne located along the northern bank of the [[Adour]] river. They brought with them [[chocolate]] and the recipe for its preparation.<ref group="DN" name="p27">p. 27.</ref> In 1750, the Jewish population in [[Saint-Esprit (Pyrénées-Atlantiques)]] is estimated to have reached about 3,500 people.

The golden age of the city ended in the 15th century with the loss of trade with England and the silting of the port of Bayonne created by the movement of the course of the Adour to the north.<ref group="EG" name="p187">p. 187.</ref>

At the beginning of the 16th century [[Labourd]] suffered the emergence of the [[Bubonic plague|plague]]. Its path can be tracked by reading the ''Registers''.<ref>''Gascon Registers'', Vol. 1, pp. 44, 53, 141, 154, 158–159, 195, and 233—cited by Manex Goyhenetche, ''General History of Basque Country III: Economic and social revolution from the 16th to the 18th century'', Vol. 3, Donostia / Bayonne, Elkarlanean,? 2001, 411 p. ({{ISBN|8483317443}} and {{ISBN|9788483317440}}, {{OCLC|466971263}}), p. 42–43. {{in lang|fr}}</ref> In July 1515, the city of Bayonne was "prohibited to welcome people from plague-stricken places" and on 21 October, "we inhibit and prohibit all peasants and residents of this city [...] to go Parish Bidart [...] because of the contagion of the plague". On 11 April 1518, the plague raged in [[Saint-Jean-de-Luz]] and the city of Bayonne "inhibited and prohibited for all peasants and city inhabitants and other foreigners to maintain relationships at the location and Parish of Saint-Jean-de-Luz where people have died of the plague". On 11 November 1518, the plague was present in Bayonne to the point that in 1519 the city council moved to the district of Brindos (Berindos at the time) in [[Anglet]].<ref>Ferdinand Barbe, ''The Epidemics of pestilence in Bayonne in the 16th century'', Bulletin de la Société des sciences et lettres de Bayonne, 1947—cited by Manex Goyhenetche, ''General History of Basque Country III: Economic and social revolution from the 16th to the 18th century'', Vol. 3, Donostia / Bayonne, Elkarlanean,? 2001, 411 p. ({{ISBN|8483317443}} and {{ISBN|9788483317440}}, {{OCLC|466971263}}), p. 42. {{in lang|fr}}</ref>

In 1523, Marshal [[Odet of Foix, Viscount of Lautrec]] resisted the Spaniards under [[Philibert of Chalon]] in the service of [[Charles V of France|Charles V]] and lifted the siege of Bayonne.<ref group="PiH" name="p11">p. 11.</ref> It was at Château-Vieux that the ransom demand for the release of Francis I, taken prisoner after his defeat at the [[Battle of Pavia]], was gathered.<ref group="PiH" name="p11" /><ref group="Note">Francis I was replaced as a captive by his two eldest sons: [[Francis III, Duke of Brittany]], and [[Henry II of France]] who were finally released in 1530 after payment of the ransom.</ref>

The meeting in 1565 between [[Catherine de Medici]] and the envoy of [[Philip II of Spain|Philip II]]: the Duke of Alba, is known as the ''Interview of Bayonne''. At the time that [[Catholics]] and [[Protestants]] tore each other apart in parts of the kingdom of France, Bayonne seemed relatively untouched by these troubles.<ref>Vincent Hiribarren, ''Bayonne at the beginning of the [[Wars of Religion]]'', Revue d’histoire de Bayonne, du Pays basque et du Bas-Adour, Vol. 159, 2004, p. 95–122 {{in lang|fr}}.</ref> An iron fist from the city leaders did not appear to be unknown. In fact, they never hesitated to use violence and criminal sanctions for keeping order in the name of the "public good".<ref>Vincent Hiribarren, [http://www.vincenthiribarren.com/pdf/Hiribarren-Maitrise.pdf ''For God, King, and the good of the city, Bayonne deliberations from 1565 to 1569''], Memoir by Maitrise under the direction of [[Denis Crouzet]], université Paris IV-Sorbonne, June 2003, 137 p. {{in lang|fr}}</ref> Two brothers, Saubat and Johannes Sorhaindo who were both lieutenants of the mayor of Bayonne in the second half of the 16th century, perfectly embody this period. They often wavered between Catholicism and Protestantism but always wanted to ensure the unity and prestige of the city.<ref>Vincent Hiribarren, ''A lion at the head of a thousand sheep. the Sorhaindo family in Bayonne at the end of the 16th century'', Vol. 166, Bulletin of the Basque museum, 2005, p. 19–34. {{in lang|fr}}</ref>

In the 16th century, the king's engineers, under the direction of Louis de Foix, were dispatched to rearrange the course of the Adour by creating an estuary to maintain the river bed. The river discharged in the right place to the Ocean on 28 October 1578.<ref group="PH" name="p214">p. 214.</ref> The port of Bayonne then attained a greater level of activity. Fishing for [[cod]] and [[whale]] ensured the wealth of fishermen and shipowners.

From 1611 to 1612, the college Principal of Bayonne was a man of 26 years old with a future: [[Cornelius Jansen]] known as ''Jansénius'', the future [[Bishop of Ypres]]. Bayonne became the birthplace of [[Jansenism]], an austere science which strongly disrupted the monarchy of [[Louis XIV]].<ref>Pierre Hourmat, Bulletin SSLAB, Collection No. 157, ''The City of Bayonne Library'', p. 257 {{in lang|fr}}.</ref><ref>Pierre Hourmat, Bulletin SSLAB, Collection No. 158, ''The City of Bayonne Library'', p. 158 {{in lang|fr}}.</ref>

During the sporadic conflicts that troubled the French countryside from the mid 17th century, Bayonne peasants were short of powder and projectiles. They attached the long hunting knives in the barrels of their muskets and that way they fashioned makeshift spears later called ''[[bayonet]]s''.<ref>François Noel, L. J. M. Carpentier, Puissant (Mr.), [https://books.google.com/books?id=vssUAAAAYAAJ&dq=ba%C3%AFonnette+%2B+R%C3%A9giment+Royal-Artillerie+%2B+%221670%22&pg=PA143 ''New Dictionary of the origins, inventions, and discoveries in arts, sciences, geography, agriculture, commerce etc.''], Janet et Cotelle, 1833, p. 143 {{in lang|fr}}</ref> In that same century, [[Sébastien Le Prestre de Vauban|Vauban]] was charged by [[Louis XIV]] to fortify the city. He added a citadel built on a hill overlooking the district of ''San Espirit Cap deou do Punt''.<ref>Pierre Hourmat, ''Vauban and the fortifications of Pyrénées-Atlantiques'', Société des Sciences Lettres & Arts de Bayonne, 1984, p. 32 {{in lang|fr}}.</ref>

[[File:Bayonne-Le réduit-20110309.jpg|thumb|upright=3.0|center|The Redoubt, a system of fortifications destroyed at the beginning of the 20th century, seen from the Quai de l'Amiral-Lesseps]]

===French Revolution and Empire===
Activity in Bayonne peaked in the 18th century. The Chamber of Commerce was founded in 1726.<ref group="PiH" name="p18">p. 18.</ref> Trade with Spain, the Netherlands, the [[Antilles]], the cod fishery off the shores of [[Newfoundland]], and construction sites maintained a high level of activity in the port.<ref group="PH" name="p511">p. 511.</ref>

In 1792, the district of Saint-Esprit (that revolutionaries renamed ''Port-de-la-Montagne'')<ref>Eugène Goyheneche, ''Our Basque Land'', Société nouvelle d’éditions régionales et de diffusion, Pau, 1979, BnF FRBNF33028848, p. 93 {{in lang|fr}}.</ref> located on the right bank of the Adour, was separated from the city and renamed ''Jean-Jacques Rousseau''.<ref name="Cassini">{{Cassini-Ehess|31598|Saint-Esprit}}.</ref> It was reunited with Bayonne on 1 June 1857. For 65 years, the autonomous commune was part of the department of [[Landes (department)|Landes]].<ref group="PiH" name="p25">p. 25.</ref>

In 1808, at the [[Castle of Marracq|Château of Marracq]], the act of abdication of the Spanish king [[Charles IV of Spain|Charles IV]] in favour of [[Napoleon]] was signed under the "friendly pressure" of the Emperor. In the process, the [[Bayonne Statute]] was initialed as the first Spanish constitution.<ref group="EG" name="p417">p. 417.</ref>

Also in 1808, the French Empire imposed on the [[Duchy of Warsaw]] the Convention of Bayonne to buy from France the debts owed to it by [[Prussia]].<ref name="MagocsiSedlar1974-49">{{cite book|author1=Paul Robert Magocsi|author2=Jean W. Sedlar|author3=Robert A. Kann |author4=Charles Jelavich |author5=Joseph Rothschild|title=A History of East Central Europe|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TVMmGKsbWJ4C&pg=PA49|access-date=11 May 2012|year=1974|publisher=University of Washington Press|isbn=978-0-295-95358-8|page=49}}</ref> The debt, amounting to more than 43 million [[franc]]s in gold, was bought at a discounted rate of 21 million francs.<ref name="MagocsiSedlar1974-49" /> However, although the duchy made its payments in installments to France over a four-year period, Prussia was unable to pay it (due to a very large indemnity it owed to France resulting from the [[Treaties of Tilsit]]), causing the Polish economy to suffer heavily.

Trade was the wealth of the city in the 18th century but suffered greatly in the 19th century, severely sanctioned by [[Peninsular War|conflict with Spain]], its historic trading partner in the region.<ref group="PiH" name="p24">p. 24.</ref> The [[Battle of Bayonne|Siege of Bayonne]] marked the end of the period with the surrender of the Napoleonic troops of Marshal [[Jean-de-Dieu Soult]] who were defeated by the coalition led by [[Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington|Wellington]] on 5 May 1814.<ref group="EG" name="p418">p. 418.</ref>

===19th and 20th centuries===
In 1854, the railway arrived from Paris bringing many tourists eager to enjoy the beaches of [[Biarritz]]. Bayonne turned instead to the [[steel]] industry with the forges of the Adour.<ref group="Note">The Forges of the Adour were actually located in the commune of [[Boucau]] on the right bank of the river.</ref> The Port took on an industrial look but its slow decline seemed inexorable in the 19th century. The discovery of the Lacq gas field restored a certain dynamism.{{citation needed|date=December 2022}}

The Treaty of Bayonne was concluded on 2 December 1856. It overcame the disputes in fixing the Franco-Spanish border in the area extending from the mouth of the [[Bidassoa]] to the border between [[Navarre]] and [[Aragon]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Lobstein |last2=Gros |last3=Callier |last4=Marin |last5=Monteverde |date=February 22, 2006 |title=Treaties and International Agreements |url=https://treaties.un.org/doc/Publication/UNTS/Volume%201142/volume-1142-II-838-English.pdf |access-date=March 4, 2025 |website=United Nations Treaty Collection.}}</ref>{{Blazon-arms|img1=Blason Bayonne.svg|legend1=Arms of Bayonne|text=[[Paul Raymond (archivist)|Paul Raymond]] noted in 1863 that the arms of the city were blazoned:

Azure, a tower embattled and ramparted of Argent, wavy proper in base, cantoned to dexter with a letter N crowned of Or, between two pines Vert each fructed of seven Or and set with fruit pal, debruised by two lions langued confronting.<ref name=Raymond/>

'''The current arms are Blazoned:'''<br /><ref group=Note>This blazon was effective 3 August 1919, by the municipal council of the city of Bayonne, quoted by René Broca in the preface of the book ''History of Bayonne from its origins to the French Revolution of 1789'', Pierre Hourmat, Corporation Sciences Humanities & Arts, Bayonne, 1986</ref> 
Gules, a tower turreted of Or, masooned, windowed, and porte of Sable on a sea wavy of Azure, Or and Sable in base and surmounted by a fleur-de-lis of Or, between two oaks proper fructed seven of Or debruised by two lions langued confronting of Or; the arms stamped with a county crown.}}The city built three light railway lines to connect to Biarritz at the beginning of the 20th century. The most direct line, that of the ''Tramway Bayonne-Lycée–Biarritz'' was operated from 1888 to 1948. In addition, a line further north served Anglet, operated by the ''Chemin de fer Bayonne-Anglet-Biarritz'' company from 1877 to 1953. Finally, a line following the Adour to its mouth and to the Atlantic Ocean by the bar in Anglet, was operated by ''VFDM réseau basque'' from 1919 to 1948.{{citation needed|date=November 2022}}

[[File:CAP 39 - BAYONNE - La Gare.jpg|thumb|upright=1.5|The second [[Gare de Bayonne]], photographed here in the 1930s<ref group="Note">The second [[Gare de Bayonne]] succeeded an earlier station made of wood and metal built in 1854 at the beginning of the 20th century.</ref>]]

On the morning of 23 December 1933, sub-prefect Anthelme received Gustave Tissier, the director of the ''Crédit Municipal de Bayonne''. He responded well, with some astonishment, to his persistent interview. It did not surprise him to see the man unpacking what became the scam of the century.{{citation needed|date=November 2022}}

"Tissier, director of the ''Crédit Municipal'', was arrested and imprisoned under suspicion of forgery and misappropriation of public funds. He had issued thousands of false bonds in the name of ''Crédit Municipal'' [...]"<ref group="Note">It was in these terms that the newspaper ''Le Courrier de Bayonne'' recounted the event a few days later.</ref>

This was the beginning of the [[Stavisky Affair]] which, together with other scandals and political crises, led to the Paris riots of 6 February 1934.<ref>In ''The week in Basque Country'', T. Laxalt, February 1996. {{in lang|fr}}</ref><ref>Claude Duhau, ''Mayors and Councilors of Bayonne (1831–2001)'', 1999, p. 80 {{in lang|fr}}.</ref>

===The World Wars===
The 249th Infantry Regiment, created from the 49th Infantry Regiment, was engaged in operations in the [[First World War]], including action at [[Chemin des Dames]], especially on the plateau of [[Craonne]].<ref group="FL" name="p54">p. 54.</ref> 700 Bayonnaises perished in the conflict.<ref group="FL" name="p54" /><ref group="Note">The ''Courrier de Bayonne'' of 8 August 1914 described the departure of the Regiment in the following terms: "[...] As for the trains which carried our brave little poilus of the 49th, they were adorned with flowers. On the wagons were pleasant or patriotic inscriptions. We noted the following: "Pleasure Train for Berlin, out and back"; on others: "Vive la France! Long live England ! Long live Russia !" were framed by garlands and on the locomotives were the flags of the three countries fraternally chattering in the wind ... If the Germans saw it, perhaps they would not be very sure of victory. [...]" (Source: Maurice Sacx, Bayonne and the Basque Country—Witnesses of history, Biarritz, Basque Museum of Bayonne, 1968).</ref> A centre for engagement of foreign volunteers was established in August 1914, in Bayonne. Many nationalities were represented, particularly the Spanish, the Portuguese, the Czechs,<ref group="Note">The Avenue of the Czech Legion in Bayonne is in their honour.</ref> and the Poles.<ref group="Note">The Polish company was cited in an order of the Army dated 21 June 1918, by [[General Petain]] (source: François Lafitte Houssat, Bayonne Nive and Adour, Joue-les-Tours, Alan Sutton, 2001 ({{ISBN|2-84253-557-X}})).</ref><ref group="FL" name="p55">p. 55.</ref>

During the [[Second World War]], Bayonne was occupied by the [[3rd SS Panzer Division Totenkopf]] from 27 June 1940 to 23 August 1944.<ref group="PiH" name="p30">p. 30.</ref>

On 5 April 1942, the Allies made a landing attempt in Bayonne but after a barge penetrated the Adour with great difficulty, the operation was cancelled.<ref>Louis Poullenot, ''Lower Pyrénées Occupation Liberation 1940–1945'', J&D Éditions, Biarritz, 1995, p. 246 {{in lang|fr}}.</ref>

On 21 August 1944, after blowing up twenty ships in port,<ref>Jacques Navarret, ''The Port of Bayonne – Congrès 1999'', p. 293 {{in lang|fr}}.</ref> German troops withdrew. On the 22nd, a final convoy of five vehicles passed through the city. It transported Gestapo Customs agents and some elements of the ''Feldgendarmerie''. One or more Germans opened fire with machine guns killing three people.<ref group="Note">The shooting took place at the Saint-Léon crossroads near the train station and near the citadel.</ref><ref>In ''The week in Basque Country'', J. Crouzet, August 1994. {{in lang|fr}}</ref> On the 23rd, there was an informal and immediate installation of a "special municipal delegation" by the young deputy prefect Guy Lamassoure representing the [[Provisional Government of the French Republic]] which had been established in [[Algiers]] since 27 June.