Gascony
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{{Unreferenced|date=September 2007}}
[[Image:MapOfGascony.png|320px|thumb|Map of the historical and cultural area of Gascony.]]
[[Image:Gascogne flag.svg|200px|thumb|right|flag of Gascony]]
'''Gascony''' ({{lang-fr|Gascogne}}, {{pronounced|gaskɔɲ}}; [[Gascon language|Gascon]] [[Occitan]]: ''Gasconha'', pronounced {{IPA|[gasˈkuɲɔ]}}) is an area of southwest [[France]] that constituted a [[Provinces of France|province of France]] prior to the [[French Revolution]]. In historic references dating from the beginning of the [[Roman era]], it was part of [[Francia]] (a south-western division of [[Austrasia]]) and became part of the [[Kingdom of the Franks]] during the conquests of [[Clovis I]](–481 AD).
It is currently divided between the [[Aquitaine]] ''[[région in France|région]]'' (''[[département in France|département]]s'' of [[Landes (department)|Landes]], [[Pyrénées-Atlantiques]], south and west of [[Gironde]], and south of [[Lot-et-Garonne]]) and the [[Midi-Pyrénées]] ''région'' (''départements'' of [[Gers]], [[Hautes-Pyrénées]], southwest of [[Tarn-et-Garonne]], and west of [[Haute-Garonne]]).
Gascony was historically inhabited by [[Basque people|Basque]] related people and it is home to the [[Gascon language]]. It is also the land of [[d'Artagnan]], who inspired [[Alexandre Dumas, père|Alexandre Dumas]]'s character in the [[The Three Musketeers|Three Musketeers]]. It is also home of hero of the play [[Cyrano de Bergerac (play)|Cyrano de Bergerac]] (but this character has not much in common with the [[Cyrano de Bergerac|real Cyrano de Bergerac]], who was a Parisian).
Gascony is also famed for its ''douceur de vivre'' ("sweetness of life"): its food (Gascony is home to [[foie gras]] and [[Armagnac (drink)|Armagnac]] brandy), its medieval towns and villages locally called ''[[bastides]]'' nested amidst green rolling hills, its sunny weather, the beauty of its landscape, with the occasional distant views of the [[Pyrenees]] mountain range, all contribute to the popularity of Gascony as a tourist destination. Due to [[rural exodus]], Gascony is one of the least populated areas of western Europe, and so it has recently become a haven for stressed urbanites of northern Europe (chiefly France, England, and the [[Benelux]] nations) who, in search of quiet and peace of mind, are increasingly buying second homes in Gascony.
==History==
{{Seealso|Duke of Gascony}}
[[Image:Gasc2.jpg|thumb|300px|Typical view of the hilly countryside of Gascony, with the [[Pyrenees]] mountains in the far distance]]
===Aquitania===
In [[Classical antiquity|pre-Roman times]], the inhabitants of Gascony were the [[Aquitanian language|Aquitanian]]s (Latin: Aquitani), who may have spoken a language related to modern [[Basque language|Basque]].
The Aquitanians inhabited a territory limited to the north and east by the [[Garonne River]], to the south by the [[Pyrenees]] mountain range, and to the west by the [[Atlantic Ocean]]. The Romans called this territory Aquitania, either from the [[Latin]] word ''aqua'' (meaning "water"), in reference to the many rivers flowing from the Pyrenees through the area, or from the name of the Aquitanian [[Auch|Ausci]] tribe (whose name seems related to the Basque root ''eusk-'' meaning "Basque"), in which case Aquitania would mean "land of the Ausci".
In the [[50s BC]], Aquitania was conquered by lieutenants of [[Julius Caesar]] and became part of the [[Roman Empire]].
Later, in [[27 BC]], during the reign of Emperor [[Caesar Augustus|Augustus]], the province of [[Gallia Aquitania]] was created. Gallia Aquitania was far larger than the original Aquitania, as it extended north of the Garonne River, in fact all the way north to the [[Loire River]], thus including the [[Celts|Celtic]] [[Gaul|Gallic]] people that inhabited the regions between the Garonne and the Loire rivers.
These Gallic people (with their [[Gaulish language]]) were quite different from the non-[[Indo-European people|Indo-European]] Aquitanians and Basques. This was a deliberate policy of Rome, which sought to gather people from different ethnic backgrounds into a single province, in order to avoid the development of a regional identity.
In [[297]], as Emperor [[Diocletian]] reformed the administrative structures of the Roman Empire, long claims of the now Romanized descendants of the Aquitanians, who had long desired to be separated from the now also Romanized descendants of the Gallic people inhabiting north of the Garonne, were finally heard and Gallia Aquitania was split into three provinces.
The territory south of the Garonne River, corresponding to the original Aquitania, was made a province called [[Novempopulana]] (that is, "land of the nine tribes"), while the part of Gallia Aquitania north of the Garonne became the province of [[Aquitanica I]] and the province of [[Aquitanica II]]. The territory of Novempopulana corresponded quite well to what we call now Gascony.
From 297 on, the name "Aquitaine" was never used again for Gascony, despite it having been its original name, and instead became used only for territories north of the Garonne River.{{Fact|date=September 2007}}
===Novempopulana===
Novempopulana suffered like the rest of the Western Roman Empire from the invasions of [[Germanic peoples|Germanic]] tribes, most notably the [[Vandals]] in [[407]]-[[409]]. In [[416]]-[[418]], Novempopulana was delivered to the [[Visigoths]] as their federate settlement lands and became part of the Visigoth kingdom of [[Toulouse]].
The Visigoths were defeated by the [[Frankish Empire|Frank]]s in [[507]], and fled into Spain. Novempopulana then became part of the [[Frankish Kingdom]] like the rest of southern France. However, Novempopulana was far away from the home base of the Franks in northern France, and was only very loosely controlled by the Franks.
===Wasconia===
{{main|Duchy of Vasconia}}
It is then, around [[600]], that taking advantage of the power vacuum thus created, the [[Basque people|Basque]] clans descended from their refuge in the western Pyrenees and established their hegemony over Novempopulana. This is why Novempopulana became known as ''Vasconia'' (that is, "land of the Vascones", the Latin word "Vasco" later evolving into the word "Basque"). The word ''Vasconia'' evolved into ''Wasconia'', and then into ''Gasconia'' (w- often evolved into g- under the influence of [[Romance language]]s, cf. warrantee and guarantee, William and Guillaume).
Although the Basque clans dominated Gascony, the gradual abandonment of the Basque-related Aquitanian language in favor of a local [[vulgar Latin]], a process which was well under its way, was not reversed. This local vulgar Latin later evolved into [[Gascon]]. Quite paradoxically (or logically) the Basques from the French side of the [[Basque Country (historical territory)|Basque Country]] traditionally call anyone who does not speak Basque a Gascon.
However, Gascon was heavily influenced by the original Aquitanian language (for example, Latin f- became h-, cf. Latin ''fortia'', [[French language|French]] ''force'', [[Spanish language|Spanish]] ''fuerza'', [[Occitan]] ''fòrça'', but Gascon ''hòrça'').
===Viking invasions (840-982)===
Viking raiders conquered several Gascon towns in [[842]]-[[844]], including [[Bordeaux]] and [[Bayonne]], from where they were only expelled in [[982]]-[[986]].
Their attacks in Gascony may have helped the political disintegration of the Duchy. Their presence nevertheless left a mariner legacy that Basques and Gascons would later exploit in their cod-fishing and whale-hunting activities that would bring them as far as [[Newfoundland and Labrador|Newfoundland]].
==Geography==
The most important towns are :
*[[Auch]] the historical capital
*[[Bayonne]] (Basque and Gascon identity)
*[[Bordeaux]]
*[[Dax, France|Dax]]
*[[Lourdes]]
*[[Luchon]]
*[[Mont-de-Marsan]]
*[[Pau, France|Pau]]
*[[Tarbes]]
==Economy==
Main industries are :
* fishing
* [[Livestock|stock raising]]
* [[South West France (wine region)|wine making]]
* [[Armagnac (drink)|brandy distilling]]
* tourism
==External links==
{{commons2|Gascogne}}
* [http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Gascogne_drapeau.jpg Old flag]. Given to the Gascons by [[Pope Clement III]] during the [[Third Crusade]].
* This article incorporates some information taken from http://www.hostkingdom.net/ with permission
[[Category:Former provinces of France]]
[[Category:Basque history]]
[[ar:غاسكونيا]]
[[an:Gascuña]]
[[frp:Gascogne]]
[[ca:Gascunya]]
[[de:Gascogne]]
[[es:Gascuña]]
[[eu:Gaskonia]]
[[fr:Gascogne]]
[[ko:가스코뉴]]
[[it:Guascogna]]
[[he:גסקוניה]]
[[nl:Gascogne]]
[[ja:ガスコーニュ]]
[[no:Gascogne]]
[[oc:Gasconha]]
[[pl:Gaskonia]]
[[pt:Gasconha]]
[[ru:Гасконь]]
[[sl:Gaskonja]]
[[fi:Gascogne]]
[[sv:Gascogne]]
[[tr:Gaskonya]]
[[uk:Ґасконь]]