Gascony (Gascogne in French) is a region in southwest France. It encompasses départements of Landes, Gers, and Hautes-Pyrénées and parts of Pyrénées-Atlantiques, Lot-et-Garonne, Tarn-et-Garonne, Haute-Garonne, Gironde, and Ariège.

Main industries are :

• fishing
• stock raising
• wine making
• brandy distilling
• tourism

Gascony was inhabited to a large extent by Basques. It is the home of the Gascon language.

History of Gascony

Local Basque clans were in Gascony lands from time immemorial. First it was taken over by the Roman Empire, then the Visigoths, and finally it belonged to the Frankish Kingdom. With its deterioration, it emerged for a time as a separate state and, in fact, has retained even to this day a reputation for nurturing a stubborn and independent people.

Timeline :

• the Roman Empire 27 BC-395 CE
• the Western Roman Empire 395-418
• the Visigoths 418-507
• the Franks 507-511
  • Frankish kingdom of Neustria 511-719
• the Carolingian Empire 719-872
  • Dukes of Gascony under the Carolingians
    • Loup I 768-774
    • Loup II 774-778
    • Adaric 778-812 with
    • Loup III and
    • Sancho 778-c 823 with
    • Siguin I 812-816 and
    • Loup IV and
    • Siguin 812-c 819 and
    • Garcia Siguin 816-818 and
    • Totilon 819- ?
    • Aznarc 823-836
    • Siguin II  ? -846
    • William I 846-848
    • Sancho
    • Sancion 848-864
    • Arnold 864-872
• Kingdom of Gascony (872-1032)
  • Sancho I Mitarra 872- ?
  • Sancho II
  • Garcia 886-920
  • Sancho III 920- ?
  • Sancho IV  ? -960
  • William 960-999
  • Bernard William 999-1009
  • Sancho III William 1009-1032
• France 1032-1039
  • Dukes of Gascony
    • Berenger 1032-1036
    • Eudes 1036-1039
• Navarre 1039-1052
• Aquitaine 1052-1137
• France 1137-1152
• England 1152-1449
• France thereafter

The most important towns are :

• Bayonne
• Biarritz
• Luchon
• Tarbes
• Dax
• Lourdes
• and the historical capital Auch

External link

• This article incorporates some information taken from http://www.hostkingdom.net/ with permission

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