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Roussillon Rosselló (Catalan) | |
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Historical province | |
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| Country |  France |
| Department | Pyrénées-Orientales |
| Largest settlement | Perpignan |
| Area | |
• Total | 3,600 km2 (1,400 sq mi) |
| Population | |
• Total | 450,000 |
| Time zone | UTC+1 (CET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+2 (CEST) |
Roussillon (UK:/ˈruːsijɒn/ROO-see-yon,[1]US:/ˌruːsiˈjoʊn/ROO-see-YOHN,[2]French:[ʁusijɔ̃]ⓘ;Catalan:Rosselló[rusəˈʎo]ⓘ,locally[rusiˈʎu];Occitan:Rosselhon[ruseˈʎu]) was a historicalprovince of France that largely corresponded to theCounty of Roussillon andpart of theCounty of Cerdagne of the formerPrincipality of Catalonia. It is part of the region ofNorthern Catalonia[a] orFrench Catalonia (the former used by Catalan-speakers and the latter used by French-speakers), corresponding roughly to the present-day southern Frenchdépartement ofPyrénées-Orientales (with Roussillon,Upper Cerdagne,Capcir,Vallespir,Conflent, andFenouillèdes) in the former region ofLanguedoc-Roussillon (todayOccitanie).
The nameRoussillon is derived from Ruscino (Rosceliona, Castel Rossello), a small fortified place near modern-dayPerpignan where Gaulish chieftains met to considerHannibal's request for a conference. The region formed part of the Roman province ofGallia Narbonensis from 121 BC to AD 462, when it was ceded with the rest ofSeptimania to theVisigothTheodoric II. His successor,Amalaric, on his defeat byChildebert I in 531, retired toHispania, leaving a governor inSeptimania.
In 719, theSaracens crossed thePyrenees and maintained political hegemony of Septimania until their final defeat in 759 byPepin the Short, who went on to occupy Roussillon afterconquering Narbonne. Roussillon was occupied by theCarolingians in 760. Upon the invasion of Hispania in 778,Charlemagne found theMarca Hispanica wasted by war and the inhabitants settled in the mountains. He granted some lands in the plains to Visigothic refugees fromMoorish Hispania and founded several monasteries. In 792, the Saracens again invaded France, but they were repulsed by CountGuillaume ofToulouse – regent of the childLouis the Pious, King ofAquitaine – whose hegemony extended intoCatalonia.
The different portions of his kingdom in time grew intoallodial fiefs and, in 893,Sunyer II became the first hereditary count ofRoussillon. But his rule only extended over the eastern part of what became the later province. The western part, theCerdanya (French, Cerdagne), was ruled in 900 byMiró as first count, and one of his grandsons, Bernat, became the first hereditary count of the middle portion, orBesalú. Thecounts of Roussillon were allied to their cousins the counts ofEmpúries in a centuries-long conflict with the surrounding great nobles. CountGirard I participated in theFirst Crusade in the following ofRaymond IV ofToulouse, and was one of the first to set foot inJerusalem when it was stormed by the Crusaders in 1099. At the beginning of the 12th century, the prestige of theCounts of Barcelona began to rise to such a height that the Counts of Roussillon had no choice but to swear fealty to them.
In 1111,Ramon Berenguer III, Count of Barcelona, inherited the fief of Besalú, to whichCerdanya was added in 1117. The possession of Roussillon by its last count,Girard II, was challenged by his illegitimate brothers. To ensure that his brothers would not inherit his territories, in his will Girard II left all his lands toAlfonso II of Aragon, who took possession in 1172. Under theAragonese monarchs, economic and demographic growth of the region continued, andCollioure (Catalan:Cotlliure), the port ofPerpignan, became an important locus ofMediterranean trade.[citation needed]
As the French and Aragonese crowns grew in power, the region of Roussillon, forming part of the border between them, was frequently a site of military conflict. By theTreaty of Corbeil (1258),Louis IX of France formally surrendered his claims of sovereignty over Roussillon and to the title of Count of Barcelona to the Crown of Aragon, recognizing a centuries-old reality.[citation needed]
James I of Aragon had wrested theBalearic Isles from theMoors and joined these islands with Roussillon to create theKingdom of Majorca, with its capital at Perpignan. In 1276, James I granted this kingdom to his son, who becameJames II. The subsequent disputes of this monarch with his brotherPeter III were exploited byPhilip III of France in his quarrel with Peter III for the crown of theTwo Sicilies. Philip III espoused James II's cause and led an army into Catalonia but, retreating, died atPerpignan in 1285. Lacking the resources to continue the struggle, James then became reconciled to his brother Peter, and in 1311 the former was succeeded by his son Sanç I, orSancho I, who founded the cathedral of Perpignan shortly before his death in 1324. His successor,James III of Majorca, refused to do homage toPhilip VI of France for the seigneury ofMontpellier, and applied toPeter IV of Aragon for aid. Peter not only refused, but declared war and seizedMajorca and Roussillon in 1344.[citation needed]
The province was now reunited to thePrincipality of Catalonia within theCrown of Aragon, and it enjoyed peace until 1462. In that year, the disputes betweenJohn II of Aragon andhis son over theCrown of Navarre spurredLouis XI to support John against his subjects, who had risen in revolt, theCatalan Civil War (1462-1472). The province, having been pledged as collateral to Louis for 300,000 crowns, was occupied by French troops until 1493, whenCharles VIII evacuated the region as part of a settlement withFerdinand the Catholic (son of John II of Aragon).
As part of a wider war (theItalian Wars), France and Spain clashed here between 1496 and 1498. Eventually the Spanish, under personal command of Ferdinand, not only secured Roussillon but managed to push into southern France before the new French monarch,Louis XII, signed theTreaty of Granada (1500).
TheHabsburg dynasty took control of both the Crown of Castile and the Crown of Aragon in 1516 and the two crowns were for the first time ruled by the same physical person. This was underCharles V, Holy Roman Emperor (called Charles I of Spain), grandson of the Catholic Monarchs.
WhenPerpignan wasbesieged by the forces ofHenry, Dauphin of France in 1542, the inhabitants were loyal to Charles V. Perpignan earned the royal sobriquet of "Fedelíssima" ("Most Faithful City").
When theCatalans rose against the Spanish Crown in 1640 (theReapers' War),Louis XIII entered the conflict on the side of the former. After a protracted war, theTreaty of the Pyrenees (1659) partitioned the Principality of Catalonia, securing Roussillon and part of theCerdanya (Cerdagne) to the French crown, creating the French province of Roussillon.
The next fifty years saw a concerted effort byLouis XIV both to ensure the political allegiance of his new subjects and to alter their cultural identity.He wassuccessful in the former but failed in the latter. Outside the capital ofPerpignan,Roussillon remained distinctlyCatalan in outlook and culture until the late nineteenth century, when industrialization began to replace Catalan identity with French.
During theFrench Revolution, theAncien Régime province of Roussillon was abolished and a new department, the Department of Pyrénées-Orientales, was created instead. This department corresponds roughly to the old Roussillon, with the addition of thecomarca ofFenouillèdes.Pyrénées-Orientales is the name by which this department is officially known in France. The old name of Roussillon did contribute to the Frenchrégion ofLanguedoc-Roussillon.
This article incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Roussillon".Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 23 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 780. | ||
42°30′N2°45′E / 42.5°N 2.75°E /42.5; 2.75
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