 | You can helpexpand this article with text translated fromthe corresponding article in French. (December 2008)Click [show] for important translation instructions.
|
Île-d'Aix | |
|---|---|
 The fortifications of Île-d'Aix | |
 Coat of arms | |
Location of Île-d'Aix  | |
  Île-d'Aix  Île-d'Aix | |
| Coordinates:46°00′46″N1°10′21″W / 46.0128°N 1.1725°W /46.0128; -1.1725 | |
| Country | France |
| Region | Nouvelle-Aquitaine |
| Department | Charente-Maritime |
| Arrondissement | Rochefort |
| Canton | Châtelaillon-Plage |
| Intercommunality | CA Rochefort Océan |
| Government | |
| • Mayor(2020–2026) | Patrick Denaud[1] |
Area 1 | 1.19 km2 (0.46 sq mi) |
| Population (2022)[2] | 196 |
| • Density | 160/km2 (430/sq mi) |
| Demonym | Aixois.e |
| Time zone | UTC+01:00 (CET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+02:00 (CEST) |
| INSEE/Postal code | 17004 /17124 |
| Elevation | 0–15 m (0–49 ft) (avg. 9 m or 30 ft) |
| 1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km2 (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries. | |
Île-d'Aix (pronounced[ildɛks]) is acommune in theFrench department ofCharente-Maritime, region ofNouvelle-Aquitaine (before 2015:Poitou-Charentes), off the west coast of France. It occupies the territory of the small Isle of Aix (French:île d'Aix), in theAtlantic Ocean. It is a popular place for tourist day-trips during the summer months.
Île-d'Aix is located at the mouth of the riverCharente, betweenOléron Island and the coast of mainland France. The island is also close toFort Boyard.
During the Roman period, it seems the island was connected to the continent at low tide. It took its current shape around 1500.
In 1067,Isembert de Châtelaillon gave the island to the order ofCluny. A small convent was established, which depended on St Martin inÎle de Ré.
At the end of the 12th century, France and England fought for the possession of the island. Until 1286, the island was located at the boundary between the French and the EnglishSaintonge, formed by the estuary of the riverCharente. During theHundred Years War, the island became English for about 15 years.
In the 16th century, during theFrench Wars of Religion, the island becameCatholic and thenProtestant.
In 1665, nearbyRochefort was established as a strategic harbour for the Kingdom, leading to the construction of many fortifications in the area.Vauban built numerous fortifications on the island, which Ferry completed in 1704.
During theSeven Years' War (1756–1763), the British captured the island in 1757 and destroyed its ramparts as part of the attemptedRaid on Rochefort, before withdrawing several weeks later. The island was again captured by British forces in 1759 following theBattle of Quiberon Bay and occupied until the end of the war in 1763. The fortifications were then rebuilt by several French officers, includingMarc René, marquis de Montalembert andPierre Choderlos de Laclos, the author ofLes Liaisons dangereuses.
During theFrench Revolution, in 1794, the island was used as a prison for the suppression of religious opponents in whichhundreds of priests were left to die in mooredprison-boats. About 226 were buried in the sands of Île-d'Aix.[3]
Napoleon famously visited the island in 1808 and gave directions to reinforce the fortifications. He ordered the construction of a house for the commander of the stronghold (today'sMusée Napoléon) and the construction of Fort Liedot, named after a colonel killed in theRussian campaign.
In 1809, theBattle of the Basque Roads (French:Bataille de l'Île d'Aix) was anaval battle off the island of Aix between theRoyal Navy and the Atlantic Fleet of theFrench Navy. On the night of 11 April 1809, CaptainThomas Cochrane led a Britishfireship attack against a squadron of French warships anchored in theBasque Roads. In the attack, all but two of the French ships were driven ashore. The subsequent engagement lasted three days but failed to completely destroy the French fleet.[4]
From 12 to 15 July 1815, after the defeat atWaterloo,Napoleon spent his last days in France at Île d'Aix, in an attempt to slip past a Royal Navy blockade and escape toNorth America. Realising the impossibility of accomplishing his plan, he wrote a letter to the British regent[5] and finally surrendered toHMSBellerophon, which took him toTorbay andPlymouth before he was transferred toSaint Helena.
It has a population of 223 as of 2008.
| Year | Pop. | ±% |
|---|---|---|
| 1962 | 226 | — |
| 1968 | 207 | −8.4% |
| 1975 | 207 | +0.0% |
| 1982 | 173 | −16.4% |
| 1990 | 199 | +15.0% |
| 1999 | 186 | −6.5% |
| 2008 | 223 | +19.9% |
Located on the island is the large Fort Liédot, built as a naval fortress to defend thePertuis d'Antioche. Construction began in 1811 on the orders ofNapoleon Bonaparte, and took 24 years to complete. The fort was built as part of a chain of fortifications and artillery batteries which protected the straight and defended the port atRochefort. Napoleon would later spend his last days in France at Fort Liédot, having fled there in July of 1815 at the end of theHundred Days and shortly thereafter surrendering to theRoyal Navy on the 15th of July, 1815.[6]
During theCrimean War in the 1850s France used the fort to detain captured Russian soldiers, and from then until the 1960s Fort Liédot would be used off and on as a military prison detaining various political prisoners. It was abandoned after the Crimean War and later used as an artillery target in 1863. In 1871 Fort Liédot would again be used as a prison, this time detainingCommunards awaiting deportation to the at-the-time French colony ofNew Caledonia.[7] In theInterwar period the fort was used as a summer camp.[6] TheAlgerian independentist and future PresidentBen Bella was imprisoned there from 1956 to 1962, together with otherNational Liberation Front militants such asMohamed Khider andHocine Aït Ahmed.
Access to the island is provided by a year-roundferry, which leaves several times a day fromFouras, just east of the island, or fromLa Rochelle, andOléron, during the summer months. Cars (except for service vehicles) are prohibited on the island, which allows more tranquility. People move around on foot or by bicycle. Horse carriages are also available to travel on the island.
Altesse royale, en butte aux factions qui divisent mon pays et à l'inimitié des plus grandes puissances de l'Europe, j'ai consommé une carrière politique, et je viens, comme Thémistocle, m'asseoir au foyer du peuple Britannique. Je me mets sous la protection de ses lois que je réclame de votre altesse royale comme du plus puissant, du plus constant et du plus généreux de mes ennemis. Ile d'Aix, 13 juillet 1815.
Your royal highness, confronted with the various factions that divide my country, and with the enmity of the greatest nations of Europe, my political career has come to an end, and here I come, likeThemistocles, to sit at the hearth of the British people. I put myself under the protection of its laws, which I request to your royal highness, the most powerful, the most constant, and the most generous of my enemies. Ile d'Aix, 13 July 1815.
— Napoleon
