Vendée (; br, Vande) is a department in the

Pays de la Loire Pays de la Loire (; ; br, Broioù al Liger) is one of the 18 regions of France, in the west of the mainland. It was created in the 1950s to serve as a zone of influence for its capital, Nantes, one of a handful of "balancing metropolises" (). ...

region In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as zones, lands or territories, are areas that are broadly divided by physical characteristics ( physical geography), human impact characteristics ( human geography), and the interaction of humanity an ...

in Western

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

, on the

Atlantic The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe ...

coast. In 2019, it had a population of 685,442.Populations légales 2019: 85 Vendée
INSEE Its prefecture is

La Roche-sur-Yon La Roche-sur-Yon () is a commune in the Vendée department in the Pays de la Loire region in western France. It is the capital of the department. The demonym for its inhabitants is ''Yonnais''. History The town expanded significantly after Napo ...

History

The area today called the Vendée was originally known as the ''Bas-Poitou'' and is part of the former province of Poitou. In the southeast corner, the village of Nieul-sur-l'Autise is believed to be the birthplace of

Eleanor of Aquitaine Eleanor ( – 1 April 1204; french: Aliénor d'Aquitaine, ) was Queen of France from 1137 to 1152 as the wife of King Louis VII, List of English royal consorts, Queen of England from 1154 to 1189 as the wife of Henry II of England, King Henry I ...

(1122–1204). Eleanor's son, Richard the Lionheart often had his base in Talmont. The

Hundred Years' War The Hundred Years' War (; 1337–1453) was a series of armed conflicts between the kingdoms of England and France during the Late Middle Ages. It originated from disputed claims to the French throne between the English House of Plantagen ...

(1337–1453) turned much of the Vendée into a battleground. Since the Vendée held a considerable number of influential

Protestants Protestantism is a Christian denomination, branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Reformation, Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century agai ...

, including control by Jeanne d'Albret mother of Henry IV of France, the region was greatly affected by the

French Wars of Religion The French Wars of Religion is the term which is used in reference to a period of civil war between French Catholics and Protestants, commonly called Huguenots, which lasted from 1562 to 1598. According to estimates, between two and four mil ...

which broke out in 1562 and continued until 1598. In April of that year King Henri IV issued the

Edict of Nantes The Edict of Nantes () was signed in April 1598 by King Henry IV and granted the Calvinist Protestants of France, also known as Huguenots, substantial rights in the nation, which was in essence completely Catholic. In the edict, Henry aimed pr ...

and the Wars came to an end. The revocation of the

in 1685 caused many

Huguenots The Huguenots ( , also , ) were a religious group of French Protestants who held to the Reformed, or Calvinist, tradition of Protestantism. The term, which may be derived from the name of a Swiss political leader, the Genevan burgomaster B ...

to flee from the Vendée. In the void, the region became rigorously Catholic due to the influence of a preacher and Marian missionary Louis de Montfort who radically changed the spirituality of the region. Many attribute the effect of his preaching to prepare the Vendeans for their revolt against the French Revolution. The Vendeans revolted against the

Revolutionary A revolutionary is a person who either participates in, or advocates a revolution. The term ''revolutionary'' can also be used as an adjective, to refer to something that has a major, sudden impact on society or on some aspect of human endeavor. ...

government in 1793. They resented the harsh oppression imposed on the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwide . It is am ...

by the provisions of the Civil Constitution of the Clergy act (1790) and broke into open revolt after the Revolutionary government's imposition of military

conscription Conscription (also called the draft in the United States) is the state-mandated enlistment of people in a national service, mainly a military service. Conscription dates back to Ancient history, antiquity and it continues in some countries to th ...

. A massacre of Republicans at Machecoul in March was followed by

guerrilla warfare Guerrilla warfare is a form of irregular warfare in which small groups of combatants, such as paramilitary personnel, armed civilians, or irregulars, use military tactics including ambushes, sabotage, raids, petty warfare, hit-and-run ta ...

, led at the outset by peasants who were chosen in each locale, and cost more than 240,000 lives before it ended in 1796 (190,000 Vendeans who were republicans or royalists and 50,000 non-Vendean republican soldiers; according to the Jacques Hussenet and Centre Vendéen de Recherche Historique's book ''Détruisez la Vendée''). The Revolt in the Vendée must not be confused with the revolt of the

Chouans Chouan ("the silent one", or "owl") is a French nickname. It was used as a nom de guerre by the Chouan family, Chouan brothers, most notably Jean Cottereau, better known as Jean Chouan, who led a major revolt in Bas-Maine against the French Rev ...

, which took place at the same time in Maine and

Brittany Brittany (; french: link=no, Bretagne ; br, Breizh, or ; Gallo: ''Bertaèyn'' ) is a peninsula, historical country and cultural area in the west of modern France, covering the western part of what was known as Armorica during the period ...

. The revolt was led by able officers, mostly aristocrats with some commoners. England provided funds and weapons but various plans for military support were thwarted or cancelled, such as the ill-fated 1795

Quiberon Expedition The invasion of France in 1795 or the Battle of Quiberon was a major landing on the Quiberon peninsula by émigré, counter-revolutionary troops in support of the Chouannerie and Vendée Revolt, beginning on 23 June and finally definitively ...

. In 1804,

Napoleon I Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader wh ...

chose

to be the capital of the department. At the time, most of La Roche had been eradicated in the

Vendée Revolt Vendée (; br, Vande) is a Departments of France, department in the Pays de la Loire Regions of France, region in Western France, on the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast. In 2019, it had a population of 685,442.Elba for his

Hundred Days The Hundred Days (french: les Cent-Jours ), also known as the War of the Seventh Coalition, marked the period between Napoleon's return from eleven months of exile on the island of Elba to Paris on20 March 1815 and the second restoratio ...

, the Vendée refused to recognise him and stayed loyal to King

Louis XVIII Louis XVIII (Louis Stanislas Xavier; 17 November 1755 – 16 September 1824), known as the Desired (), was King of France from 1814 to 1824, except for a brief interruption during the Hundred Days in 1815. He spent twenty-three years in ...

. General Lamarque led 10,000 men into the Vendée to pacify the region.

Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition The ''Encyclopædia Britannica'' Eleventh Edition (1910–1911) is a 29-volume reference work, an edition of the '' Encyclopædia Britannica''. It was developed during the encyclopaedia's transition from a British to an American publication. S ...

Waterloo Campaign A failed rebellion in the Vendée in 1832 in support of

Marie-Caroline de Bourbon-Sicile, duchess de Berry Marie-Caroline of Bourbon-Two Sicilies, Duchess of Berry (Maria Carolina Ferdinanda Luise; 5 November 1798 – 16 April 1870) was an Italian princess of the House of Bourbon who married into the French royal family, and was the mother of Henri, ...

, the former King Charles X's widowed daughter-in-law, was an unsuccessful attempt to restore the Legitimist Bourbon dynasty during the reign of the Orléanist monarch, King Louis Philippe of the French (1830–1848). In 1850,

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ...

author

Anthony Trollope Anthony Trollope (; 24 April 1815 – 6 December 1882) was an English novelist and civil servant of the Victorian era. Among his best-known works is a series of novels collectively known as the '' Chronicles of Barsetshire'', which revolves ar ...

published his book ''La Vendée'', detailing the history of the region and the war. In the preface he pays tribute to Madame de la Rochejaquelein, on whose memoirs of the war he based his story.

Etymology

The name ''Vendée'' is taken from the river Vendée which runs through the southeastern part of the department. The river is attested as ''Fluvium Vendre'' in the 10th century, and as ''Flumen Vendee'' and ''Vendeia'' by the 11th century. According to Pierre-Henri Billy, the name ultimately derives from the Celtic toponym ''*vindo-'' meaning white or brilliant in a sacred context (as in the Modern Welsh ''gwyn/wyn''). The name likely originates in

Proto-Celtic Proto-Celtic, or Common Celtic, is the ancestral proto-language of all known Celtic languages, and a descendant of Proto-Indo-European. It is not attested in writing but has been partly reconstructed through the comparative method. Proto-Celt ...

Gaulish Gaulish was an ancient Celtic language spoken in parts of Continental Europe before and during the period of the Roman Empire. In the narrow sense, Gaulish was the language of the Celts of Gaul (now France, Luxembourg, Belgium, most of Switze ...

, but may also have originated in the

Gallo Gallo may refer to: *Related to Gaul: **Gallo-Roman culture **Gallo language, a regional language of France **Gallo-Romance, a branch of Romance languages **Gallo-Italic or Gallo-Italian language, a branch spoken in Northern Italy of the Romance ...

Old Breton Breton (, ; or in Morbihan) is a Southwestern Brittonic language of the Celtic language family spoken in Brittany, part of modern-day France. It is the only Celtic language still widely in use on the European mainland, albeit as a member of t ...

languages.

Geography

Vendée's highest point is Puy-Crapaud (295 m). The department is crossed by four rivers: the Sèvre Nantaise ( long), the Vendée (), the Lay () and the Sèvre Niortaise ().

Demographics

Vendée's inhabitants are referred to as ''Vendeans'' (

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

''Vendéens'' ).

Principal towns

The most populous commune is

, the prefecture. As of 2019, there are 7 communes with more than 10,000 inhabitants. The 10 most populous communes are:

Higher education

The main University of this department is the Catholic Institute of Higher Studies - ICES in La Roche-sur-Yon. The main goal of this institute is to achieve academic excellence through an enhancement of the Christian and human dimension in seven areas of study. Founded in 1989, Catholic Institute of Higher Studies - ICES has pioneered a new concept in higher education, that of the “University School”: halfway between the French Grande École and the traditional state university.

Economy

The primary factors of the Vendéen economy are: *Tourism *Agriculture *Food Processing *Light/Medium Industry The Vendée has been cited as the most economically dynamic department in France by L'Express magazine in a 2006 survey. Its economy is characterised by a low rate of unemployment (around 7% in late 2006 compared to more than 9% nationally) and a very high proportion of small and medium-sized businesses (one business for every 14 inhabitants).

Tourism

The coast of the Vendée extends over of mostly sandy beaches. Tourists from overseas and locally frequent them. Some resorts include

Les Sables-d'Olonne Les Sables-d'Olonne (; French meaning: "The Sands of Olonne"; Poitevin: ''Lés Sablles d'Oloune'') is a seaside town in Western France, on the Atlantic Ocean. A subprefecture of the department of Vendée, Pays de la Loire, it has the adminis ...

, La Tranche-sur-Mer and Saint-Jean-de-Monts. Some beaches are certified for the FEE Blue Flag for cleanliness. With more than of sandy beaches edged with dunes and pine woods. There are several

nude beach A nude beach, sometimes called a clothing-optional or free beach, is a beach where users are at liberty to be nude. Nude beaches usually have mixed bathing. Such beaches are usually on public lands, and any member of the public is allowed to u ...

es including just south of La Faute sur Mer on the Pointe d'Arçay. The department also has churches and abbeys, museums, and—for nature lovers—thousands of marked footpaths, a signposted bicycle route running along the coastal mudflats, and marshes that attract unusual birds. There is fishing in the Vendée's rivers and lakes. Inland, the chief attractions include the Marais Poitevin (an area of marshlands famed for wildlife), the forested area around the village of Mervent and the rolling countryside of the Bocage. In the north of the department, the historical theme park Puy du Fou attracts more than 1.45 million of visitors per year. File:Eglise Saint-Louis de La Roche-sur-Yon depuis la voûte.JPG, Saint Louis Church of La Roche-sur-Yon File:Eglise Saint-Louis de La Roche-sur-Yon depuis la tribune haute.JPG, Saint Louis Church of La Roche-sur-Yon File:Place Napoléon de La Roche-sur-Yon depuis l'église.jpg,

's city File:MaraisPoitevin.jpg, Marais Poitevin File:Windmuhle auf ile de Noirmoutier.jpg, Windmill on the Noirmoutier island File:Maillezais - Cathedrale Saint-Pierre 02.jpg, Maillezais Cathedral File:F07.Vouvant.0012.JPG, Vouvant File:Puy-du-Fou-3.JPG, Medieval show at Puy du Fou themepark. File:Lucon Vendée.JPG,

Cathedral of Notre Dame Notre-Dame de Paris (; meaning "Our Lady of Paris"), referred to simply as Notre-Dame, is a medieval Catholic cathedral on the Île de la Cité (an island in the Seine River), in the 4th arrondissement of Paris. The cathedral, dedicated to the ...

, episcopal seat of the

Diocese of Luçon In church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided provinces were administratively associat ...

(comprising the Vendée)

Agriculture

Agriculture remains a significant source of employment in the Vendée. Among departments, it has the second highest level of revenue from agriculture in France. The major arable crops grown are maize, colza, wheat and sunflowers. Meat and dairy production also feature, as does the offshore farming of shellfish (oysters and mussels). Poultry from Challans is highly regarded nationwide as is lamb produced from the salt marshes in the North of the Vendée. Demonstrating its support for the agricultural sector, the Conseil Général of the Vendée has a stated policy to promote the construction of irrigation reservoirs to reduce dependence on ground water during key summer growing seasons.

Food processing and manufacturing

The Vendée is home to a number of food processing firms. A manufacturer of ready-meals and charcuterie employs the majority of its workforce (some 3000 people) at local plants. Other employers include bakeries and biscuit producers. The department also has some speciality products, including brioche (''Label Rouge'') and a raw cured ham (''Jambon de Vendée'') similar in flavour to bacon. Wine is also produced in the area around the communes of Vix, Brem, Pissotte and Mareuil-sur-Lay, and is marketed under the "Fiefs Vendéens" designation. Production quality has improved markedly over recent years, and, having already achieved the classification

Vin Délimité de Qualité Supérieure Vin délimité de qualité supérieure ("delimited wine of superior quality"), usually abbreviated as VDQS, was the second highest category of French wine, below '' appellation d'origine contrôlée'' (AOC) in rank, but above ''vin de pays'' (coun ...

(VDQS), the wines are on their way towards A.O.C status (

Appellation d’Origine Contrôlée An appellation is a legally defined and protected geographical indication primarily used to identify where the grapes for a wine were grown, although other types of food often have appellations as well. Restrictions other than geographical bou ...

Industry

Much of the manufacturing industry in the Vendée reflects its status as a major tourist destination. Mobile homes are manufactured at plants in

Luçon Luçon () is a commune in the Vendée department, Pays de la Loire region, western France. Its inhabitants are known as Luçonnais. Luçon Cathedral is the seat of the Diocese of Luçon (comprising the Vendée), where Cardinal Richelieu onc ...

and the building of motor and sail yachts takes place at locations all over the department. The service sector too is strongly inclined towards tourism with campsites, restaurants and other tourism businesses being important sources of revenue and employment.

Culture

The War in the Vendée is the subject of '' Ninety-Three'' (''Quatrevingt-treize''), the last novel by the French writer

Victor Hugo Victor-Marie Hugo (; 26 February 1802 – 22 May 1885) was a French Romantic writer and politician. During a literary career that spanned more than sixty years, he wrote in a variety of genres and forms. He is considered to be one of the great ...

, an episode in ''

Mr. Midshipman Hornblower ''Mr. Midshipman Hornblower'' is a 1950 Horatio Hornblower novel written by C. S. Forester. Although it may be considered as the first episode in the Hornblower saga, it was written as a prequel; the first Hornblower novel, ''The Happy Return'' ...

'' and also the backdrop of ''

Les Chouans ''Les Chouans'' (, ''The Chouans'') is an 1829 novel by French novelist and playwright Honoré de Balzac (1799–1850) and included in the ''Scènes de la vie militaire'' section of his novel sequence '' La Comédie humaine''. Set in the French ...

'' by Balzac. In the writings of

Karl Marx Karl Heinrich Marx (; 5 May 1818 – 14 March 1883) was a German philosopher, economist, historian, sociologist, political theorist, journalist, critic of political economy, and socialist revolutionary. His best-known titles are the 1848 ...

regarding revolutionary struggles in various countries, he uses the term "a Vendée" as meaning "a focus of persistent counter-revolutionary activities".

Vladimir Lenin Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov. ( 1870 – 21 January 1924), better known as Vladimir Lenin,. was a Russian revolutionary, politician, and political theorist. He served as the first and founding head of government of Soviet Russia from 1917 to 1 ...

, when speaking about

Cossacks The Cossacks , es, cosaco , et, Kasakad, cazacii , fi, Kasakat, cazacii , french: cosaques , hu, kozákok, cazacii , it, cosacchi , orv, коза́ки, pl, Kozacy , pt, cossacos , ro, cazaci , russian: казаки́ or ...

as potential counter-revolutionary opposition, identified them as ''Russian Vendée''.

Cuisine

*''Jambon-mogettes'' (ham and white beans) is the most famous Vendean dish. *The department is the largest brioche producer in France, with the ''Brioche de Vendée'' made in the

Bocage Bocage (, ) is a terrain of mixed woodland and pasture characteristic of parts of Northern France, Southern England, Ireland, the Netherlands and Northern Germany, in regions where pastoral farming is the dominant land use. ''Bocage'' may a ...

. *In the Plain of

, préfou is a garlic bread that can be served as an aperitif. *In the marshland of the North-West, the ''poultry of Challans'', especially

duck Duck is the common name for numerous species of waterfowl in the family Anatidae. Ducks are generally smaller and shorter-necked than swans and geese, which are members of the same family. Divided among several subfamilies, they are a form ...

, is well known in the gastronomic world. *The department has several small

vineyard A vineyard (; also ) is a plantation of grape-bearing vines, grown mainly for winemaking, but also raisins, table grapes and non-alcoholic grape juice. The science, practice and study of vineyard production is known as viticulture. Vineyard ...

s, around

Brem-sur-Mer Brem-sur-Mer (, literally ''Brem on Sea'') is a commune in the Vendée ''département'' in the Pays de la Loire region in western France. It was created in 1974 by the merger of the former communes of Saint Martin-de-Brem and Saint Nicolas-de-B ...

Mareuil-sur-Lay-Dissais Mareuil-sur-Lay-Dissais () is a commune in the Vendée department in the Pays de la Loire region in western France. Geography The river Smagne forms part of the commune's eastern border, then flows into the Lay, which flows southwestward throu ...

, Vix, and Pissotte.

Government

In the Vendée, 31 members, elected through

universal suffrage Universal suffrage (also called universal franchise, general suffrage, and common suffrage of the common man) gives the right to vote to all adult citizens, regardless of wealth, income, gender, social status, race, ethnicity, or political sta ...

, govern the affairs of the department, with 26 members on the

right-wing Right-wing politics describes the range of Ideology#Political ideologies, political ideologies that view certain social orders and Social stratification, hierarchies as inevitable, natural, normal, or desirable, typically supporting this pos ...

and 5 members on the

left-wing Left-wing politics describes the range of political ideologies that support and seek to achieve social equality and egalitarianism, often in opposition to social hierarchy. Left-wing politics typically involve a concern for those in soci ...

. The

Prefect Prefect (from the Latin ''praefectus'', substantive adjectival form of ''praeficere'': "put in front", meaning in charge) is a magisterial title of varying definition, but essentially refers to the leader of an administrative area. A prefect's ...

represents the French State in the department.

Politics

The president of the Departmental Council is Alain Lebœuf, elected in July 2021. Previous Presidents were Bruno Retailleau and Philippe de Villiers.

Current National Assembly Representatives

References

External links

*
Departmental council website
*
Prefecture website
*
Vendee Tourist Board
{{DEFAULTSORT:Vendee Departments of Pays de la Loire Poitou