The history of the Alpilles and the Camargue is not a long quiet river. From battles to acts of bravery, from plots to ambushes, the men of the Neolithic period advanced towards the Roman legions which gave way to the men of the Middle Ages, then to the lights of contemporary artists. All of them put their seals on the bottom of the parchment to make this region what it is today. Of course, some periods have left more traces than others. Antiquity, in particular, has sown countless monuments that have stood the test of time to testify to the greatness of their builders. The Middle Ages also had no shortage of remarkable buildings that still stand on dizzying peaks, dominating valleys of age-old cultures. The so-called modern era was less full of monuments and more marked by the spirit of the artists and writers who settled there.
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- 100 000 ans
The oldest (but admittedly rare) evidence of habitation in the area dates from this period. They consist of a single arrowhead and a few other artifacts.
- 12000 ans, environ
Rocky outcrops, caves, rock shelters were occupied very early by our prehistoric ancestors who found there a habitat putting them out of reach of wild animals, as well as of their enemies. The vestiges: arrowheads, daggers, various objects testify to the intense activity which reigned in the Alpilles.
- 3000 ans
At this time the caves were gradually abandoned and the population increased significantly, both in the plains and on the heights. It is also at this period that the breeding develops. It is also the beginning of the exploitation of the first quarries.
IIIe siècle Av. J.-C.
Foundation of Glanum. The Gallic city, whose vestiges still make the fame of Saint-Rémy-de-Provence, knew its apogee in the 2nd century BC. Discovered in 1921, the city has important religious and civil monuments.
46 Av. J.-C.
The Romans arrived in the region. Seduced by the place, they soon built numerous villae. Large agricultural estates were created and their network prefigured that of the current estates. Arles officially became a Roman colony. Cereal production developed, as well as vine growing and horse breeding.
149
Construction of the Roman circus of Arles. It was the largest urban extension of that time.
513
Césaire, primate of the Gauls, evangelized the region, which was still strongly marked by the cults of pagan gods, especially Roman ones. To eradicate the old beliefs, he did not hesitate to integrate them into the Catholic religion.
Vers 790
Under the reign of Charlemagne, construction of the Matafère tower, near Aigues-Mortes. It marks the beginning of the existence of the city. Its function was to watch the coast.
869
The Saracens raid the region. They captured the bishop of Arles and demanded, for his release, an enormous amount of booty, weapons and slaves. The Arlesians accepted, but only recovered the body of their bishop when the ransom was paid.
Middle Ages
This period marks the arrival of fortified villages, eagle's nest refuges that stand on impregnable cliffs to escape the great invasions. The great families try, by all means, to impose their domination and to extend their possessions.
1144 - 1162
The Baussenque wars are raging. They are the result of both succession problems, but also of pure rivalry between the houses of Toulouse and Barcelona. For the Provençals, these wars are a strong symbol of resistance to the Catalan oppressor.
XVe siècle
It was at this time that the cult of the Holy Marys appeared. The discovery of relics attributed to the saints, Marie Jacobé and Marie Salomé, led to the decision to organize an exhibition of these relics three times a year.
XVIe siècle
It is a period of great insecurity. The Italian wars were raging and Arles was counting the men who could bear arms to defend the town. It is at this time that the brotherhood of Saint-Georges was created by the bullfighters. This brotherhood, which still exists, was intended to prevent the abusive enlistment of young men in the region.
1508 et 1511
Twice, the Rhone River bursts its banks and causes major floods that ruin the country.
1521
It is around the sea to bring the danger. Bands of Turkish pirates disembarked at Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer. The city had to call on its neighbor, Arles, to avoid being razed.
1591
Arles was besieged by the troops of the Marshal of Montmorency and the Governor of Provence. When the army withdrew, the region was totally ruined.
XVIIe siècle
The country was once again on fire. Louis XIII had to face the opposition of the nobility who dreamed of regaining their privileges.
1632
The city of Baux-de-Provence had to capitulate to Richelieu's troops. Its ramparts were pulled down.
1642
The fief of Baux fell to the Grimaldi family, as a reward for services rendered to the king. The Grimaldis are still in charge of the title of Marquis of Baux, currently held by Prince Albert of Monaco. The inhabitants returned to the lowlands and the town went into decline.
1720
Like the rest of Provence, the region had to face the worst plague it had ever known: the great plague which swept away a third of the population of the Alpilles. Only the town of Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer, which had refused to accept refugees, was spared. The country will take many years to recover.
1790
After a period of calm, the Revolution divided the population. Confrontations took place throughout the region, between royalists and republicans. The Alpilles and the Camargue had a large number of nobles who did not intend to give up their privileges. They make the region a real hub of the counter-revolution. The tone rises, between Monadiers (pro-revolutionaries) and Chiffonistes (royalists) and the country enters a cycle of terror. Moreover, nature was unleashed once again against the region. Torrential rains caused flooding on a rare scale. Many lives were lost.
XIXe siècle
The 19thcentury was an extremely prosperous century in both the Alpilles and the Camargue. Agriculture and industry expanded exponentially. In the Camargue, the marshes were drained and the salt industry took off. Towards the end of the century, electricity and the railroads arrived. This marked a turning point in the region's development.
1896
The Arles / Les Saintes-Maries line was inaugurated by the Chemins de fer de Camargue company. It is also the beginning of the great vineyards.
XXe siècle
In the first half of the 20thcentury , major works were carried out to control the often capricious flow of the Rhône.
1904
Frédéric Mistral is awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature for his work Mireio, which is still a reference. Mistral remains the icon of Provence and one of its greatest poets.
1909
The Marquis de Baroncelli created the Nation Gardiane whose objective was to defend and maintain the Camargue traditions. This association is still active today.
1914 - 1945
The two wars of the twentieth century purged the Alpilles and Camargue of much of their population. Some villages, like Les Baux, were virtually deserted. In the Camargue, the Camp de Saliers, of which nothing remains today, remains a dark stain on the region's history. Between 1942 and 1944, the Vichy regime interned over 700 gypsies there, many of whom perished on the spot.
1945
Intensification of agriculture, particularly rice growing, in the Camargue.
1960
In the 1960s, many Blackfoot came to settle in the region. They brought farming techniques: rice, olive trees and vines which made the country rich. Tourism began to develop and became the main resource of the region.
