Mes Amis,
It is with great pleasure I pick up the "Better Know a Department" series, which (alas) has needed attention for far too long! This week, we look at the 50th départment français, called "la Manche," (which, by the way, is also what the French call the English channel) and like all the other départements that the French Studies blog has looked at (so far), she (yeah, she--the noun is feminine) dates to 1790 and is a direct product of the French Revolution. That said, she is home to quite a bit of history (quite sad, a lot of conquering going on here) that goes much further back.
Our quest for an in depth knowledge of la Manche starts in the days of Rome, a time when men wearing dresses was not limited to those who play bagpipes and compete with one another by throwing logs. In fact, the most powerful men in the world wore them, but referred to them as "togas." It was then, before the birth of Christ, that the Celtic peoples (the Unelles and the Abrincates) lived here. They lost control around 56 BC, however, when a man by the name of Julius Ceasar decided he had something to prove and spent 10 years subjugating Gaul to Roman (or his) rule.
Centuries later, this same area became a part of the kingdom of Brittany, but was then conquered by the Normans around 933. This political state wasn't to last long though. Phillie-Auguste (yeah, that's him on the right. Did you notice the fleur de lys in his right hand? If so, feel good about yourself, you clearly know more about French history than most) came in and annexed (which is a really polite way to say "conquered") this kingdom, and made it a part of France in 1204. I wish I could say that this was the "happily ever after" point of history for la Manche, but there were a few more scuffles to be had here. The Hundred Years War came through, and though the number of years claimed does not match up with the exact number of years spent fighting, it was a rather long spat.
Then (to fast forward a bit) World War II left an unforgettable effect. Ever heard of "Utah?" Not the state, the be
ach. That was the code name for one of the biggest, bloodiest,and most successful allied landings on France's shores on D-DAY, June 6th 1944 (I got a picture of that for you on the left). Yes, you guessed it, la Manche is home to Utah Beach. Some of the communes here were nearly completely destroyed. In fact, the Préfecture, Saint-Lô, came to be referred to as, "capitale des ruines," or "the capital of the ruins." Things were rebuilt after the war, however, and at least are good today!With such history, what more need I say? I could belabor the fine Celtic heritage, the boating, and the ruins that you can see there, but is that really necessary? Go see it.
