Seine-Maritime

Seine-Maritime
Coat of Arms of Seine-Maritime
Location
Administration
Department number:	76
Region:	Haute-Normandie
Prefecture:	Rouen
Subprefectures:	Dieppe Le Havre
Arrondissements:	3
Cantons:	69
Communes:	745
President of the General Council:	Didier Marie
Statistics
Population	Ranked 12th
-2006	1,243,834
Population density:	198/km2
Land area¹:	6,278 km2
¹ French Land Register data, which exclude estuaries, and lakes, ponds, and glaciers larger than 1 km2.

Seine-Maritime is a French department in Normandy, which was previously known as Seine-Inférieure. It is situated on the northern coast of France, at the mouth of the Seine, and includes the cities of Rouen and Le Havre.

History

- 12,000 B.C. – First inhabitants

The engravings of the Gouy cave attest human presence in Seine-Maritime in the upper Paleolithic

- 450 – Celtic invasions

Celtic tribes and then Belgian settle in the region, the Seine (river) being their main communication facility

56 AD – Roman occupation

The Veliocasses of Rotomagus (Rouen) region and the Caletes of Juliobona (Lillebonne) is conquered by Julius Caesar. Rouen becomes the capital of the Seconde Lyonnaise, one of two provinces of Gaul.

450 - Franks and Neustria

After the Frankish invasion, the region becomes part of Neustria. Rouen and its bishop Praetextatus become closely involved in a tragic battle with Clovis’ successor.

619 - Foundation of Abbey of Saint-Wandrille

In the VIIth century, Church growth has an effect on the creation of abbeys in the Seine valley. Former King Dagobert I’ counsellor, Wandrille helped the building of one of the biggest monastic centers of Northern Gaul during the Carolingian era. The abbey of Jumièges is also founded in 654.

841 - The Vikings

Blazes, pillages... The town of Rouen is ravaged. Foulques, abbot of Saint-Wandrille, saves temporarily its abbey for a ransom. The Normans (Northmen) settle.

911 – Founding of Normandy

Due to the Treaty of Saint Clair-sur-Epte, the Frankish king Charles the Simple gives up the region to Rollo, Norwegian war chief settled in Rouen’s location. The duchy of Normandy is born.

1066 - William, Anglo-Norman conqueror

The Duke of Normandy, William the Conqueror, invades England. He wins the Battle of Hastings, beginning the Norman Conquest.

1144 - A Plantagenet crowned

After years of fights between William's successors, Normandy is handed over to the Plantagenets. Geoffroy is crowned by force in Rouen.

1204 – Linked to France

Stake of the rivalry with Capetians, the region is annexed to France by Philip II.

1315 - La Charte aux Normands

Because of riots, French Kings are obliged to acknowledge the specificity of the Norman case. As a symbol of local rights, the Charte aux Normands will be effective until the XVIIth century.

1415 - 1449 – Hundred Years' War

Harfleur is invaded in 1415 and shows the start of a new conquest led by Henry V of England. On 19 February of 1419 Rouen pass into English hands, after a tragic one-month long assault. In 1431, Joan of Arc is sentenced in Rouen as an heretic and witch by an ecclesiastic tribunal (including the bishop Cauchon). On 30 May, she is burnt alive. Given back to France in 1449, Normandy watches the last English troops driven from Dieppe in 1453.

1517 – Le Havre founded

For military and commercial purposes, Francis I of France founds Le-Havre-de-Grâce (now Le Havre).

1639 - The “va-nu-pieds” revolt

The region is richer but its inhabitants are weighed down by high taxes. The “va-nu-pieds” riot starts in Rouen, followed by a terrible repression conducted by Richelieu.

1667 – Royal drapery in Elbeuf

Colbert creates the royal manufacture of drapery in Elbeuf.

1843 – Railways and industry

In Rouen, Elbeuf, and Bolbec, the number of textile factories is increasing. Metallurgy and naval construction as well.

1942 – World War II - Early Allied landings

Occupied by the Wehrmacht, Seine-Maritime is the witness of two Allied military raids in 1942. During the night of 27th to 28 February, in the Bruneval raid, British parachutists destroy a German radar station and leave almost unscathed. However, 19 August, in Dieppe, the Jubilee operation consisting of 6000 Canadian soldiers is a bloody failure except in the value of the lessons it taught. These were valuable in planning later landings such as that in Normandy, 1944.

1944 - Liberation and pain

Seine-Maritime pays a high price for its freedom. In Rouen, 2,000 people are killed and 60,000 wounded during the Red Week. In Le Havre, the French town having recorded the highest number of losses during the war, bombings kill 5,000 people.

2005 - Le Havre

Le Havre has been classified as a World Heritage Site since July 2005.

Heraldry

The arms of the departement Seine-Maritime are blazoned : Gules a fess wavy argent between two lions passant gardant or armed and langued azure.

Geography

The department includes the chalky plateau of the Pays de Caux and the cliffs of the English Channel coast. There are two types of landscape - the dry chalky plateaux which are under intense arable cultivation, and generally flat. This is a "champaign" landscape characterised by huge fields with very few hedgerows.

In contrast, there are deep valleys forming a reticulum which is carved into the plateaux. These are often a surprise to the visitor, as they are not visible from most parts of the plateaux. They form a much more intimate landscape, with woodlands (many of them ancient woodlands) of beech and oak, and small fields and meadows along the streams. This is known as "bocage" landscape. The major example of this is the Pays de Bray, part of which is included in the eastern end of the département.

Administration

The departement was created in 1790 as Seine-Inférieure, one of five departements that replaced the former province of Normandy. In 1800 five arrondissements were created within the departement, namely Rouen, Le Havre, Dieppe, Neufchatel and Yvetot, although the latter two were disbanded in 1926. On 18 January 1955 the name of the departement was changed to Seine-Maritime, in order to provide a more positive-sounding name and in-keeping with changes made in a number of other French departements.

Transport

In 1843 the railway from Paris reached the region. The departement is connected to the adjacent Eure department via the Tancarville and Pont de Normandie bridge crossings of the Seine.

Culture

Madame Bovary by Gustave Flaubert is set in Seine Maritime.

The novel La Place by Annie Ernaux largely takes place in Seine-Maritime and describes events and changes that take place in relation to French society in the 20th century especially in relation to the rural population.

Cauchois is the local dialect, and is one of the most vibrant forms of Norman language beyond Cotentinais

See also

• Cantons of the Seine-Maritime department
• Communes of the Seine-Maritime department
• Arrondissements of the Seine-Maritime department

External links

• (French) General Council website
• (French) Communes 76
• (French) Prefecture website

Coordinates: 49°40′N 00°50′E / 49.667°N 0.833°E / 49.667; 0.833