Aquitaine is the bit in the bottom left-hand corner of France. 30,000 years ago, it was inhabited by Neanderthal Man, who was notoriously messy and never tidied his cave. Only recently, another untidy Neanderthal cave was discovered near Bourg-sur-Gironde, and archaeologists are still busy picking up stone axes, half-eaten boxes of narwhal nuggets and unwashed underpants. Neanderthal Man's descendants can still be seen in Bordeaux today, especially when Girondins de Bordeaux are playing at home.
Bordeaux was sacked in 276 by Vandals. They came back in 409 and sacked it again, this time properly. It was then sacked in 414 by Visigoths and finally in 498 by the Franks. These were dark days for Bordeaux - but a great time to be a barbarian! After 498 there was nothing left to sack and the barbarians turned their attention elsewhere.
From 1152 to 1453 Aquitaine was part of England. Hurrah. The locals knew they'd become part of England because suddenly the trains were late and the food tasted dreadful. Here's how it happened. Eleanor of Aquitaine had been married to Louis VII of France. Eleanor then remarried, to a nice English chap called Henry. Within months of their marriage, Henry was made King of England. Which was nice. This meant that their two boys Richard and John, and all their successors got to be Dukes of Aquitaine, as well as King of England. Result.
La Résidence - THE French Property People
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