Ainhoa, Pyrénées-Atlantiques
Encyclopedia
Ainhoa is a commune
in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques
department in Aquitaine
in south-western France
. The village is in the traditional Basque
province
of Labourd
. The commune is listed amongst the 'Most beautiful villages of France', a title conferred by an independent association which seeks to promote tourist sites in small communes boasting a particularly rich French heritage.
acquired, paying money, the toll rights formerly instituted by Viscount Juan Pérez de Baztan, Ainhoa being then at the borders between the Duchy of Aquitaine since 1151, run by the Angevin
Kings of England and the Navarrese kingdom
as such.
Such tolls were charged to pilgrims and traders traveling to Santiago de Compostela
, the Way of St. James
, in Galicia, Spain
. Military clashes between the "English run" Basques of Aquitaine and the Navarrese in 1249 led however in 1250 the Seigneur of Ainhoa, to recognize the suzerainty
of king Henry III of England
, but by 1265, Gonzalvo Juanis, Seigneur of Ainhoa, a.k.a. Gonzalvo Ibáñez, a.k.a. Gonzalvo Yáñes, did not recognize either, English or Navarrese, dying in 1289 and opening the way to conquering it by old historical claims with military actions. Then, Garda Arnaut de Espelette
, with affinity for the "English run" Basques of the Duchy of Aquitaine, sent a letter, dated 29 July 1289 praying the Ainhoa people to the adequate connivence. The outcome of such frontier business was to set up some sort of joint undivided land as it had been done also previously with the nearby Aldudes
, close to the Baztan
valley .
Documents from Estella, dated September 1369, some 80 years later, prove the people from Ainhoa paid taxes to both, the King of Navarre and the "English" Seneschal of the Landes
territory in return for their fiscal and personal privileges.
When "English run" Bayonne
surrendered to the French in 1451, no one knowns if these "undivided status" villages within the English - Navarrese frontier, were taken by the French, too.
In the Spanish Invasion of 1636 in Labourd
territories, many villages, including Ainhoa, were razed down. Later, probably because of the 1659 "Treaty of the Pyrénées
" whereby Spanish born Queen regent of France Anne of Austria
with the help of Cardinal Mazarin, some sort of First Minister of France, set up the advantageous peace (for the French), besides getting also a Spanish Princess as a wife, Maria Theresa of Spain
for her son Louis XIV of France
, Ainhoa was repopulated again.
Disputes between the new settlers and the old residents concerning the use of communal land
s for cattle grazing and fodder and the access by newcomers to town hall positions, schooling, church grants, etc. had to be settled by the then autonomous Parliament of Bordeaux in the sense of having access to village privileges through money.
The Convention War of 1793 between Spain and French Republicans led quite a few the Ainhoa citizens to be included by the later in the list of "infamous" Labourd
villages, together with Sare
, Itxassou
and Ascain
. They were interned as prisoniers in Capbreton
and there were some of their church authorities feeling death under the guillotine
.
During the retreat of the Napoleonic Army from Spain in 1813, Labourd villages were again submitted to abuse by the Confederate British and Spanish troops.
Under the German occupation of France during World War II many of these frontier villages were fully administered by German military people, but were also a way out for British soldiers, French Resistance
members and European Jews trying to reach non-belligerent Spain.
Communes of France
The commune is the lowest level of administrative division in the French Republic. French communes are roughly equivalent to incorporated municipalities or villages in the United States or Gemeinden in Germany...
in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques
Pyrénées-Atlantiques
Pyrénées-Atlantiques is a department in the southwest of France which takes its name from the Pyrenees mountains and the Atlantic Ocean.- History :...
department in Aquitaine
Aquitaine
Aquitaine , archaic Guyenne/Guienne , is one of the 27 regions of France, in the south-western part of metropolitan France, along the Atlantic Ocean and the Pyrenees mountain range on the border with Spain. It comprises the 5 departments of Dordogne, :Lot et Garonne, :Pyrénées-Atlantiques, Landes...
in south-western France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
. The village is in the traditional Basque
Northern Basque Country
The French Basque Country or Northern Basque Country situated within the western part of the French department of the Pyrénées-Atlantiques constitutes the north-eastern part of the Basque Country....
province
Provinces of France
The Kingdom of France was organised into provinces until March 4, 1790, when the establishment of the département system superseded provinces. The provinces of France were roughly equivalent to the historic counties of England...
of Labourd
Labourd
Labourd is a former French province and part of the present-day Pyrénées Atlantiques département. It is historically one of the seven provinces of the traditional Basque Country....
. The commune is listed amongst the 'Most beautiful villages of France', a title conferred by an independent association which seeks to promote tourist sites in small communes boasting a particularly rich French heritage.
Some historical fragments of Ainhoa village life
On 27 April 1238 the new king Theobald I of NavarreTheobald I of Navarre
Theobald I , called the Troubadour, the Chansonnier, and the Posthumous, was Count of Champagne from birth and King of Navarre from 1234...
acquired, paying money, the toll rights formerly instituted by Viscount Juan Pérez de Baztan, Ainhoa being then at the borders between the Duchy of Aquitaine since 1151, run by the Angevin
House of Plantagenet
The House of Plantagenet , a branch of the Angevins, was a royal house founded by Geoffrey V of Anjou, father of Henry II of England. Plantagenet kings first ruled the Kingdom of England in the 12th century. Their paternal ancestors originated in the French province of Gâtinais and gained the...
Kings of England and the Navarrese kingdom
Kingdom of Navarre
The Kingdom of Navarre , originally the Kingdom of Pamplona, was a European kingdom which occupied lands on either side of the Pyrenees alongside the Atlantic Ocean....
as such.
Such tolls were charged to pilgrims and traders traveling to Santiago de Compostela
Santiago de Compostela
Santiago de Compostela is the capital of the autonomous community of Galicia, Spain.The city's Cathedral is the destination today, as it has been throughout history, of the important 9th century medieval pilgrimage route, the Way of St. James...
, the Way of St. James
Way of St. James
The Way of St. James or St. James' Way is the pilgrimage route to the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela in Galicia in northwestern Spain, where tradition has it that the remains of the apostle Saint James are buried....
, in Galicia, Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
. Military clashes between the "English run" Basques of Aquitaine and the Navarrese in 1249 led however in 1250 the Seigneur of Ainhoa, to recognize the suzerainty
Suzerainty
Suzerainty occurs where a region or people is a tributary to a more powerful entity which controls its foreign affairs while allowing the tributary vassal state some limited domestic autonomy. The dominant entity in the suzerainty relationship, or the more powerful entity itself, is called a...
of king Henry III of England
Henry III of England
Henry III was the son and successor of John as King of England, reigning for 56 years from 1216 until his death. His contemporaries knew him as Henry of Winchester. He was the first child king in England since the reign of Æthelred the Unready...
, but by 1265, Gonzalvo Juanis, Seigneur of Ainhoa, a.k.a. Gonzalvo Ibáñez, a.k.a. Gonzalvo Yáñes, did not recognize either, English or Navarrese, dying in 1289 and opening the way to conquering it by old historical claims with military actions. Then, Garda Arnaut de Espelette
Espelette
Espelette is a commune in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department in south-western France.It lies in the traditional Basque province of Labourd.-Sights:...
, with affinity for the "English run" Basques of the Duchy of Aquitaine, sent a letter, dated 29 July 1289 praying the Ainhoa people to the adequate connivence. The outcome of such frontier business was to set up some sort of joint undivided land as it had been done also previously with the nearby Aldudes
Aldudes
Aldudes is a commune in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department in south-western France.-Population:The population has been steadily declining over the years.It is located in the former province of Lower Navarre.-References:* -External links:...
, close to the Baztan
Baztan (valley)
Baztan is a comarca located in a wide valley in Navarre, Spain, with the Baztan river running through it. The valley belongs to the Merindad de Pamplona.-Municipal terms:*Baztán*Urdax*Zugarramurdi...
valley .
Documents from Estella, dated September 1369, some 80 years later, prove the people from Ainhoa paid taxes to both, the King of Navarre and the "English" Seneschal of the Landes
Landes forest
The Landes forest or the Landes of Gascony , in the historic Gascony region of southwestern France now known as Aquitaine, is the largest maritime-pine forest in Europe...
territory in return for their fiscal and personal privileges.
When "English run" Bayonne
Bayonne
Bayonne is a city and commune in south-western France at the confluence of the Nive and Adour rivers, in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department, of which it is a sub-prefecture...
surrendered to the French in 1451, no one knowns if these "undivided status" villages within the English - Navarrese frontier, were taken by the French, too.
In the Spanish Invasion of 1636 in Labourd
Labourd
Labourd is a former French province and part of the present-day Pyrénées Atlantiques département. It is historically one of the seven provinces of the traditional Basque Country....
territories, many villages, including Ainhoa, were razed down. Later, probably because of the 1659 "Treaty of the Pyrénées
Treaty of the Pyrenees
The Treaty of the Pyrenees was signed to end the 1635 to 1659 war between France and Spain, a war that was initially a part of the wider Thirty Years' War. It was signed on Pheasant Island, a river island on the border between the two countries...
" whereby Spanish born Queen regent of France Anne of Austria
Anne of Austria
Anne of Austria was Queen consort of France and Navarre, regent for her son, Louis XIV of France, and a Spanish Infanta by birth...
with the help of Cardinal Mazarin, some sort of First Minister of France, set up the advantageous peace (for the French), besides getting also a Spanish Princess as a wife, Maria Theresa of Spain
Maria Theresa of Spain
Maria Theresa of Austria was the daughter of Philip IV, King of Spain and Elizabeth of France. Maria Theresa was Queen of France as wife of King Louis XIV and mother of the Grand Dauphin, an ancestor of the last four Bourbon kings of France.-Early life:Born as Infanta María Teresa of Spain at the...
for her son Louis XIV of France
Louis XIV of France
Louis XIV , known as Louis the Great or the Sun King , was a Bourbon monarch who ruled as King of France and Navarre. His reign, from 1643 to his death in 1715, began at the age of four and lasted seventy-two years, three months, and eighteen days...
, Ainhoa was repopulated again.
Disputes between the new settlers and the old residents concerning the use of communal land
Communal land
Communal land is a territory in possession of a community, rather than an individual or company.-Zimbabwe:...
s for cattle grazing and fodder and the access by newcomers to town hall positions, schooling, church grants, etc. had to be settled by the then autonomous Parliament of Bordeaux in the sense of having access to village privileges through money.
The Convention War of 1793 between Spain and French Republicans led quite a few the Ainhoa citizens to be included by the later in the list of "infamous" Labourd
Labourd
Labourd is a former French province and part of the present-day Pyrénées Atlantiques département. It is historically one of the seven provinces of the traditional Basque Country....
villages, together with Sare
Sare
Sare is a village in the traditional Basque province of Labourd, now a commune in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department in south-western France....
, Itxassou
Itxassou
Itxassou is a village in the traditional Basque province of Labourd, now a commune in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department in south-western France.-External links:...
and Ascain
Ascain
Ascain is a village in the traditional Basque province of Labourd, now a commune in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department in south-western France...
. They were interned as prisoniers in Capbreton
Capbreton
Capbreton is a commune of around 7500 inhabitants in the Landes department in Aquitaine in south-western France. Located at the mouth of the Boudigau and Bourret rivers, the town is situated about 40 km to the north of Biarritz.The town is a popular holiday destination for sailers, surfers,...
and there were some of their church authorities feeling death under the guillotine
Guillotine
The guillotine is a device used for carrying out :executions by decapitation. It consists of a tall upright frame from which an angled blade is suspended. This blade is raised with a rope and then allowed to drop, severing the head from the body...
.
During the retreat of the Napoleonic Army from Spain in 1813, Labourd villages were again submitted to abuse by the Confederate British and Spanish troops.
Under the German occupation of France during World War II many of these frontier villages were fully administered by German military people, but were also a way out for British soldiers, French Resistance
French Resistance
The French Resistance is the name used to denote the collection of French resistance movements that fought against the Nazi German occupation of France and against the collaborationist Vichy régime during World War II...
members and European Jews trying to reach non-belligerent Spain.
See also
- Communes of the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department
- AinhoaAinhoaAinhoa can refer to:* Ainhoa, Pyrénées-Atlantiques, France* Ainhoa, a common name for women in the Basque Country:** Ainhoa is the artistic name of Ainhoa Cantalapiedra, Spanish singer** Ainhoa Arteta, Spanish soprano.** Ainhoa Murúa, Spanish triathlete....
has become a frequent name for Basque females.