Abbeville

Abbeville is a city in the Picardie région, in the north of France.

History

Abbeville first appears in history during the 9th century. At that time belonging to the abbey of St Riquier, it was afterwards governed by the Counts of Ponthieu. Together with that county, it came into the possession of the Alençon and other French families, and afterwards into that of the house of Castile, from whom by marriage it fell in 1272 to King Edward I of England. French and English were its masters by turns till 1435 when, by the treaty of Arras, it was ceded to the Duke of Burgundy. In 1477 it was annexed by King Louis XI of France, and was held by two illegitimate branches of the royal family in the 16th and 17th centuries, being in 1696 reunited to the crown.

Related Topics:
9th century - Abbey - St Riquier - Counts of Ponthieu - Alençon - Castile - 1272 - Edward I of England - 1435 - Treaty of Arras - Duke of Burgundy - 1477 - Louis XI of France - 1696

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Abbeville was fairly important in the 18th century, when the Van Robais Royal Manufacture (one of the first major factories in France) brought great prosperity (but some class controversy) to the town. Voltaire, among others, wrote about it. He also wrote about a major incident of intolerance in which a young impoverished lord, the Chevalier de la Barre, was executed there for impiety (supposedly because he did not salute a procession for Corpus Christi, though the story is far more complex than that and revolves around a mutilated cross.)

Related Topics:
18th century - Voltaire - Chevalier de la Barre - Salute - Corpus Christi

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Historical population:

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

:1901: 18,519

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

:1906: 18,971

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~