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Concept
History of Brittany
Summary
The history of Brittany may refer to the entire history of the Armorican peninsula or only to the creation and development of a specifically Brythonic culture and state in the Early Middle Ages and the subsequent history of that state.
Pre-Brythonic Armorica includes the ancient megalith cultures in the area and the Celtic tribal territories that existed before Roman rule. After the collapse of the Roman Empire, large scale migration from the British Isles led to the foundation of British colonies linked initially to homelands in Cornwall, Devon, and Wales. The various independent petty Breton states later developed into a Kingdom and then a Duchy of Brittany, before it was unified with France to become a province. After the French Revolution Brittany was abolished as an administrative unit, but continued to retain its distinctive cultural identity. Its administrative existence was reconstituted, in reduced size, as the Region of Brittany in the mid-20th century.
The history of Brittany begins with settlement beginning in prehistoric times. The neolithic era, which began around 5000 BCE, is characterised in the region by the development of an important megalithic art found in sites such as the cairn of Barnenez, the cairn of Gavrinis, the table of the Merchants of Locmariaquer or the alignments of Carnac. In the course of its protohistory which began around the middle of the third century BCE, a subsoil rich in tin allowed the development of an industry in bronze objects, which led to commercial routes for export to other regions of Europe. It was inhabited by Gallic peoples including the Veneti and the Namnetes in the first centuries BCE before these territories were conquered by Julius Caesar in 57 BCE, and progressively Romanized.
As part of Armorica since the Gallo-Roman period, Brittany developed an important maritime trade network near the ports of Nantes, Vannes, and Alet, as well as salting factories along its coasts.
Official source
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