History History

The construction of megaliths is estimated to have taken place at this time, with the menhir alignments in the Carnac region remaining the site with the largest concentration of megaliths ever discovered.

We still owe them a lot of the unique atmosphere of the region, its preserved language, its songs, its legends: this is the time when the Celts occupied Brittany. In the current Morbihan, it is more precisely the tribe of the Venetians which is installed. This people of navigators developed trade with Great Britain. Their name is at the origin of the name of Vannes, the current capital of the department.

After many attempts, the Venetians were finally defeated in the open sea by the Roman armies of Julius Caesar and the region gradually gave way to Gallo-Roman rule.

This was the beginning of the collapse of the Roman Empire, which ended in 476, in the face of the barbarian invasions.

The Armorican peninsula, of which the present Morbihan is a part, was conquered by the Bretons of the island of Brittany, i.e. of present-day Great Britain. Christianity was gradually established at this time, and Saint Patern, of Gallo-Roman origin, became the first bishop of Vannes around 465.

Waroch is the first proven Breton leader whose name is known. Bro Waroch, the "Land of Waroch", which then becomes Broërec, corresponds more or less to the Morbihan we know. Vannes is the capital. There followed a period of pressure from the Franks, who occupied Gaul, and against whom the Bretons defended their independence.

Nominoë was first the count of Vannes, before being named duke of the whole of Brittany by Charlemagne's son, Louis the Pious, in 831. He then engaged in a decisive battle for the independence of Brittany against the Franks, won in 845 near Redon. It was in 848 that the independence of Brittany and the sovereignty of Nominoë were consecrated during a ceremony. Nominoë died in 851, his son Erispoë took over and became the first to obtain the title of king of Brittany. This monarchy reached its peak with Solomon, Erispoë's cousin, whom he had murdered, and then declined when he was defeated in his turn in 874.

Alain the Great, Count of Vannes, defeated the Normans at Questembert and in turn became King of the Bretons. At that time, independent Brittany was referred to as a "duchy". This was the beginning of the long tradition of the Dukes of Brittany.

Near Sarzeau is built one of the most emblematic residences of the Dukes of Brittany.

The death of John III the Good, Duke of Brittany without a direct heir, marked the beginning of a war of succession between the Montforts, supported by the English, and the Blois, supported by the King of France. The present-day Morbihan was then very much affected by the fighting, in Auray, Vannes, Ploërmel and Hennebont. Jean de Montfort finally won in 1364.

The Duchess Anne was the last sovereign of the independent Duchy of Brittany. Forced to marry King Charles VIII, then Louis XII, she is also Queen of France, which leads to the rapprochement of Brittany and France. Her daughter became the wife of François I and the queen of France. Anne of Brittany is known for having made the ermine a regional symbol. It is said that she was seduced by this small animal with its immaculate coat, which she saw refusing to soil itself by crossing a pond under pressure from hunters, and thus preferred death to the loss of its dignity! A characteristic that would have enthused the Duchess to the point of making the animal an emblem, still present on the Breton flag and many buildings.

It was in Vannes that the rapprochement between Brittany and France took shape during the meeting of the Estates of Brittany, under François I. The region negotiated the maintenance of its privileges, and in particular kept its own parliament, and its judicial and fiscal service.

Jean-Baptiste Colbert, then Minister of Finance of Louis XIV, founded the Compagnie des Indes to face rival commercial expeditions such as the English and Dutch companies. The idea was to establish French power overseas, to make discoveries in the field of naturopathy and to bring back spices from Eastern countries, mainly from India, as well as textiles, especially cotton. The port of Lorient (first called "l'Orient") was quickly chosen as the Company's base. The Company prospered for a century, and the Royal Navy settled in Lorient to manufacture its ships.

In spite of a certain prestige, the Compagnie des Indes finally gave in to the threatening competition from the English, which led the French colony to its downfall, and then the port of Lorient to decadence. But the port would remain, for the following centuries, marked by the activities linked to international trade, navigation and fishing!

The French Revolution began, closely followed by the Chouannerie, which pitted the royalists of western France against the republicans, including the Breton Association, which was determined to defend the monarchy and the privileges of the region. Among the major Chouans leaders, the Morbihan Georges Cadoudal fought firmly to defend the beliefs of those opposed to the republic and Napoleon Bonaparte, and enjoyed great recognition from his supporters. He was finally among the royalists guillotined in Paris on 25 June 1804.

The limits of Morbihan are fixed by decree during the French Revolution.

Napoleon Bonaparte played a considerable role in the evolution of the territory, by developing the port of Lorient which became an important maritime stronghold in France, as well as Port-Louis. He also contributed to the modernization of the town of Pontivy, renamed for the occasion "Napoleonville", and which he conceived as a strategic economic and commercial place. He also initiated the construction of the Nantes-Brest canal. The department became industrialized and developed, and seaside tourism began to appear around 1853.

Arrival of the train in the department.

The two world wars deeply affected Morbihan, which mourned many dead. A memorial is dedicated to them in Sainte-Anne-d'Auray, as well as a national necropolis gathering more than 2,000 soldiers who died during the two conflicts. In Saint-Marcel, in the Landes de Lanvaux, there is now a museum of the Breton Resistance, on the site of a powerful maquis of the Second World War, which was instrumental in the liberation of the region.

These successive dates saw the creation of the region of Brittany and its departments: Morbihan, Finistère, Côtes d'Armor and Ille-et-Vilaine.