History History

Remains of fossil fauna and flint tools as well as various habitats testify to the human occupation of hunter-gatherers, notably near the present-day site of the Pont du Gard.

The first sedentary farmers settled in the region. Transhumance was already practiced and the "drailles" were created, tracks that sheep still travel today.

The megalithic civilization was established, as shown by the numerous dolmens, menhirs and cromlechs throughout the department. Prehistoric villages were established near refuge caves

The Volques Arécomiques, a Celtic people, built buildings around a spring which they deified and to which they dedicated a sanctuary which was later called Nemausus (Nîmes). The Arécomiques extended their territory over the whole region.

In 121 B.C., under the influence of Massilia, the Volcanoes voluntarily submitted to Rome, which allowed them in exchange to keep their laws, their religion and their customs

The Roman general and proconsul Cnaeus Domitius Ahenobarbus crossed the Rhone with his legions and built the important military road that bears his name, the Via Domitia, in 118 BC. The Romans then built the Pont du Gard, the aqueduct of the city of Nîmes, and the 6 km fortified enclosure of the city. The architecture has preserved several witnesses of the Roman apogee in the Gard.

The population of Nîmes is estimated at 25,000 in the ^2nd century. In 407, barbarian invasions began again, first by the Vandals, followed by the Visigoths, who put an end to Roman prosperity in the^5th century. Nîmes was invaded by the Saracens in 752, and the Goths placed the city under the protection of the Franks.

From the ^10th century onwards, the region welcomed monastic orders from Gévaudan and Montpellier, and even from Spain. Thetroglodyte abbey of Saint-Roman dates from this period, although occupation of the site goes back much further. The priories multiplied and became hamlets and villages. This development launched the cultivation of chestnut trees.

In 1229, the Languedoc was attached to the crown of France. In 1240, the creation of Aigues-Mortes by Saint-Louis began, and he embarked from there on August 25, 1248 for the 7th crusade, and then in 1270 for the 8th.

In the 16th century, Uzès was the fifth Protestant city in France. In 1632, the Duke of Uzes was^{the first} Duke of France.

In 1629, the peace of Alais recognized the freedom of worship for Protestants, but in 1685, Louis XIV revoked the Edict of Nantes, and Protestants converted or expatriated to Europe, many to the Cevennes. The temples of the region were destroyed.

The years 1702-1710 saw the uprising of Protestant peasants and artisans, known as the War of the Cevennes or War of the Camisards. The country was put to fire and blood, especially during the first two years, which mobilized two marshals of France and 25 000 soldiers. The persecutions against the Protestants will stop in France in 1787 with the Edict of Versailles

Following a terrible winter in 1709, mulberry trees replaced the chestnut and olive trees decimated by the frost. The silk mills proliferated and the silk industry reached its peak in 1752. It made the fortune of Nîmes through weaving and hosiery

Nîmes, a European industrial center, diversified its economy with the cultivation of the vine, the transport of wine being facilitated by the railroad. The railroad facilitated the export of cotton cloth, which was worked by Lévi-Strauss and Jacob Davis in the United States and became the jeans we know today.

In Alès, the Compagnie des Mines, Fonderies et Forges d'Alès was created in 1830. Coal production increased and reached two million tons in 1912. In 1947, there were 20,000 miners in the Alès basin from all over Europe

The Gard region was the site of numerous union battles from the end of the 19th century. It also saw several Resistance cells occupy the Cevennes maquis during the^Second World War.

The pebrine, a disease of the silkworm, the opening of the Suez Canal and the appearance of synthetic materials gradually weakened silk production. In 1965, the last spinning mill closed its doors in Saint-Jean-du Gard. From 1958 onwards, competition brought down the price of coal and the Oules mine was the last to close in 1988.

The Cévennes National Park is a Unesco World Heritage Site, a sign of the region's renewal, which is now focused on the development of its various heritages.