THE Vendee

THE VENDEE is a large département (or county) about the size of Devon or Cumbria located on the French Atlantic coast, just south of Brittany and Nantes, and north of La Rochelle. Its position, within 2 to 5 hours of the various western ferry ports, makes the area an easy day's journey from Britain and Ireland. The population, according to the 1999 census, is 540,000.

The name "Vendée" is taken from that of a river that runs through the south-east of the département. After crossing the forest of Mervent it flows through the town of Fontenay-le-Comte, which used to be the capital of Bas-Poitou - the county's name was changed to Vendée after the French Revolution of 1789 (see History page) - until Napoleon decided his soldiers could keep the Vendeans in order more easily from La Roche-sur-Yon. The river meanders on through the marshes to meet the Sevre Niortaise, and turns west to meet the sea in the bay known as the Anse de l'Aiguillon.

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