Marseille, Provence - France

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December 15th 1993

Published: November 15th 2006

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Marseille

Marseille, Provence - France

Dec 15, 1993

*City official name :Marseille
*Founded date :
*Location :ProvenceProvince
*Elavation :? ft (? m)
*Area :Approximately ? square miles (? km²).
*Facts :Marseille is the second largest city in France and the third metropolitan area, with 1,516,340 inhabitants at the 1999 census. Located in the former province of Provence and on the Mediterranean Sea, it is France's largest commercial port. It is considered the Provençale capital, one of the Occitan capitals of Occitania and France. Marseille is also the capital of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur région, as well as the préfecture (capital) of the Bouches-du-Rhône département.

Marseille was founded in 600 BC by Greeks from Phocaea as a trading port under the name Μασσαλία (Massalia; see also List of traditional Greek place names) Massalia was the first Greek port in Western Europe and grew to a population of over 1000 and the first settlement given city status in France. Facing an opposing alliance of the Etruscans, Carthage and the Celts, the Greek colony allied itself with the expanding Roman Republic for protection. The association with the expanding Roman market saw the city thrive by acting as a link between the interior

Marseille

Marseille, Provence - France

of Gaul, hungry for Roman goods and wine (of which Massilia was steadily exporting by 500 B.C.) , and Rome's insatiable slave markets. Under this arrangement the city maintained its independence until the rise of Julius Caesar, when it joined the losing side (Pompey) in civil war, and lost its independence in 49 BC.

It was the site of a siege and naval battle in which the fleet was confiscated by the Roman authorities During the Roman times the city was called Massilia. It was the home port of Pytheas. Most of the archaeological remnants of the original Greek settlement were replaced by later Roman additions.

Marseille thrived as a Roman trading port. Evidence of its growth and wealth are reflected in the fact that Marseilles was the first town of France to have an official public sewer system. During the Roman era, the city was controlled by a directory of 15 selected “first” among 600 senators. Three of them had the preeminence and the essence of the executive power. The city's laws amongst other things forbid the drinking of wine by women and allowed by vote of the 600, assistance to allow a person to commit suicide.

Marseille

Marseille, Provence - France

With the decline of the Roman empire the town reverted to the hands of the Gauls, eventually following suit with much of France under the power of the Franks. Emperor Charlemagne and the Carolingian dynasty granted civic power to Marseille which remained a major French trading port until the medieval period. The city regained much of its wealth and trading power when it was revived in the 10th century by the counts of Provence. In 1347 the city suffered terribly at the hands of the great plague - estimates place the dead at 50,000 of the cities 90,000 inhabitants. As a major port, it is believed the settlement was one of the first and most dramatically affected French settlements by the plague. The citys fortunes declined further when it was sacked and pillaged by the Aragonese in 1423.

Marseille soon revived its population and trading status in the Mediterranean and in 1437, the Count of Provence Rene of Anjou, who succeeded his father Louis II of Anjou, as King of Sicily and Duke of Anjou, arrived in Marseille and established as Frances most fortified settlement outside of Paris. He helped raise the status of the town to a

Marseille

Marseille, Provence - France

city and allowed certain privileges to be granted to it. Marseille was then used by Duke of Anjou as a strategic maritime base to reconquer his kingdom of Sicily.

King Rene, who wished to equip the entrance of the port with a solid defence, decided to build on the ruins of the old tower Maubert and to establish a series of ramparts guarding the harbour. Jean Pardo, engineer, conceived the plans and Jehan Robert, mason of Tarascon, carried out the work. The construction of the new city defences took place between 1447 and 1453. The trading in Marseille also flourished in this term as the Guild began to establish a position of power within the merchants of the city. Notably Rene also founded the Corporation of Fisherman.

Marseille became a part of France in the 1480s but soon acquired a reputation for rebelling against the central government. The local population enthusiastically embraced the Revolution, and sent 500 volunteers to defend Paris in 1792 whilst at the same time sung what is now France's national anthem La Marseillaise. During the eighteenth centuries the Ports defences were improved and Marseille became more important as Frances leading military port in the

Marseille

Marseille, Provence - France

Mediterranean. In 1773, Jean-baptiste Grosson, royal notary wrote from 1770 to 1791 the historical Almanac of Marseilles entitled “Collection of antiquities and Marseilles monuments which can interest the history and arts”. The book documented the buildings and history of Marseille for the first time in any serious detail.

During the nineteenth century the city was the site of industrial innovations and manufacturing growth. The rise of the French Empire and the conquests of France since 1830 (especially Algeria) stimulated the maritime trade and raised the prosperity of the city. This can be still seen today in both the old port and the train station, where massive monuments record the conquest of North Africa and Indochina by the French, culminating in a massive arch. Maritime opportunities also increased with the opening of a vast canal in 1869.

During the twentieth century Marseilles celebrated its trading status and 'port of the empire' status through the colonial exposures of 1906 and 1922. In 1934 Alexander I of Yugoslavia arrived at the port to meet with the French foreign minister Louis Barthou. He was assassinated there by Vlada Georgieff. During World War Two Marseille was bombed by the Germans and the Italians

Marseille

Marseille, Provence - France

in 1940. The city was occupied by Germans and over one third of the old quarter of the city was destroyed in a massive clearance project, aimed to reduce opportunities for resistance members to hide and operate in the densely populated old buildings. After the war much of the city was rebuilt during the 1950s.

During the late twentieth century, the city served as an entrance port for millions of immigrants in France, hundreds of thousands of which came in 1962 from Algeria. Many immigrants stayed and have given the city a vibrant African quarter with a large market/bazaar.

After the oil crisis of 1973 and an economic downturn, Marseille became a haven for crime and high levels of poverty. In recent decades things have improved dramatically, through plans from the AT in Paris and funds from the EU, the city has developed a modern and advanced economy based on high technology manufacturing, oil refining and service sector employment. In terms of recent social history, Marseille has served as the home of the new right and the National Front. Because of high levels of unemployment and a large immigration population, Marseille is home to a large population of