I'm sorry this has taken so long to publish. It was such a full and wonderful day - and I didn't know which photos to use. So there are a lot of photos. It is also rather jumbled!
It's a pity we weren't staying longer in Cotiniere as there was wine on the breakfast table! And oysters - which I really didn't fancy at that time of the day
. We got away early: back across the bridge and drove around the coastline from La Tremblade south along the Cote Sauvage. It would have been a bit different in our ancestor's time, as the forest wasn't planted til the 1800s.
http://www.the-french-atlantic-coast.com/what-to-see/beaches/wild-atlantic-coast/
The coastline starts at around La Palymre, north of Royan, and stretches north-west around the point La Tremblade. As well as beaches, the Côte Sauvage is dominated by la Forêt de la Coubre, a huge pine and green oak forest that was first planted in the 19th century to stop erosion in the sea. (This description is the opposite direction to the way we drove.)
We drove through through Les Mathes to Chaillevette; then back to La Tremblade through Arvert. Over the bridge, past Marennes and stopped to explore the walled town of Brouage. Had a fantastic walk around there, despite the rain. There were a lot of people in period costume as there was a re-enactment on
.
We arrived at La Rochelle and couldn't get to our hotel as it was on the old harbour. A policeman lifted the barrier and then we had to park in a carpark and walk as there is no street parking in the old town. But it was well worth the angst! So many things going on in the harbour. There were boats everywhere; a capsized rubber dinghy; the running part of a triathlon. Then as we came back into the old harbour - vroom! A powerboat was speeding through the entrance, did a screaming U-turn before hitting the wall, and then back out. I've posted a video. Then there was the guy practicing on his flyboard. A Flyboard is a type of water jetpack/hoverboard attached to a personal water craft (PWC) which supplies propulsion to drive the Flyboard through air and water to perform a sport known as flyboarding. A Flyboard rider stands on a board connected by a long hose to a watercraft. Water is forced under pressure to a pair of boots with jet nozzles underneath which provide thrust for the rider to fly up to 15 m (49 ft) in the air or to dive headlong through the water down to 2
.5 m (8 ft)
La Rochelle - at the beginning of the 17th century, the city was a stronghold for the protestant Huguenots and there antipathy to the French king resulted in the famous Siege of La Rochelle – Cardinal Richelieu authorising a 14-month blockade to bring the city into submission; this siege in 1627 is the backdrop to much of Alexandre Dumas’ famous novel, ‘The Three Musketeers’. My Barbot family was from Isle de Re off the coast from La Rochelle.
History of Arvert.
Arvert has been inhabited since Neolithic times, the site of the present commune of Arvert was formerly limited to a narrow strip of land between two ocean bays. Although a first
village appeared in Roman times, it was only from the 12th century that it grew in importance and a monastic community was established built using a grant from the Lord of Mornac.
Shortly afterwards Arvert became an independent lordship with many parishes under its jurisdiction: those of Trembledam (now La Tremblade), Notre-Dame de l'Isle (now Étaules), Chaillevette, Les Mathes, and the parish of La Roche which no longer exists
.
In 1534 Calvin made speeches at Angoulême and Poitiers that young Saintonge monks from heard. Reform was soon preached in all of the Arvert peninsula and by 1550 the majority of the population was Protestant. In 1546 and again in 1553 a total of three monks were condemned to the stake for having preached reform in Arvert. In 1568 the church was burned and almost completely destroyed. In the same year the first Protestant church was built in the village. In 1598 the Edict of Nantes was promulgated. All means were tried to convert the Protestants. In 1644 the Protestant denomination was prohibited in Arvert.
In 1682 King Louis XIV ordered the destruction of the Protestant church. The revocation of the Edict of Nantes in 1685 accelerated the exodus of Protestants from the peninsula despite the ban on leaving France imposed on them. Fugitives were arrested and sent to the galleys. On 21 February 1687 three boats loaded with fugitives leaving Mornac, Chaillevette, and La Tremblade were immobilized by soldiers on the Seudre
. Despite the arrests, the peninsula was emptied of its people. Those who remained created an underground church they called the Church of the Desert. Clandestine meetings were held in the dunes, woods, or in barns. Jean-Louis Gibert, pastor of the Desert, fitted out the barns as "Houses of Prayer" from 1751. There were two near Arvert: one at Avallon and one at Chaillevette. In 1754 the pastor was sentenced to death and went into exile in America.
Arvert was a Barony under the ancien régime, belonging to Cardinal Richelieu before moving to the Senectère family. In 1790 Arvert was made into a commune. Shortly after a quarrel
erupted between the representatives of the communes of La Tremblade and Arvert: each trying to become the capital of the canton. For economic reasons it was La Tremblade who finally obtained that privilege. Occupied by German troops during the Second World War, the village was the scene of heavy fighting during the liberation of the Royan pocket in April 1945.
Brouage - where Dr Pierre Chaille was imprisoned in 1690
Historically an important regional centre with a wealth based around the salt industry, Brouage was the first important salt-trading town in France, and also the leading port for the salt trade - a trade employing thousands of people
.
However, the town had started to lose trade to neighbouring Rochefort by the 17th century, a decline in fortunes that came about because the port became less accessible to ships due to the receding waters, and also because during the Wars of Religion the port became blocked by sunken ships (sunk intentionally by the protestants to prevent the catholics trading).
It was at this time that Richelieu had the town fortified as an arsenal - the fortifications were built in the middle of the 17th century, and in style they are very similar to those that vauban would use to great effect a century later. The main highlight of a visit to Brouage is the military citadel and the associated ring of fortifications, including one of the substantial doorways that pass through the ramparts called the Royal Doorway (porte royale). The other original entrance is no longer visible.
It is possible to walk along the top of the ramparts, a walk of approximately two kilometres. As you walk, consider what a feat it was to build the citadel in the soft marshes, which involved first building a great platform of oak posts, and then laying a thick layer of stone on top, all held together with ironwork
.
Land of my French ancestors in the 1600s
Sunday, June 14, 2015
Chaillevette and La Rochelle, Poitou-Charentes, France
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Comments

2025-02-10
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Anne
2016-04-09
This is a wonderful post Anne. Congrats
Michelle O'Neil
2016-04-09
That was very interesting Anne. What a great adventure.
anne.nathan
2016-04-11
Thanks Anne and Michelle. I keep putting on more photos! There's only 124 to choose from.