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HISTORY OF THE MARAIS POITEVIN

Let us go back in time up the course of the earth history, to the pliocene period (-5,3 to -1,6 millions of years) more precisely. The actual area covered by the Marais occupied a jurassic plain with very little height above sea level, slowly eroded under the joined actions of violent winds blowing from the sea and the streams of numerous rivers with furrowed banks and beds.

The change of weather during the quaternary era brings in the sea water, swollen by the melting glaciers and poles to reach a fairly high level. it withdrew then, leaving behing a huge gulf with large mud covered plains interlacing with numerous fluvial ramifications and out of which stood up a line of limestone isles which were left over by the waters erosive effect.

Then, following an utmost encroachment, the sea extended until a few kilometers below the city of NIORT, where from, in continuity, appeared a zone flooded by rivers. During the paleolithic era, men have reached the edge of the gulf and settled there.

The neolithic saw men occupy many of the easiest to defend sites around which, fishing, hunting and the abundance of wood constituted major factors for human tribes to develop and live well.

The discovery in the village or IRLEAU of a magnificent polishe stone axe less than 50 centimeters under the ground ant that of many others prehistoric artefacts bring conclusive evidence of these early human settlements.

In the year 1000 AD, the sea withdrew progressively and little by little, fresh water from the rivers and streams became preponderant in what was to become the Marais.

All sorts of trees (willow trees, ash-trees, birches, hazel trees...) and varieties of plants grow all over the water soaked ground.

They did not rot easily in this zone covered with water during nine months per year, and this accumulation of organic matters created alluvial peat and this very peculiar black and clayey soil typical of the area.

Then, about 600 years A.D., the PICTON, a tribe of Celtic descent and whose name stands at the origin of the POITOU and POITIERS names, settled on the shore and on some of the islands.

During the roman invasions, many paths were cleared across some shallow waters to ford the rivers and streams, then the SCYTHES and the TEIFALES people, all roman mercenaries submissive to the Consuls' ruling, invaded progressively the Marais territory and settled there under a colonist system.

The COLLIBERTS moved in during the Middle-Age period. Their way of life statutes stood between servitude and freedom.

What is known as the Great Invasions, VIKING during the course of the 5th Century, and ARABS in the 9 th century terribly modified the heterogeneous caracters of the local populations forcing them to take a safe refuge in the wildest parts of the wet marsh, hiding in the thick reeds bushes where they could escape from a most certain death. Isolated, they thrived mostly on fishing an hunting, living in huts, often invaded by the rising waters during the winter.

Meanwhile mud keeps filling up the Gulf, and small particules of clay-dust originating from the Gironde and Loire rivers estuaries add up to this situation, brought here thru the action of ocean streams and tides. This typical phenomenon building up an advanced territorial line and still in action nowadays, has created what is called here "Le bri", a blueish type of clay-like rock enclosing many fossilized sea-shells.

Even more, in the northern part, the various rivers and streams such as the Sevre keep filling up the gulf with their own sludge and alluvions, creating improductive landscapes of no interest for the local noblemen who grant them to the Benedictine monks.

As early as the 4th century these monks built many abbeys on the banks and the islands of the Marais (Luçon, Saint Michel en l'Herm, Maillezais, Nouaille, Nieul sur l'Autize...). Toward the end of the Xth century, some attempts to drain the waters result in creating some agriculture. Later appears some canals : The Bot-Neuf (1199), The Bot de Vendée (1210), soon followed by the largest canal des Cinq Abbés, over 11 km long and linking the bay du Brault to the city of Vouillé (1217).

These works in the conquest of dry space over the water reveal two distinctive ains : to isolate the conquerred lands from the sea by means of dikes, then protect them from the over running waters coming from the rivers during the rain season by digging very large canals which drive the excess of water toward the sea.

Photo : baudet (donkey) du Poitou crossing
a "Venise Verte" waterway.

Starting these days, the hydraulic mastership belong to the men able to impose to the wet marsh around a high level of water during the rain season (protection of the dry lands) and a low level of water during the dry season (irrigation of the dry land).

The XIV and XV centuries will see these elaborated works almost completely destroyed during the "hundred years war" and the various religious wars that followed, bringing the monks efforts to almost nothing, first of all by lack of up keep of the dikes, then because of destruction by protestans fighting the catholic monks. Huguenot territory by choice, close by LA ROCHELLE, the Marais soon became a ugly battlefield where Henry IV troops often clashed with his catholic enemy.

Towards the end of the conflict, the king, juging the extend of the desaster, and assured of a certain peace over the territory, looks for people capable of rebuilding the water systems of the Marais. The local Abbeys, the lords living in and nearby, the French kingdom itself have been all weakened by the bloody struggle and Dutch people, huguenot themselves, are seeked to move down and take over the monks'work. They bring along not only their skill (the consulting engineer Humphrey Bradley will be elevated to the rank of Dikes and Canals Master of France) but also provide the necessary money.

In 1599 a royal edict give Bradley all the ways and means to act promptly : if the local landlords and owners refuse to undertake dikes constructions, he executes these works in their place but takes over half of the conquerred or protected lands.

This texte brings the local people very angry, many of them seeing in this action which has a direct link with their fishing and hunting rights, an absolute interference in their ways of life. Some of threm decide to destroy the dikes, slowing down the Dutch enterprise in these acts of sabotage.

The dutch plans and works showed a more accurate geometrical rigor, in particular in the Brault Bay, connected with the sea, where some lock-gates where buil for a while.

Following Henry IV murder and the death of Bradley, most of the projects stood unachieved because of new rebels uprisings. Pierre SIETTE, appointed royal engineer by Louis XIII, started the works anew thanks to appropriate financial laws.

Even if the Edit de Nantes blocked again this gigantic enterprise, it kept going supported by donation coming from local landowners and Lords, and this despite of the progressive departure of Dutch people and their money. Even more, in order to maintain the working people on the spot, very large villages and commons were created, with large fodders used by everyone. Small houses are progressively built on the dikes.

Towards the end of the 17th century, the dry marsh looks alike as it is nowadays, when the wet marsh will keep as wild as ever until the end of the 18 th century, all the works logique residing in the fact that it appeared necessary to dry first the land close to the Ocean, on the west side of the region.

As far as the Eastern part, concerning the so called wet marsh, during a very long period, most higher officials will keep saying that these lands were a perfect nest for illnesses, poverty, not to say a dangerous stronghold for the local thieves and murderers in the hide.

However, it is quite understandable that it was a lot more convinient to settle in the dry marsh were the various crops and breedings were easier to take car off, compared with the wilderness and the bush which caracterized the wet marsh, less productive indeed, as long as important and expensive works would not be indertaken.

In this isolated area dominated by water, only huts made of reed and poor shanties built with rough sones could be seen, standing in the middle of modest and polyvalent cultivations well adapted to the environment.

Needless to say that hunting and fishing were good complements to local produce (beans, haricot beans, flax and hemp) raised on the merging partches of land and earth ups, planted with trees (ash-tree for burning wood, alder for wooden works such as barrels and clogs, water willows and osier).

The people living here are very independant and do not appear as an unfortunate lot, the local churches registers showing this population is more important in number than people thriving in the dry land.

During the 19th century, after numerous appeals from officials, the state decide to start again the water works in the wet marsh, even though the dry marsh sees its development still in effect, in particular in an area called "Recent Polders". Its Napoleon's decision and its corps of engineers to reactivate the unachieved enterprise started a long time ago in the wet marsh.

Specific laws concerning land drying processus and dikes building are in effect as soon as September 16th 1807. On the 29 th of May 1808 an imperial ordinance regulates all constructions liable to interfere with the perfect flow of the waters and with the inland navigation on the waterways. The small damps used to hold and secure fishing nets are particularly concerned. Even more, the same ordinance authorises the supply with water of the dry marsh using sixteen newly built bungs holes.

More projects will soon allow better crops and make easier the navigation on the canals by reducing the flow of water during the floods. Most of them will realized under Louis Philippe reign with the August 24th 1833 ordinance which creater 3 distinctive syndicates in the wet marsh (one for each department). These water syndicates are composed of all the landlords forced to establish and survey all works and charges. Huge canals will be dug up such as the ones in La Garette or on the Mignon river. They are called "grandes rigoles".

The state assumes most of the public works : canalization of the Autize river (1833), widening of the Sablon and Nouveau Bejou canals (1836) digging out of the lower part of the Mignon stream bed and cleaning of the Sevre river, between the Autize and Bazoin (1844). All theses changes bring new rules or laws as far as the maintenance ot the waterways is concerned : each landowner will take care of the small ditches, and the local communities will be in charge of the smaller canals, while larger canals will depend of a specific syndicate or directly placed under the supervsor of the French State. Soon dams will have to be built to regulate the flow of all the major waterways to maintain of good level of water during the summer time. Eight will be set on the Sevre river, 4 on the Mignon.

In the year 1862, a public work engineer called Mr. Evrard starts a new project on the river Sevre, which bed will be widened and deepened to ensure a maximum flow. However this measure will not prevent the dry marshes to suffer the effects of a crucial flood in 1872. Many other attempts to regulate the flow of water will take place, consisting mostly in widening the beds of the Sevre, the Sablon canal and the Fosse du Loup.

Slowly these works will result in a better use of the wet marshes lands. Many trees are planted, such as poplars, timbers, american poplars from Virginia and Carolina which will soon give birth to a specific tree called Blanc du Poitou, a true clone.

Gradualy the original reed-beds give place to green pasture and market garden cultures to include the now famous "Mojette", a long white bean. During the course of the century, land values rises and is soon multiplied by ten. But all these changes will not prevent the floods in particular during spring time, most of them catastrophic for marlset garden cultures.

This phenomenoum is caused by some difficulties encountered during the hydraulic works, most of them specific to the wet marsches : disproportion between the huge over flouring drainage basin and the smaller receiving lands, a very week fall (only 8 meters between Niort and Marans), the blocking of the outflow of water by landlords in the dry marsh who intend to prevent flooding over their lands, not to mention the too short duration of the water flow to the sea (12 hours per day, because of the lock-gates).

So in 1933 an hydraulic engineer called GLASSER present a new project : creation of two distinct and independent systems : one, called High water network will handle the flow of water toward the sea, the other, called Low water network, will take care of the water in the wet marsh.

Rejected at first, the project will be reconsidered and slightly modified by Mr TALLUREAU in 1965, who wishes to transform the l'Aiguillon Bay into a huge fresh water reservoir. Using pumps, the water would be then returned up stream, then abolishing the natural function of the wet marshes. All these gigantic projects will soon prove to be useless, if not scandalous, considering that their very high costs would not match with the results obtained. Therefore, the wet marshes will remain wet.

During this period, and despite of many attemps by land development engineers or by local farmers the wet marshes slowly declines, unable to be properly adapted to a specific planning of "industrial" cultivation. Many tractors, accidentaly fallen in the water or bogged in the peaty ground were the victims of a dooned rise.

Actually wood production and local tourism seen to be the best answer for the wet marsh future.

At last, an important date is to be mentioned : on January 3rd 1979, was created the Marais Poitevin Nature Regional Park, decision which brings high consideration to the exceptional quality of this site and the many problems it involves. Let us hope this wise decision will soon bring a brighter future on this land and its economy.

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EMBARCADERE DU MARAIS BAZOIN
BATEAUX Jacques RENAUD
Canal du Mignon
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Fax : 33 (0) 5.46.27.88.98.
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Previous pageHISTORY OF THE MARAIS POITEVIN

Photo : baudet (donkey) du Poitou crossinga "Venise Verte" waterway.

Starting these days, the hydraulic mastership belong to the men able to impose to the wet marsh around a high level of water during the rain season (protection of the dry lands) and a low level of water during the dry season (irrigation of the dry land).

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Previous page

HISTORY OF THE MARAIS POITEVIN

Photo : baudet (donkey) du Poitou crossing
a "Venise Verte" waterway.