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27-698: Prior to the Treaty of the Pyrenees in 1659, most of the present department was part of the former Principality of Catalonia , within the Crown of Aragon , therefore part of the Monarchy of Spain , so the majority of it has historically been Catalan-speaking , and it is still referred to as Northern Catalonia . The modern department was created early during the French Revolution on 9 February 1790 under

54-445: A Spanish exclave surrounded by French territory. The most populous commune is Perpignan , the prefecture, home to about a quarter of the inhabitants of Pyrénées-Orientales. As of 2019, there are 7 communes with more than 10,000 inhabitants: They are followed in decreasing order by Pia , Elne , Rivesaltes , Thuir , Céret , Le Soler , Bompas , Toulouges , Canohès and Prades , each of 6–10,000 inhabitants. Pyrénées-Orientales

81-661: A factor that eventually led to the War of Devolution in 1667. At the Meeting on the Isle of Pheasants in June 1660, the two monarchs and their ministers met, and the princess entered France. In addition, the English received Dunkirk , although they elected to sell it to France in 1662. The Treaty of the Pyrenees was the last major diplomatic achievement by Cardinal Mazarin. Combined with

108-625: Is a wine -growing area and a tourist destination. The city of Perpignan (122,000 inhabitants) brings together more than a quarter of it alone, and more than half with its suburbs. It is the only important town, and only the towns of Canet-en-Roussillon , Saint-Estève , Saint-Cyprien , Argelès-sur-Mer , Cabestany and Saint-Laurent-de-la-Salanque exceed 10,000 inhabitants. Other important towns are Rivesaltes , Bompas , Pia , Thuir , Céret , Elne , Le Soler , Prades and Toulouges , each with between 6,500 and 10,000 inhabitants. The arrondissement of Perpignan , with 289,110 inhabitants in 2020,

135-650: Is historically Occitan-speaking. The five Catalan-speaking comarques were historically part of the Kingdom of Majorca . The département is managed by the Departmental Council of Pyrénées-Orientales in Perpignan . The Pyrénées-Orientales is part of the region of Occitanie . The Departmental Council of Pyrénées-Orientales is more and more involved with the European Union to create, together with

162-441: Is the one with the most inhabitants in the department. Indeed, the other two, the arrondissements of Céret and Prades , have respectively 133,405 inhabitants and 60,250 inhabitants. The distribution by age groups shows a relatively high number of people aged 60 and over (29% of the population compared to 21.3% for the whole of France ). This aging of the population results in a mortality rate higher than that of births. However,

189-739: The Basque region — Baztan , Aldude , Valcarlos . Spain was forced to recognize and confirm all of the French gains at the Peace of Westphalia. In exchange for the Spanish territorial losses, the French king pledged to quit his support for Portugal and renounced his claim to the Principality of Catalonia , which the French crown had claimed ever since the Catalan Revolt, also known as

216-573: The Franco-Spanish War that had begun in 1635. Negotiations were conducted and the treaty was signed on Pheasant Island , situated in the middle of the Bidasoa River on the border between the two countries, which has remained a French-Spanish condominium ever since. It was signed by Louis XIV of France and Philip IV of Spain , as well as their chief ministers, Cardinal Mazarin and Don Luis Méndez de Haro . France entered

243-684: The Generalitat of Catalonia and Andorra , a Eurodistrict . The Departmental Council of Pyrénées-Orientales has 34 seats. In the 2015 departmental elections , the Socialist Party (PS) won 17 seats, The Republicans (LR) won 12 seats and the French Communist Party (PCF) won 5 seats. Hermeline Malherbe-Laurent (PS) has been President of the Departmental Council since 2010. Pyrénées-Orientales elected

270-702: The Netherlands from Austria , and leading to an increase in hostilities between the French and Spanish. An Anglo-French alliance was victorious at the Battle of the Dunes on 14 June 1658, but the following year the war ground to a halt when the French campaign to take Milan was defeated. Peace was settled by means of the Treaty of the Pyrenees in November 1659. France gained Roussillon (including Perpignan ) and

297-563: The Peace of Westphalia , it allowed Louis XIV remarkable stability and diplomatic advantage by means of a weakened Louis, Grand Condé and a weakened Spanish Crown, along with the agreed dowry, which was an important element in the French king's strategy. All in all, by 1660, when the Swedish occupation of Poland was over, most of the European continent was at peace (though the third stage of

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324-733: The Portuguese Restoration War would soon begin), and the Bourbons had ended the dominance of the Habsburgs . In the Pyrenees, the treaty resulted in the establishment of border customs and restriction of the free cross-border flow of people and goods. The treaty also settled indefinitely the century and half long litigation over the Kingdom of Navarre , while the dispute over the Aldudes remained in place still throughout

351-692: The Pyrenees mountain range –from north to south, those of the Agly , Têt and Tech – and the eastern Plain of Roussillon into which they converge. Most of the population and agricultural production are concentrated in the plain, with only 30% of the area. There is one water reservoir at Lac de Matemale . There is also a lake, Casteilla . It is one of the rare French departments (with the Alpes-Maritimes , Pyrénées-Atlantiques , Aude and Corsica ) which allow their inhabitants and tourists to enjoy both

378-569: The Reapers' War . The Portuguese revolt in 1640, led by the Duke of Braganza, was supported monetarily by Cardinal Richelieu of France. After the Catalan Revolt, France had controlled the Principality of Catalonia from January 1641, when a combined Catalan and French force defeated the Spanish army at Battle of Montjuïc , until it was defeated by a Spanish army at Barcelona in 1652. Though

405-841: The Thirty Years' War after the Spanish Habsburg victories in the Dutch Revolt in the 1620s and at the Battle of Nördlingen against Sweden in 1634. By 1640, France began to interfere in Spanish politics, aiding the revolt in Catalonia , while Spain responded by aiding the Fronde revolt in France in 1648. During the negotiations for the Peace of Westphalia in 1648, France gained the Sundgau and cut off Spanish access to

432-525: The War of the Roussillon . During the nineteenth century, Pyrénées-Orientales proved one of the most consistently republican departments in France. The intellectual and republican politician François Arago , who, during the early months of the short-lived Second Republic in 1848, was briefly de facto Head of state , came from Estagel in the east of the department. Pyrénées-Orientales has an area of 4,115 km. It consists of three river valleys in

459-530: The mountains and the sea . The upper Têt valley comprises the departments westernmost third, with just over a tenth of the total population. To the south-east, the Tech valley and the Côte Vermeille contain nearly 100,000 inhabitants. The Agly basin in the north-east has much in common with neighboring areas of Aude. Llívia is a town of Cerdanya , province of Girona , Catalonia , Spain , that forms

486-473: The 18th century. In the context of the territorial changes involved in the treaty, France gained some territory, on both its northern and southern borders. Rivesaltes Rivesaltes ( French pronunciation: [ʁivzalt] ; Catalan : Ribesaltes , which means the high shores ) is a commune in the Pyrénées-Orientales department in southern France . Rivesaltes

513-411: The Spanish army reconquered most of Catalonia, the French retained Catalan territory north of the Pyrenees. The treaty also arranged for a marriage between Louis XIV of France and Maria Theresa of Spain , the daughter of Philip IV of Spain . Maria Theresa was forced to renounce her claim to the Spanish throne, in return for a monetary settlement as part of her dowry . This settlement was never paid,

540-486: The following members of the National Assembly during the 2022 legislative election : The cuisine of Pyrénées-Orientales draws naturally from the historical Catalan presence in the area, so dishes like paella , caragols a la llauna and calçots are prevalent in the restaurants, especially at important dates such as the various saints' feast days and cultural festivals. The area is famous for its wine with

567-489: The name of Roussillon , also the name of the pre- Revolutionary province of Roussillon to which it almost exactly corresponds, although the department also includes Fenouillèdes , a small piece of territory which had formerly been on the southern edge of Languedoc . The name therefore changed, on 26 February 1790, to Pyrénées-Orientales . Invaded by Spain in April 1793, the area was recaptured thirteen months later during

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594-459: The northern half of Cerdanya , Montmédy and other parts of Luxembourg , Artois and other towns in Flanders , including Arras , Béthune , Gravelines and Thionville , and a new border with Spain was fixed at the Pyrenees. However, the treaty stipulated only that all "villages" north of the Pyrenees should become part of France. Because it was a town, Llívia , once the capital of Cerdanya,

621-537: The population and understood by an additional 21%. On 10 December 2007, the Departmental Council of Pyrénées-Orientales recognized Catalan as a regional language of the department, though French is still the only official language in France, according to the Constitution. The area is traditionally divided into comarques , of which five ( French Cerdagne , Capcir , Conflent , Roussillon and Vallespir ) are historically Catalan-speaking and one ( Fenouillèdes )

648-471: The population has been increasing steadily for several decades thanks to a clearly positive migratory balance. The department particularly attracts retirees thanks to its pleasant climate, which contributes to both the increase in the population and its aging. Population development since 1793: French is spoken by almost the entire population. Minority languages in the region are Catalan and Occitan , which between them are estimated to be spoken by 34% of

675-419: The predominantly red grape varieties grown all over the department, regional specialities such as muscat de Rivesaltes and Banyuls are sold everywhere in the department. The geography of the area leads to a distinct divide in the cuisine of P-O. The mountainous area to the south has dishes using ingredients that grow naturally there, products such as olives and goat's cheese . Fish are also very popular in

702-563: The region, with Collioure being famous for its anchovies . However, fishing has declined due to the overall reduction of the fish stock in the Mediterranean sea. Places of interest include: Pyrénées-Orientales has two notable sports teams: USA Perpignan (rugby union) and Catalans Dragons (rugby league). Treaty of the Pyrenees The Treaty of the Pyrenees was signed on 7 November 1659 and ended

729-494: Was thus unintentionally exempted from the treaty and became a Spanish exclave as part of the comarca of Baixa Cerdanya , in the Spanish province of Girona . This border was not properly settled until the Treaty of Bayonne was signed in 1856, with its final acts accepted 12 years later. On the western Pyrenees a definite borderline was drawn and decisions made as to the politico-administrative affiliation of bordering areas in

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