History – Bordeaux Expats

The Battle of Castillon

Mike Foster — Sat, 16 Jul 2011 10:31:00 +0000

The History

The year is 1453 and the Battle of Castillon seals the end of the Hundred Years War. For 3 centuries, Alienor’s Aquitaine belonged to the English Crown and helped to establish the authority of the King of France.

The fall of Constantinople by the Turks put an end to the Christians’ presence in the East and the last byzantin artists or scientists took refuge in Italy.

Gutemberg, who invented the mainstream printing, was therefore at the beginning of an imprecedented cultural revolution. History was now accessible to the majority and enabled knowledged to spread.

Historians agree to consider this period as the end of the Middle Ages…

The Show

Performed on a natural arena encompassing 17 acres, within firing range of the original battle ground, 800 volunteers, including 500 actors and 50 horseback riders, re-enact the Battle of Castillon.

The two captivating hours, filled with stunts, special effects and explosive expertise are combined with the everyday life of the Middle Ages, rural scenes set in a farm or an inn or by the well, scenes from the grape harvest, shooting parties and market day with street sellers and a travelling dentist!

It is performed, as the producer Éric Le Collen says, “With the precision of the cinema, the sensitivity of the theatre and the dimension of the opera.”

When: 22, 23, 29, 30 July
4, 5 7, 11, 12, 13 August (Show starts at 10.30pm)
Where: Castillon-la-Bataille, 33350 (50km from Bordeaux)
Cost: Adults – €22; Kids (5 to 12 yrs) €9

http://www.batailledecastillon.com/

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Cockleshell Heroes Revisited

Chris Tighe — Wed, 31 May 2017 04:25:00 +0000

A truly exceptional event is taking place on the Gironde at the moment to mark the 75th anniversary of the 1942 Cockleshell heroes.

A group of veterans and amputee servicemen are re-enacting the daring 1942 raid by canoeing from Pauillac to Bordeaux.

The lads who carried out Operation Frankton

Major ‘Blondie’ Haslar and Captain Stewart in a Cockle Mark 2 canoe c.1943, a canoe of the same type used in the raid on Bordeaux in December 1942 (courtesy of http://ww2today.com)

It was organised by Sarah Holmes who’s uncle was one of the original commandos who carried out the mission. The group organised the trip, finishing tomorrow in honour of the fallen of WWII and to “provide a demanding, confidence-building excursion for severely-injured serving soldiers and veterans”.

Mike Witt, CEO of the charity said: “Our lads and lasses will receive no special treatment – it’s a hardcore, gruelling trip designed to commemorate and highlight the sacrifice of so many“.

A visit to the memorial at the entrance to the Garonne

“I got 10 stones from the Southsea Cockleshell Memorial (with permission) and have one for each man. Dropping 2 a day…..”

All money raised will go to the Pilgrim Bandits charity, established by a small group of Special Forces veterans in 2007 with the sole aim of using our unique training and experience to help and inspire wounded soldiers to live life to the full. Their mission is to inspire children and young people by working with schools and care centres as well as funding research to push scientific and engineering advances into prosthetic limbs.

The team started started the ‘raid’ on Monday and will finish in Bordeaux tomorrow.

To see the memorial plaque get down to H14 on the quais (there is a memorial service with the Bordeaux British Community around November 30th each year…). To see a life-size replica of one of the canoes used during the raid get along to the Jean Moulin museum in Bordeaux.

To go to the Facebook site click here

To see a documentary of the Operation Frankton click here

To read the Invisible Bordeaux article click here

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Bordeaux – Rum Capital of France

Mike Foster — Sat, 22 Sep 2018 04:53:49 +0000

As the city warms up for its first ever official rum festival in December, Bordeaux Expats takes a look into the astonishing history of the Bordeaux rum industry.

Forget about wine, for nearly 100 years Bordeaux was renowned as one of the world epicentres of the rum trade! Cheers!

by Chris Tighe

A brief history of French rum

In 1755, Marie Brizard started producing an anisette that quickly became a smash hit nationwide. They then brought out a highly aromatic blended rum called Charleston which contained “20% of ‘great Galleon aroma’ from Martinique or rum from Jamaica” – the rum industry in France was born.

Rum had been popular in French Caribbean (Antilles) throughout the 18th century, particularly with the upper classes. However, its import and sale was banned in France for fear of competition with the wine and domestic alcohol trade. This didn’t stop the smuggling of guildive (an early name for rum – from the English name ‘kill devil’ given to all sugar cane alcohol from the Caribbean) to mainland France and there are reports that it was already consumed in various Parisian cafés in the 1790’s as the fashionable “punch au rhum”.

The revolution brought changes in the sugar (and therefore rum) economy – slavery temporarily disappeared, Haiti became independent and beet sugar appeared in Europe. In 1819 Martinique exported 7 times less rum than before the revolution… Even up to the middle of the 1800s, import levels into France were extremely low.

However, in just a few short years in the 1850s, rum imports skyrocketed and Bordeaux established itself as France’s rum capital. A trade that supplanted the wine industry and played a major role in the economic development of the city.

Bordeaux’s economic backdrop

Bordeaux saw a significant economic revival in the second half of the 19th century ‘grand époque’. Over a few decades, a range of new industrial activities sprung up – from heavy chemistry to agri-food, metallurgy and automobile manufacture (notably with Ford opening its first European operation here – and still operating just about in Blanquefort to this day).

For more on the history of Bordeaux as a port city, click here

The port also saw the rapid modernisation of its infrastructure. Vertical docks were built around 1850; these were followed by the Bassins à flots, the ‘quais‘ and the use of steam cranes. The port flourished thanks to the emerging markets offered by the new countries of Latin America, cod (with a sizeable cod industry based in Bacalan (from the Portuguese Bacalao), and later in Begles), and the export of wood from the Landes – there was also a booming trade in sugar cane rum.

Bordeaux played a pivotal role in the history of trade with the Antilles and was France’s principal Caribbean trade port. From slavery to exports of local products (including diminished wine quantities, beer from the brasserie de l’Atlantique, and shoes, hats, clothes, agricultural tools and tinned foods) across Africa and worldwide colonies, the city was an international import-export hub – a huge and diverse range of tropical products passed through, from bananas to cocoa, coffee, rice, cereals, tropical wood, rubber (from Indochina) etc… Bordeaux was also a major import centre for West Indian sugar and had 35 sugar refineries in 1840. It also had a well-established trade infrastructure of negotiating houses, dealers and merchants.

A rum explosion

The dramatic expansion of the rum trade is down to several factors. In 1854 a decree was passed removing prohibition and customs duty on all alcohol of foreign and colonial origin. Alcohol consumption was also on the rise – from 1820 to 1880 the average adult consumption more than quadrupled – with industrialization and particularly among the working classes.

This rise also coincided with the Great French Wine Blight caused by grape phylloxera aphids as well as oidium mildew which decimated many of the vineyards in France and laid waste the wine industry.

To find out more about the history of the Bordeaux wine industry, click here

There was also a sugar cane shortage which pushed many of the Caribbean rum producers to move to autonomous operations and the ‘industrialisation’ of rum production. This meant that much larger quantities could be produced and exported to France!

The birth of Rhum Agricole…

In 1870, sugarcane accounted for 57% of Martinique arable lands. Sugar prices plunged heavily due to worldwide over production and the growing availability of beet sugar in Europe. To survive, a number of distilleries started make rum directly from fresh sugarcane juice instead of molasses. Rhum agricole was born, or rather reborn… This peculiar way of making rum helped the French producers to avoid confrontation with other islands where sugar production ratios were much higher.

Inside the rum trade

Rums imported to France mainly came from Martinique, Guadeloupe and Reunion (with a small quantity from Mauritius) – of varying qualities including vesou rum (made from sugar can juice), aromatic rum, and molasses rum. They were transported by boat to French ports and generally ranged from 60 to 65°, their degree being lowered for consumption to 38, 40 or 45°.

Rum arrived in the 3 main French ports (Bordeaux, Le Havre and Marseille, as well as Nantes which allowed smaller boats to get closer to Paris) and was directly stored in the wineries of merchants before marketing (there were also wineries in the capital). Traders could then sell the product to wholesalers either to keep it in their cellars for blending or to allow part of the stocks to age. They were also in charge of colouring, bottling, packaging and shipping.

Rum at the time was not really treated any differently from wine as merchants could raise wine from 2 to 3 years before bottling it.

Initially transported in 240 and 280 litre barrels on ships, the rum would later (after the Second World War) travel in tanks and then in 24 hectolitre containers, evolving finally into ‘tanktainers’, of 210 hectolitres. Long gone were the romantic days where casks of rum were peddled on the dockside after arduous sea voyages!

Large storage barrels underneath the quai des Chatrons…

Rum was generally caramelised to satisfy the taste of metropolitan customers, but smaller quantities of rums were also shipped in bottles: rums aged in American oak barrels, not ‘caramelised’, which owed their natural and amber hue to their long stay in contact with wood.

The bottling was usually done on site and these quality rums, still rare at the time (6 to 8%), are the precursors of the widespread agricultural rums that will be sold after the Second World War, and which are still sold today.

Plethora of brands

There were a vast number of brands over the years, reaching as many as several hundred. Wine merchants also systematically added rum to their catalogues, increasing the number of bottles available.

In its early days, rum had to be from Jamaica, at least by name, because it sold and was considered the best on the market. It is therefore not surprising that the first registered trademarks – around 1859 – bear the names ‘Jamaican Rum’ or ‘Chinese Rum-Jamaica’. The term Martinique did not arrive until 1884, even though the island alone exported more than half of the rum on the French market… In 1896, the first rum stamped from the Ilets de Guadeloupe appeared, and Reunion Island waited until 1901 to appear on a label (Rhum Bourbon – Saint-Louis-Reunion).

Dominique Jullien’s website has a magnificent collection of rum labels of the time

The largest and most famous houses are still operating today: Marie-Brizard and its Charleston rum, Cazanove and its Black Head rum, Lambert and its Saint-James rum, Mangosteen rum from Barbet and Fournier, and Maroni rum from Coutou and Old Manada from Meynadier… and the Negrita of the Bardinet house, that would later buy many of the other rum houses, and which owned two agricultural rum factories in the West Indies, as well as Dillon and Depaz which produced Old Nick rum.

The golden age of rum imports

Despite various setbacks such as the eruption of Mt Pelée in Martinique which severely damaged production, and tax rises, the Bordeaux rum trade blossomed. Unexpectedly it was about to experience an astronomical boom of rum imports with the arrival of WW1.

English Tommies downing a flagon of rum…

To supply the huge demand of the armies following the outbreak of war, orders for rum made by the military went through the roof! Bordeaux received 17,000 tons of rum in 1913; this rose to 27,000 by 1915, 50,000 in 1916 and a remarkable 90,000 tons in 1917 – nearly 250 tons of rum a day…Bordeaux was a long way from the front line and had a brand spanking new state-of-the-art port, courtesy of the American army, in Ambarès, capable of handing a vastly increased volume of imports.

Rum was also in high demand being marketed as a remedy against the cataclysmic Spanish flu epidemic 1918-20 which killed over 400 million people worldwide.

End of an era

Rum imports went into rapid decline after the war and continued steadily downhill over the following decades – the result of drastically increased taxes and regulations in the 1920s and other factors.Le Havre took over as France’s main Atlantic port as it was deeper and easier to access from the sea – by the 1930’s it had taken over the majority of the rum imports as well as coffee, cocoa etc. along with Marseille. Despite major investment, Bordeaux became marginalised and was unable to keep up with the shift in the colonial economies and emergence of modern industrial super-ports – a decline still in effect today…

Trade between Bordeaux and the Antilles stopped completely during WW2 for obvious reasons (local rum merchants began producing a type of brandy and labelling it as rum to try to maintain sales!) and by the end of the war, most of the trade ties had been lost – the warehouses lay empty and the rum merchants had all jumped ship!

Bordeaux brands

Several dozen brands were set up across Bordeaux – many of which existed until the 1950s, the most famous included: Bardinet with Négrita (they set up shop in 1857. In 1974, the company moved to Blanquefort, in Gironde. Negrita rum is still produced there today), Duquesne, Cazanove, Marie-Brizard & Roger, Galibet and Varon…

Many were small companies and some were also involved in wine trading. Most of them then disappeared and there were only about ten left in 1965 and half a dozen in the early 1980s. The gradual disappearance of rums led to the disappearance of brokers and commission agents. The importing ports and trading centres (Bordeaux, Le Havre, Marseille, Paris) each had their own ‘rum union’; such a dispersion constituted a handicap: the 4 unions grouped together to form the French Rum Union, whose headquarters were located in Paris.

In 1981 only four companies distributed rum (and rum cocktails): Marie-Brizard and Roger with Charleston rum (over the years the share of rum in its activities has tended to be limited – sales of amber Charleston have decreased and the brand now supplies a small volume of pastry rum and biscuits); the Cointreau group with Saint-James rum, and two more specialized companies: Clément which distills and produces in Martinique and distributes its products from Bordeaux, and Bardinet which distills small amounts (Dillon distillery in Martinique) but above all negotiates huge quantities of rum of all kinds in very diversified forms – a blend of rums intended for cooking (Negrita), old tasting rum (Dillon), agricultural rum for punch, light rum for cocktails, cocktails made from rum and fruit.Marie Brizard was remarkably still running a bottling plant on rue Fondaudège until 2015!

Moko and rue Fourteau

In 1869, Ernest and Maurice Lasserre, two brothers from Bordeaux, decided to create their own rum brand ‘Moko’.

Imported from Martinique and Jamaica, they perfected distillation and ageing techniques to differentiate themselves from the rums offered at that time. These rums quickly became very successful, collecting medals, but the 1960s saw the end of production and distribution.

To the delight of enthusiasts, Moko rum began production again in 2017 – run by Philippe Peyrat, and his children Clémence and Edouard, Ernest Lasserre’s great-great-grandchildren. One of the Laserre warehouses can be seen on the right bank next to the old Gare d’Orleans on rue Fourteau.

The initials ‘A.S.’ refer to Albert Lasserre, son of one of the founders.

La Petite Martinique

To learn more about the fascinating history of rum in the Antilles and its intimate relationship with Bordeaux, head to La Petite Martinique on rue Notre Dam in Chatrons. The owner has tasting evenings and is a leading light on all topics related to rum!They also have a tasting session coming up on the 27th September in Le Grand Poste…

To experience Bordeaux’s first ever official rum festival in La Grand Poste in December, register here

Santé!

If you’re now thirsty and wanna pick up some rum, here are a few of the local vendors…

MAISON DESIRE – 11 Cours Marechal Gallieni

CAVE BH CORNER – 73 avenue de la République

BADIE – 62 allée de Tourny

LE COMPTOIR BORDELAIS – 1 rue du Piliers de Tutelle

TERRES DE BORDEAUX – 126 rue des Terres de Borde

LA CUV – 264 Cours de la Somme

LA CUV – 7 place du Maucaillou

LA CUV – 19 rue Capdeville

LA PETITE MARTINIQUE SO RHUM – 84 rue Notre Dam, Chartrons

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Porte Cailhau – the Barbican of Bygone Bordeaux

Mike Foster — Thu, 11 Oct 2018 07:20:59 +0000

When visitors first arrive in Bordeaux, they are usually blown away by the splendour and majesty of the city’s 18th century architecture, particularly Place de la Bourse. So, did anything actually happen in Bordeaux BEFORE the 1700’s?

A bit OTT no?

by Chris Tighe

Where TF has everything gone?

The majority of physical traces of Bordeaux’s 2000-year-old history across the city have entirely vanished – or more accurately, been demolished for an ‘upgrade’…

Successive waves of building projects over the centuries, notably the transformation of the city under Baron Haussmann and Louis-Urbain Aubert, marquis de Tourny, in the 18th century, have severed almost all links to Bordeaux’s heritage – it’s now largely buried or in the Musée d’Aquitaine!

Hiding place for Bordeaux’s past

One of the last major medieval monuments still actually standing in Bordeaux is the glorious Porte Cailhau, just back from Pont Pierre, and hidden away behind the domineering 18th century riverfront arcade.

Former gateway to the medieval city, Porte Cailhau is a rare example of Bordeaux ‘before its 18th century facelift’. Built in front of an older gate on the original Roman rampart, its construction began in 1493 and was completed in 1495. The gate was the main entrance for the medieval ramparts, which surrounded the city.

The old and the new – image courtesy of Tim Pike @Invisible Bordeaux

Located between the mouths of Bordeaux’s two main rivers, the Peugue (underneath Cours d’Alsace et Lorraine) and the Devèze (under rue de la Devise) – at one time navigable to the middle of Bordeaux, it was once the main entrance to the city from the port. It gave direct access to the Palais de l’Ombrière, residence of the Dukes of Guyenne, then seat of the Parliament of Bordeaux from 1462.

Bordeaux’s ancient palace – now the site of a Carrefour Market

Nicknamed the Royal Gate because of its function as a princes’ reception, Porte Cailhau is in the form of a triumphal arch, covered with elegant bell towers and pierced with mullioned windows that reflect the decline of Gothic art and announce the elegance of the new Renaissance style.

A show of strength – shutting down the Bordelais

Porte Cailhau served as both a defensive gate and an arch of victory and dominance – with an imposing statue of the French king presiding over the entrance to Bordeaux. The message was crystal clear – “Bordeaux, you are now under the control of Paris”.

GET SOME!

Following the end of the Hundred Years War and English rule of Aquitaine in 1453, France began the process of transforming from a feudal monarchy to a centralised state. As part of this gradual process, it was essential to stamp the power of the King of France, Charles VIII on to the minds of the Anglicised Bordelais. Porte Cailhau was the perfect ideological and physical symbol.

Medieval Bordeaux

The Porte’s inauguration followed the victory of Charles VIII in at the battle of Fornovo in 1495 – which led to France’s capture of Naples; a battle in which the Archbishop of Bordeaux, the Cardinal of Epinay and part of the Bordeaux nobility also participated.

To celebrate this victory, the jurats (the old name for Bordeaux’s town councilors) placed a white marble statue of King Charles VIII, in the centre above Porte Cailhau’s gate – on his left was the Cardinal of Epinay and, on his right, Saint Jean, patron saint of the Jurad. On the facade, on the city side, are France’s fleur-de-lis coat of arms carried by two angels, the gateway symbolizing the attachment of the heart of the people of Bordeaux to France! These statues were nicked during the Revolution and were replaced with stone copies in 1880.

The defensive and imposing architecture of Porte Cailhau was also designed to deter any attempt at rebellion – the presence of archers’ positions on the city side shows France’s mistrust of Bordeaux. It was a fortress to defend against outsiders as well as those within the city walls!

Bordeaux’s slow integration into the Kingdom of France between the 16th and 18th centuries was a time of severe unrest with a series of violent rebellions and religious wars. The Bordelais lost most of the significant economic and political freedom granted through their privileged relations with England. The region was keen to re-assert its Gascon independence and muscle, not unlike today.

The Pebble Gate

The name Porte Cailhau refers to the local word for ‘pebble’ – ‘calhau’ in Gascon. It was the title given to the ‘daü Caillaü’ wharf located between the Peugue and Devèze rivers – because it was the first to be paved with river stones.

The quay was subsequently called “Quai Bourgeois“, as it was reserved for the landing of wines that the bourgeoisie of Bordeaux had the privilege of bringing into town, without paying any duty.

Long-distance boats brought in shiploads of stones as ballast and left it behind when they set off with the local wine. These tons of stones were used to pave the city and as foundations for its walls…

Pebble stones etc. in the rampart remains of St Michel…

At the time, vertical docks did not exist. The shoreline sloped gently down towards the river where light rowing boats unloaded the ships anchored in the river.

Engraving by Léo Drouyn

A glimpse of the ‘lost’ city walls can be seen at 51 – 63 cours Victor Hugo – where remnants of the ramparts are visible through the railings. A large range of mixed stones was used as building blocks for the medieval walls and have their origins in ports all up the Atlantic coast – Brittany, northern Europe and the Baltic.

“In 1493 was built the gate of the city of Bordeaux, on the side of the river, which looks out over the palace of the Guyenne and was called the ‘Caillou’ (Pebble), because the ships that came to Bordeaux to collect wines unloaded their ballast there, which was usually pebbles”

The name Cailhou is also shared with the great medieval Bordeaux bourgeois Cailhau family who provided several mayors to the city in the 13th – 14th centuries.

Saving the gate!

In 1754, when the wharves were being built, Tourny demanded that Porte Cailhau be saved from demolition. He had the access widened by the architect Dardan, and from 1880 to 1890 the architect Charles Durand restored the gate – he declared the following to Bordeaux mayor Adrien Baysselance:

“You know with what satisfaction and contentment the people of Bordeaux have seen a monument they hold dear saved from ruin. In this way, they show you, and you have felt like them, the need for certain expenses, perhaps of no apparent purpose, but which are intended to satisfy the artistic taste, to embellish the city and not to let the memories of a past from which we can no longer detach ourselves except from the country itself”.

The flood of 1875!

The river burst its banks during the ‘flood of the century’ on the 23rd, 24th and 25th June 1875 – the the Garonne rose to 11m40 above normal levels. The flood killed 209 local residents and destroyed 1400 houses – the wharves and Porte Cailhau were all heavily flooded.

The Museum

On May 28, 1883, Porte Cailhau became a historic monument classified as a French heritage site. In 1907, the Bordeaux Archaeological Society, with the help of the city, created a museum inside the Porte. It included remains of the Gallo-Roman era, maps, seals, letters, travel diaries, pottery, watercolours, earthenware, glassware, portraits of Bordeaux residents such as Léo Drouyn, Rosa Bonheur, as well as a silk dress owned by the famous Madame Tallien – it also housed the Archaeological Society library.

Most of these objects have since been transferred to the Musée d’Aquitaine.

The gate today

As you approach the gate from the city side, you can see a section of the old rampart (about 2m. thick and 8 to 10m high).

In the passage under the gate, you’ll see the groove in which the portcullis slid and, a little offset towards the river, an opening through which the defenders could drop stones or blunt objects on the attackers’ heads. Fun.

The small opening, about one metre high and now walled in (on the left city side at the bottom of the tower), is the old access door that was too low after the various embankments to build the dock in the 19th century (the ground was raised by about one metre).

Porte Cailhau is 35m high and has two floors to visit. The first floor is free and contains a small display about the history of the gate. If you pay to go up to the second floor, you’ll be treated to a superb view of the port, Pont Pierre and Bordeaux’s city rooftops.

The museum has an audio-visual exhibition on the Jean Missègue collection, a fascinating journey through Bordeaux’s noteworthy stonemasonry trade (if you’re into that sort of stuff).

The gate was part of the Red Ball project in 2010, when artist Kurt Perschke put a giant red ball in the middle – whatever floats your boat mate…

A red ball

Practical info

Opening Times

From 02/01/2018 to 31/12/2018

Open every day

From 10am to 1pm and from 2pm to 6pm

Closed on December 25 and January 1

Address

Place du Palais,

33000 BORDEAUX

Contact

service.patrimoine@bordeaux-tourisme.com

Languages spoken

English

Admission (2nd floor)

€5 / €3.50 reduced rate / Free with the Bordeaux Métropole City Pass.

Free for children under 12 years old accompanied by an adult

Porte Cailhau through your Smartphone!

Thanks to the AudioTrip application and its geolocation system, you can also visit Porte Cailhau online via your smartphone. You can listen to the commentary and anecdotes on the monument and convert your mobile into a genuine local guide. The Porte is the first monument in Bordeaux to benefit from this new generation guide!

You can download Audiotrip from the Tourist Office applications page.

Here’s a video animation from 2015 taking you inside medieval Porte Cailhau.

And here’s the Tourist Office video

Enjoy your visit!

Historical sources: Dossiers d’Aquitaine/Wiki

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100 Years Past: Traces of the American Landing in Gironde

Chris Tighe — Wed, 24 Oct 2018 06:21:37 +0000

To mark the 100^th anniversary of the end of WWI, Bordeaux Expats and Sud Ouest take an in depth-look at Bordeaux’s pivotal role in winning the war – with the arrival of the Americans

It’s a century since the United States entered the war in 1917 alongside the Allies, and the “Sammies” landed en-masse in Bordeaux. To mark the occasion, there has been a huge revival of interest in the hidden traces of the American settlement in the Sud Ouest.

Last year, there was an exhibition at the Jean-Moulin center near Pey Berland called 1917 Voilà les Américains. It included talks and debates on subjects as diverse as –

The logistics of the American army in Gironde in 1917-1919: power, modernity and heritage

1917 – Jazz has arrived!

And 1917. The year that changed the world

USA-Bordeaux relations: the background

Bordeaux has a long-standing ‘special relationship’ with the United States. It has the oldest US consulate in Europe (the Hotel Fenwick at 1 cours Xavier Arnozanat Thomas near the quais), Jefferson visited the city and the Marquis de La Fayette left France for his first trip to the American coast from Bordeaux in 1777, three years before his famous crossing on board L’Hermione.

A forgotten history

Despite the monumental and war-changing presence of ‘Uncle Sam’s soldiers’ in Gironde, studies into their history and critical influence on WW1 have largely been sidelined.

The Sud Ouest was a long way from the front, and the troops stationed here were essentially in charge of the logistics and stewardship of the army. They built the colossal port, shifted thousands of tons of heavy equipment, and covered everything that was out of sight of the widely-reported front lines. Nevertheless, Bordeaux played a fundamental role in the war effort.

All-encompassing logistical support

In the final year of WWI, the American Expeditionary Forces (AEF) developed a comprehensive support network appropriate for the huge size of the American force. It rested upon the Services of Supply in the rear areas, with ports, railroads, depots, schools, maintenance facilities, bakeries, clothing repair shops (termed salvage), replacement depots, ice plants, and a wide variety of other activities.

The AEF initiated support techniques that would last well into the Cold War including forward maintenance, field cooking, graves registration (mortuary affairs), host nation support, motor transport, and morale services. The work of the logisticians enabled the success of the AEF and contributed to the emergence of the American Army as a modern fighting force.

2.8 million tons through Bassens

Today, it’s hard to imagine the colossal deployment of equipment and men (more than a million soldiers) involved in the American Expeditionary Force’s engagement in France.

In 1918, 2 800 000 tons of equipment and goods were reported to have transited through the port of Bassens. In October 1918, day and night, an average of 7 men, 2 horses and 7 tons of equipment landed every minute. 1,500 steam locomotives and 23,000 wagons were provided by the United States, most of which were left behind at the end of the hostilities. This railway equipment was used for many years after the Great War.

Tens of thousands of soldiers set up home in the local region, accompanied by several thousand civilians supporting them through humanitarian associations. In Gironde, on 1 October 1918, the American workforce comprised: 3,202 officers, 89,027 troops, 4,366 civilians, and 168 nurses. They lived in a wide spectrum of military bases, most of which were dismantled when they left – see below.

Army logistics divisions constructed vast camps of several hundred huts throughout Gironde, sometimes with rooms that could accommodate 600 people at a time – such as the Victory Theatre in Lormont-Génicart – most of them made of wood.

The Bordeaux region was specifically home to the army Supply Service, known as Base Section 2, which, in addition to focusing on the logistics of the American war effort, served as a behind-the-lines base network for the wounded and those on leave from the front.

Base Section 2 built field hospitals of unprecedented size around Bordeaux – particularly in Mérignac-Beaudésert, or installed them in pre-existing buildings, such as Château Trompeloup in Pauillac, the Petit Lycée de Talence, etc.

Pauillac Trompeloup served as a major maritime base with over 3000 men stationed there in 1918 – covering a range of activities such as the unloading, assembly and repair of all US Army seaplanes in service in Europe, as well as a station for a squadron of seaplanes participating in the surveillance of the Gascony coast.

Graffiti carved in stone: America’s lasting presence

The American military was keen to erase all lasting traces from France’s landscape and society following the war – simply to restore “freedom and democracy for the peoples under the yoke of the German oppressor”. So the majority of American settlements were dismantled following the departure of the expeditionary force – after more than a hundred years, their trace has almost vanished completely.

However, a few links to the past remain today…

The Bassens quayside is one of the most remarkable achievements of the US presence in Bordeaux. Over 5 months, US forces built several hundred meters of wharves and tens of kilometers of rail track to enable ships from across the Atlantic to land the equipment and supplies needed to deploy troops. These facilities (since renovated or modified), served as the foundation for the modern port. Graffiti carved by American soldiers and dated 1918 is still visible on the quay.

In Bordeaux itself, boulevard de Caudéran was renamed on July 13, 1918 in honour of President Wilson.

While, in Gradignan, there are traces of an ‘American fountain’ hidden under a heap of brambles. It marks the spot where the horses assigned to the troops came to drink in the Eau Bourde, the small river that crosses Bordeaux.

The Talence American Cemetery, created in April 1918, contains the graves of 13 Canadian and 5 American soldiers.

And in Villenave d’Ornon, the Bagatelle Florence Nightingale Nursing School, built in 1921, houses a commemorative stone in honour of American nurses who devoted themselves to caring for soldiers wounded from the front.

At Le Verdon-sur-mer, at the tip of the Médoc, there used to be a large monument erected to the glory of the US troops in 1938. The Germans unfortunately blew it to smithereens with dynamite in 1942, but the memories remain in the archives.

The American beach at Cap Ferret still exists, but the wooden hangars that prepared the seaplanes involved in the conflict built by the Navy regiments in 1917, have vanished without a trace. The construction of seaplanes in the region did not end in 1918 though – to find out more about this extraordinary regional history, head to the Hydraviation museum in Biscarosse.

Franco-American echoes

There were nearly 180 Franco-American marriages in Bordeaux between 1918 and 1920 – despite the challenges posed by the quasi-alcohol ban in the city! There were also many ‘adoptions’, which often consisted of the sponsorship of French orphans by American committees, such as those of the American Red Cross, to financially assist children whose fathers had fallen at the front.

The Americans also left their mark on French society by importing the US culture to Gironde. Through sport, their humanitarian approach, the management of troops and war victims – and music…

Enter American Jazz!

The first notes of jazz resounded as soon as the troops (and the Harlem Hellfighters!) arrived in 1917.

Of the 100,000 US troops that set up camp around Bordeaux, 20,000 were African American. Often forbidden to fight, they worked in support roles, such as building the port at Bassens – and they played jazz, or more specifically, ragtime!

Several bands that were extremely well known on the American scene came to Europe to play.

One of the very first jazz concerts in France took place in Bordeaux – courtesy of the 808th Stevedore Regiment.

Several concerts by African-American lieutenant, bandleader and pianist James Reese Europewere also held in the Gironde capital. The concerts at the Café Anglais, on the Allées de Tourny became “an unmissable event for many Bordeaux residents”!

Black Americans were the object of great curiosity for locals at the time, and jazz was seen as the forbidden fruit of freedom and peace. It appeared at the same time in the other major French ports where American troops transited, Nantes and Brest.

After the war, the taste of jazz remained in Bordeaux in various bars frequented by young people and sailors around Saint-Pierre, where they listened to imported records, and in some theatres such as Le Français and Le Trianon. However, because of the Depression, and American protectionism, it only really took off properly after the Second World War.

Home time

The American forces began their huge withdrawal operation following the armistice in 1918. Between November 1918 and July 1919, over 400,000 men set sail from Bassens or Pauillac Trompeloup (for the sick, convalescent or injured). This was accompanied by the dismantling of the logistical support bases. The Americans had made their indelible stamp on the history of Bordeaux.

Here’s a list of the American installations in Gironde in 1918

Base n°2 including the Bassens port facilities, the Saint-Sulpice d’Izon warehouses, the Saint-Loubès ammunition depot

Pauillac-Trompeloup Maritime Base

Souges Instruction Camp

Camps at Bassens, Carbon-Blanc (including a horse camp), Lormont (Génicart) for passing troops, and Cenon (Grangeneuve).

Courneau camp (near La Teste) for artillery

Seaplane station in Cap-Ferret

Airship station in Gujan-Mestras

Aviation School at Moutchic

Croix-d’Hins radio station

Hospitals in Talence and Mérignac (Beaudésert: planned capacity of 20,000 beds)

Troop depots in Libourne for heavy artillery

Coutras Store

Fuel depots (gasoline) in Saint-Loubès, Blaye and La Roque-de-Thau (Gauriac)

Centre for Permissionaires in Arcachon

Lift depot (supply of horses) in Mérignac (Beaudésert)

Postal center in Bordeaux (near Saint-Jean station)

Logging in the Landes de Gascogne

Administrative Services

Soldier assistance associations (American Red Cross, YMCA, Knights of Columbus)

Uniform and shoe repair shops

Warehouses

Garages in Bordeaux or in the inner suburbs (Gradignan, Bègles…)

Industrial installations requisitioned in June 1917 such as the quarries of Rions, Saint-Emilion, Montagne, Frontenac, Barsac, Lagrave d’Ambarès, Castres, Cadaujac whose materials were used for road services and the construction of the port of Bassens.

The Headquarters was located in the premises of the Faculty of Medicine, Place Victoire.

And those they left behind…!

Guard Camp: fallow and cultivated land, barracks (wooden with tarred paper cover) for 60 men, messes and latrines (16)

Camp Ancona-Baranquine: fallow and cultivated land

American Docks Headquarters: cultivated land

Camp Vinehard: cultivation area

Hill Camp: various terrains

Engine reception facilities: industrial sites

Soap plant: two buildings (with corrugated iron walls and roofing, cement paving), boiler and 40 HP steam engine (18)

Mechanical bakery: corrugated iron warehouse and bakery, four ovens, a mechanical mixer to produce 48 tonnes of bread per day, messes, kitchens and wooden latrines

Pump station in the north: makeshift hangar housing a boiler and a motor-pump unit

Prisoner of War camp: mess, reading room, prison (capacity of 380 men)

Ship repair workshop: building with 42 machine tools

A.T.S. Camp: wooden huts, laundries, messes, kitchens and various premises (total capacity of 600 men)

Repair shop for locomotives: various barracks, wooden tank

Camp Brohoist: 200-man barracks

Navy Hospital: wooden boats (capacity of 150 beds)

Fire station: corrugated iron huts

French Docks Station: sheet metal shack and repair workshop

Road service: equipment depot, stable and tool storage

Salvage Camp: wooden mess huts, kitchen, laundry room and latrines

Pump station near Salvage Camp: barracks with an electric pump and a pump with a petrol engine

Refrigeration plant: warehouse with a surface area of 7000 m2, premises and equipment for the operation of the plant

Elevating plant

Electrical plant

Coal handling facilities

De-greasing plant

Chinese Gunpowder Factory Camp (colonial workers’ camp)

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MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY OPENING IN MARCH

Mike Foster — Sat, 12 Jan 2019 12:52:19 +0000

We’ve been waiting since 2009 for major renovation and expansions efforts to be completed. The wait is soon over, with the Museum reopening their doors on the 30th March, 2019.

The Museum of Natural History in Bordeaux was created back in 1791 and boasted more than 1 million specimens which is one of the most impressive collections in France.

At the end of 2008, the Museum closes their doors in order to carry out large scale renovations and extensions. These have become indispensable to not only provide better public facilities but also for better conservation of the collections.

The aim of the Muséum de Bordeaux museum project is to examine the evolution of views on nature and to challenge the visitor by drawing on the heritage represented by the collections. The goal is to propose a new approach in the way the audience views and experiences the collections.

The building has seen significant parts renovated, all the while maintaining key heritage elements. A strong focus point has been the introduction of innovated technologies, which will allow the immersion and interactions of the visitors. The architectural project also incorporates the new standards of conservation of collections while minimising energy consumption.

The construction site of the principal building, in the heart of the Jardin Public, was launched in 2015 following the transfer of the collections in 2011 to the new Collections Conservation Center.

The development components of the Scientific and Cultural Project are based on a common theme: “Humankind’s place in Nature”.

A selection of around 3,500 specimens will be exhibited in the Hotel de Lisleferme. The other specimens will be presented alternately during semi-permanent or temporary exhibitions.

There will also be kid friendly animations, with the creation of a museum for toddlers. This section is dedicated to children under 6 and offers a multimedia show that immerses the visitor in the world of natural sciences.

ADDRESS:
5 place Bardineau
33000 BORDEAUX

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MARITIME MUSEUM NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC EXHIBITION

Mike Foster — Mon, 21 Jan 2019 13:05:27 +0000

The Musée Mer Marine (MMM) is currently hosting an exhibition provided by National Geographic which is titled “Under the Sea – Beyond Images”.

The maritime museum is located in the 19th century historic port area of Bassins à flot. The establishment aims to provide a link to Bordeaux’s past and future maritime heritage.

EMBLEMATIC BUILDING
The design of the museum was entrusted to the Bordeaux architect, Olivier Brochet, who also spearheaded the creation of museums in Montpellier and Paris. The building will be a monumental complex with a total surface of more than 13,800 m², and will comprise of 7 levels with a total height of 45 m.

TEMPORARY EXHIBITION “Under the sea, – Beyond Images”
From October 1st to April 30th, 2019
With this first event, the Maritime Museum of Bordeaux sets forward to raise public awareness of the beauty and fragility of our oceans.

The exhibitions presents work from two National Geographic Society photographers, Paul Nicklen and David Doubilet. Their work transports the visitor through the harmonious relationship that humans need to accomplish in order to maintain a lasting relation with the environment.

PERMANENT EXHIBITIONS “Beyond the horizon” (opening spring / summer 2019)
With a spacious exhibition surface of 6000 m², the MMM will offer the public the opportunity to trace our history with the sea. Drawing on a rich collection of art work, marine objects, models and multimedia technology, guests will experience the richness of our historic relation with the sea.

HOURS
Open Wednesday to Sunday
10am to 6pm – Wednesday to Friday
10am to 7pm – Saturdays, Sundays and holidays

RATES TEMPORARY EXHIBITION
Full price: 9 €
Reduced price: 6 €
Free for children under 4

▷▷ Access:
89 rue des étrangers
33300 BORDEAUX
Website

Vcub: Achard – Musée Mer Marine
Parking: Interparking Cité du Vin
Tram: Line B – Stop – Achard
Bus: Line 7, Lucien Faure, Line 9 – Place Maran

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THE ROBOTS HAVE ARRIVED AT CAP SCIENCES

Mike Foster — Mon, 05 Aug 2019 15:01:17 +0000

Useful, disturbing, indispensable, insensitive: Robots intimidate as much as they fascinate. The robots have arrived at Cap Sciences in Bordeaux, come and explore this new revolution!

Over the last few decades we have seen technological progress with the appearance of autonomous robots that aimed to assist humans in daily life. Now with the introduction of AI we are experiencing the future with robots playing roles in the household, industry and collaborative.

Ever present in our lives, from the cinema to literature and music, robots are not just a cultural symbol. The coming years will determine the relationship that we have with them and the position that they will take in our existence. So, will they replace us?

Play a part in this ethical debate and delve into these intriguing challenges that have been put in motion by Pepper, Nao, Cozmo and other Robotic counterparts.

All audiences / above 7 years old
Visit Duration: 1hr 30min
#RobotsBdx @capsciences
Bilingual exhibition French / English

WHERE: Cap Sciences, Hangar 20, Quai de Bacalan, 33300 Bordeaux

WHEN: 10th July 2019 until 3rd May 2020
Tuesday to Friday 2pm – 6pm
Saturday & Sunday 2pm – 7pm
Every day during school holidays

COST:
Full price : €9
Discount price : €6.50
Online reservations and ticket purchases are available at: cap-sciences.net

The post THE ROBOTS HAVE ARRIVED AT CAP SCIENCES appeared first on Bordeaux Expats.

History – Bordeaux Expats

The Battle of Castillon

Cockleshell Heroes Revisited

A truly exceptional event is taking place on the Gironde at the moment to mark the 75th anniversary of the 1942 Cockleshell heroes.

A group of veterans and amputee servicemen are re-enacting the daring 1942 raid by canoeing from Pauillac to Bordeaux.

Mike Witt, CEO of the charity said: “Our lads and lasses will receive no special treatment – it’s a hardcore, gruelling trip designed to commemorate and highlight the sacrifice of so many“.

Bordeaux – Rum Capital of France

As the city warms up for its first ever official rum festival in December, Bordeaux Expats takes a look into the astonishing history of the Bordeaux rum industry.

Forget about wine, for nearly 100 years Bordeaux was renowned as one of the world epicentres of the rum trade! Cheers!

by Chris Tighe

A brief history of French rum

Bordeaux’s economic backdrop

For more on the history of Bordeaux as a port city, click here

A rum explosion

To find out more about the history of the Bordeaux wine industry, click here

Inside the rum trade

Plethora of brands

Dominique Jullien’s website has a magnificent collection of rum labels of the time

The golden age of rum imports

End of an era

Bordeaux brands

Moko and rue Fourteau

La Petite Martinique

To experience Bordeaux’s first ever official rum festival in La Grand Poste in December, register here

Santé!

If you’re now thirsty and wanna pick up some rum, here are a few of the local vendors…

MAISON DESIRE – 11 Cours Marechal Gallieni

CAVE BH CORNER – 73 avenue de la République

BADIE – 62 allée de Tourny

LE COMPTOIR BORDELAIS – 1 rue du Piliers de Tutelle

TERRES DE BORDEAUX – 126 rue des Terres de Borde

LA CUV – 264 Cours de la Somme

LA CUV – 7 place du Maucaillou

LA CUV – 19 rue Capdeville

LA PETITE MARTINIQUE SO RHUM – 84 rue Notre Dam, Chartrons

Porte Cailhau – the Barbican of Bygone Bordeaux

When visitors first arrive in Bordeaux, they are usually blown away by the splendour and majesty of the city’s 18th century architecture, particularly Place de la Bourse. So, did anything actually happen in Bordeaux BEFORE the 1700’s?

by Chris Tighe

Where TF has everything gone?

A show of strength – shutting down the Bordelais

The Pebble Gate

Saving the gate!

The flood of 1875!

The Museum

The gate today

Practical info

Address

Contact

Languages spoken

Admission (2nd floor)

Porte Cailhau through your Smartphone!

Here’s a video animation from 2015 taking you inside medieval Porte Cailhau.

And here’s the Tourist Office video

Enjoy your visit!

100 Years Past: Traces of the American Landing in Gironde

To mark the 100th anniversary of the end of WWI, Bordeaux Expats and Sud Ouest take an in depth-look at Bordeaux’s pivotal role in winning the war – with the arrival of the Americans

It’s a century since the United States entered the war in 1917 alongside the Allies, and the “Sammies” landed en-masse in Bordeaux. To mark the occasion, there has been a huge revival of interest in the hidden traces of the American settlement in the Sud Ouest.

USA-Bordeaux relations: the background

A forgotten history

All-encompassing logistical support

2.8 million tons through Bassens

Graffiti carved in stone: America’s lasting presence

Franco-American echoes

Enter American Jazz!

Home time

Here’s a list of the American installations in Gironde in 1918

And those they left behind…!

MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY OPENING IN MARCH

We’ve been waiting since 2009 for major renovation and expansions efforts to be completed. The wait is soon over, with the Museum reopening their doors on the 30th March, 2019.

The Museum of Natural History in Bordeaux was created back in 1791 and boasted more than 1 million specimens which is one of the most impressive collections in France.

MARITIME MUSEUM NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC EXHIBITION

The Musée Mer Marine (MMM) is currently hosting an exhibition provided by National Geographic which is titled “Under the Sea – Beyond Images”.

THE ROBOTS HAVE ARRIVED AT CAP SCIENCES

Useful, disturbing, indispensable, insensitive: Robots intimidate as much as they fascinate. The robots have arrived at Cap Sciences in Bordeaux, come and explore this new revolution!

To mark the 100^th anniversary of the end of WWI, Bordeaux Expats and Sud Ouest take an in depth-look at Bordeaux’s pivotal role in winning the war – with the arrival of the Americans