Anduze

Anduze (Andusa in Occitan) is a commune in the Gard department in southern France. The village is at the foot of the Cevennes range, in the limestone plateau of the Languedoc scrublands.

History

The lordship of Anduze which was established in the early 10th century was one of the oldest and most powerful of Languedoc. Coining money, the family Anduze reigned as the supreme house of the Cevennes. The lords of the House Anduze were the titled Marquis of Gothia and Prince of Anduze and was allied to the counts of Toulouse and participated in the crusade against the Albigensians in 1266, it was related to the crown of France. It counted among its branches of the houses of Sauve, Roquefeuil (still existing), Sommieres, and Cayla Thoiras. Anduze was the cradle of French sericulture from late 13th century. The city then became the regional center of trading in silk and wool. It had up to 7,000 people at its peak.

In the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, Anduze was an important center of Protestantism. The walled city, which had 6000 inhabitants in 1570, became the headquarters of the Protestant forces of the South. In 1573, the city saw the birth of what Janine Garrison called the United Provinces of the South: including an attempted independent Huguenot State, based on local autonomy. Anduze was the basis of the resistance of the Duc de Rohan in 1622, and in 1629 the Peace of Ales, saw the dismantling of the city ramparts.