Dept. des Hautes Alpes

Title

Dept. des Hautes Alpes

Description

Decorative map showing the Hautes Alpes with the towns of Gap, Embrun, Briançon, and Serres. With beautiful border illustrations depicting the countryside and its inhabitants.

ca. 1850

Artist

Lemercier / Levasseur (1800-1870)

Cadastre of the War and Bridge Department by V. Levasseur, Geographer Engineer attached to the Cadastre and the City of Paris. Huge Parisian firm of lithographic printers founded by Joseph Rose Lemercier (1803-1887), who began as the foreman for Langlumé in 1825. Working on his own account from 1827, 1829-36 in partnership with Bénard association formed in 1837 according to IFF catalogue for Joseph Lemercier. The firm was still active in 1841.

Historical Description

Around 600 BC began the systematic colonization of the coast of Provence by Greeks from the Asia Minor city of Phocaea. The Phocaeans had come under pressure from the Persians and, during their voyages along the Mediterranean coast, had discovered the port basin of the later city of Marseille, created by nature. There is a legend according to which the Celtic king Nann was looking for a husband for his daughter Gyptis and gave his daughter the free choice. She chose a beautiful Greek stranger. On this they are said to have founded the city of Marseilles, then Massalia (later Massilia). This city experienced a tremendous increase in population. The city slowly began to develop into a large trading settlement, trading even with the distant Celtic tribes in what is now northern Germany. Above all, the good location by the sea made Massalia so successful. After almost 600 years as a Roman province, the land was conquered by the Visigoths in 470/477. From 934 on, Provence belonged to the united Kingdom of Burgundy, and from 1032 to the Holy Roman Empire due to an inheritance treaty that came to fruition. In 1498, the part of Provence that belonged to France at that time was incorporated into the Domaine royal, from 1660 the territory was administered like a province and in 1789, in the course of the French Revolution, it was divided into departments. Only the parts of Provence located in the Maritime Alps (also called the Maritime Alps), which had become independent over time (for example, the County of Nice and the Principality of Monaco), remained with the Holy Roman Empire, and some of them joined France only later.