Breton Revolutionary Army - Origins of The Conflict

Origins of The Conflict

Until the end of the 15th century, Brittany had managed to remain independent vis-à-vis its French and English neighbours. In December 1491, however, after two consecutive civil wars opposing the French Crown to an alliance of French Princes (among them Brittany) and foreign powers, the latter were defeated and the young Breton duchess, Anne, was married to the young King Charles VIII, thereby tying Brittany to France.

In 1532, the then French monarch, Francis I of France, officially tied Brittany to France despite allowing originally allowing it to preserve its fiscal and legal privileges. This partial autonomy, in turn, allowed Brittany to remain unaffected by most of the foreign and domestic conflicts that afflicted the French Kingdom throughout the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries.

During the French Revolution, however, Brittany’s relative autonomy was revoked. Its parliament abolished, its Breton language banned, and its territory divided into five departments. This new transformed Brittany provoked bipolar reactions throughout the five new departments, as some overwhelmingly endorsed such fusion while others systematically rebelled against the fragile new Republic.