Lower Navarre - History

History

The lands of the Lower Navarre were part of the Duchy of Vasconia turned into Gascony by the end of the first millennium. At the time of Sancho III of Navarre, called the Great (died in 1035), Sancho VI William of Gascony pledged allegiance to the Navarrese king. The Kingdom of Navarre became suzerain to Gascony, with whom it had always held close ties. Moreover, the valleys of Baigorri, Ossès, Arberoa, Cize and Arberoa were attached to the former, so establishing the first nucleus of the Navarrese grip on the lands north of the Pyrenees. While these valleys were taken over again by Gascony for a period, the Ultrapuertos County (called Merindad in Navarre) was regained for Navarre in 1234, coming to be governed by the sheriff of Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port. However, the definite boundaries were not established until the 1244-1245 war between Labourdins and Navarrese came to an end.

In 1512 the Duke of Alba under orders from king Ferdinand II of Aragon led an army that invaded Navarre, seizing Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port. In 1516 king John III of Navarre re-captured the town, while Spain's Charles I's 10,000 strong army captured it again. However, given the difficulties posed by the defence of this outpost across the Pyrenees, he gave up the position in 1521, allowing king Henry II of Navarre to take over the whole county. Eventually, the legitimate Navarrese king, stripped de facto of the rest of Navarre now under Spanish rule, restored Navarrese official institutions and bodies in the Lower Navarre, e.g. the Parliament in 1523, the Chancery in 1524, the Royal Mint a bit later in Saint-Palais (Donapaleu in Basque), etc. However, during the 16th century the Albrets ruled over a wider territory (Béarn, etc.) and the seat of the Navarrese Royalty shifted to Pau, capital city of Béarn, where Henry IV was born. The title of King of Navarre continued to be held by the lineage of the Albrets and the Bourbons up to the French Revolution, while the kingdom itself merged with France in 1620.

Coordinates: 43°10′N 1°14′W / 43.167°N 1.233°W / 43.167; -1.233