French Boys' Clothing: Regional Differences--Southern France (Midi)
Figure 1.--This French postcard, mailed in 1905, shows two boys at the fountain in Grasse, Alpes-Maritimes department. This is a few miles inland from the Rvierra. Actually many Americans have heared about Grasse, without knowing it. Grasse was the hometown of Admiral François Joseph Paul de Grasse (1723–88). He was the rare French admiral who managed to defeat a British Royal Navy fleet. And it was a crucial victory -- the Battle of the Chesapeake (1781). This led directly to the Lord Cornwallis having to surrender his army at Yorktown.
The French call southern France the Midi. It includes the regions of France south of the Marais Poitevin (is a large area of marshland in western France. Of course when Amerticans hear souther France, ghey immediateky think of the Rivierra. Much there is much more to sothern France than the Rivierra. It includes: southern Nouvelle-Aquitaine in the west, Occitanie in the centre, the southern parts of Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes in the northeast, Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur in the southeast. Southern France roughly coresponds to most of Occitania (Occitanie), the historical and cultural region in which Occitan (langue d'oc) was sookn abd wsas distinct from the anguages of northern Frnce (langues d'oïl) was spoken. The largest cities were Bordeaux, Nice, Marseille, Montpellier, and Toulouse. In addition to the Rivierra there were mouintauns--actually two ranges--the Pyrenees and French Alps. And not only is there a Mediterrean coast, there is also an Atlantic coast. Southern France has a fascunatiung history. It was the route that Hanibal took to invade Rome. It was also where Rome began the conquest of Gaul--playingthe vasrious tribes off each other. After Rome fell, the Visigoths began to settle in southern France, but were forced by the Franks into Spain. Southern France played an important role in the Crusades. The focus of French history grafually shifted north, but having Mediterranean port was important in the gradual recival the French economy during medieval era when the Europe was still heavily focused on the Meditrraean basin.
