Bigordans is the term for the inhabitants of

Bigorre Bigorre (; Gascon: ''Bigòrra'') is a region in southwest France, historically an independent county and later a French province, located in the upper watershed of the Adour, on the northern slopes of the Pyrenees, part of the larger region k ...

. At least into the first half of the 20th century the Bigordans maintained a separate ethnic and cultural identity from other French people. There were very adamant in claiming differences from the neighboring

Béarn Béarn (; ; or ''Biarn''; or ''Biarno''; or ''Bearnia'') is one of the traditional provinces of France, located in the Pyrenees mountains and in the plain at their feet, in Southwestern France. Along with the three Northern Basque Country, ...

ais. However, by the start of the 20th century the springs and baths of Bigorre were attracting many visitors from other parts of France, and the local ethnic uniqueness was threatened. In the 1984 edition of the '' Britannica'', Bigordans are still shown as a separate ethnic group on the map "Primary European Ethnic Culture Areas". However this same map still shows

Silesia Silesia (see names #Etymology, below) is a historical region of Central Europe that lies mostly within Poland, with small parts in the Czech Silesia, Czech Republic and Germany. Its area is approximately , and the population is estimated at 8, ...

and

East Prussia East Prussia was a Provinces of Prussia, province of the Kingdom of Prussia from 1772 to 1829 and again from 1878 (with the Kingdom itself being part of the German Empire from 1871); following World War I it formed part of the Weimar Republic's ...

as inhabited by Germans, as well as the

Sudetenland The Sudetenland ( , ; Czech and ) is a German name for the northern, southern, and western areas of former Czechoslovakia which were inhabited primarily by Sudeten Germans. These German speakers had predominated in the border districts of Bohe ...

. Since these areas had mass deportations of their German population after the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, it is evident that the map does not reflect the reality of ethnic concentrations in Europe for any year after 1945.

Sources

Miltoun, Francis. ''Castles and chateaux of old Navarre and the Basque Provinces: including also Foix, Roussillon and Béarn''. (Boston: L C. Page & Company, 1907) p. 85
*''Encyclopædia Britannica''. 1984 Edition. Vol. 6, p. 1122.
Michelet, Jules. (trans. G. H. Smith). ''History of France''. (New York: D. Appleton & Co., 1869) p. 162
Ethnic groups in France Romance peoples {{France-stub