Pheasant Island (, , , , ) is an uninhabited

river island River Island (stylised as RiverIsland and abbreviated as RI) is a London-based, multi-channel fashion brand, founded in 1948 by Bernard Lewis (entrepreneur), Bernard Lewis. The retailer has a presence in over 125 of worldwide markets, in stores ...

located in the

Bidasoa __NOTOC__ The Bidasoa (; ; , ) is a river in the Basque Country of northern Spain and southern France that runs largely south to north. Named as such downstream of the village of Oronoz-Mugairi (municipality of Baztan) in the province of Navar ...

river, located between

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

and

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

, whose administration alternates between the two nations every six months.

Etymology

There are no

pheasants Pheasants ( ) are birds of several genera within the family Phasianidae in the order Galliformes. Although they can be found all over the world in introduced (and captive) populations, the pheasant genera's native range is restricted to Euras ...

on the island. The name could be a misinterpretation of some French word related to "passing" or "toll". The "Conference" name could come from the international meetings held there.

History

The most important historical event to have taken place on the island was the signing of the

Treaty of the Pyrenees The Treaty of the Pyrenees(; ; ) was signed on 7 November 1659 and ended the Franco-Spanish War that had begun in 1635. Negotiations were conducted and the treaty was signed on Pheasant Island, situated in the middle of the Bidasoa River on ...

. This was the climax to a series of 24 conferences held between

Luis Méndez de Haro Luis Méndez de Haro, 6th Marquis of Carpio and 2nd Duke of Olivares or Luis Méndez de Haro y Guzmán, , (17 February 1598 – 26 November 1661), was a Spanish political figure, general and art collector. He was the royal favourite (Spanish: ' ...

, a

grandee of Spain Grandee (; , ) is an official royal and noble ranks, aristocratic title conferred on some Spanish nobility. Holders of this dignity enjoyed similar privileges to those of the peerage of France during the , though in neither country did they ha ...

, and

Cardinal Mazarin Jules Mazarin (born Giulio Raimondo Mazzarino or Mazarini; 14 July 1602 – 9 March 1661), from 1641 known as Cardinal Mazarin, was an Italian Catholic prelate, diplomat and politician who served as the chief minister to the Kings of France Lou ...

Chief Minister of France The chief minister of France or, closer to the French term, chief minister of state (), or prime minister of France were and are informal titles given to various personages who received various degrees of power to rule the Kingdom of France on beha ...

, in 1659 following the end of the

Thirty Years' War The Thirty Years' War, fought primarily in Central Europe between 1618 and 1648, was one of the most destructive conflicts in History of Europe, European history. An estimated 4.5 to 8 million soldiers and civilians died from battle, famine ...

. A

monolith A monolith is a geological feature consisting of a single massive stone or rock, such as some mountains. Erosion usually exposes the geological formations, which are often made of very hard and solid igneous or metamorphic rock. Some monolit ...

was built in the centre of the island to commemorate the meeting. The island has also been used for several other royal meetings: *1659 –

Louis XIV LouisXIV (Louis-Dieudonné; 5 September 16381 September 1715), also known as Louis the Great () or the Sun King (), was King of France from 1643 until his death in 1715. His verified reign of 72 years and 110 days is the List of longest-reign ...

met his future wife

Maria Theresa of Spain Maria Theresa of Spain (; ; 10 September 1638 – 30 July 1683) was Queen consort of France, Queen of France from 1660 to 1683 as the wife of King Louis XIV. She was born an Infante, Infanta of Spain and Portugal as the daughter of King Philip IV ...

(1638–1683); they were the parents of

Louis, Grand Dauphin Louis, Dauphin of France (1 November 1661 – 14 April 1711), commonly known as le Grand Dauphin, was the eldest son and heir apparent of King Louis XIV and his spouse, Maria Theresa of Spain. He became known as the Grand Dauphin after the birth ...

; a year later – at the Meeting on the Isle of Pheasants – she said farewell to her father,

Philip IV of Spain Philip IV (, ; 8 April 160517 September 1665), also called the Planet King (Spanish: ''Rey Planeta''), was King of Spain from 1621 to his death and (as Philip III) King of Portugal from 1621 to 1640. Philip is remembered for his patronage of the ...

and much of the Spanish court, before crossing into France to become the consort of Louis XIV. *1721 –

Louis XV Louis XV (15 February 1710 – 10 May 1774), known as Louis the Beloved (), was King of France from 1 September 1715 until his death in 1774. He succeeded his great-grandfather Louis XIV at the age of five. Until he reached maturity (then defi ...

met his intended bride

Mariana Victoria of Spain Mariana Victoria of Spain (; 31 March 1718 – 15 January 1781) was an ''Infante, Infanta of Spain'' by birth and was later the List of Portuguese consorts, Queen of Portugal as the wife of King Joseph I of Portugal, Joseph I. She acted as rege ...

(1718–1781). The two never married; Louis instead married

Marie Leszczyńska Maria Karolina Zofia Felicja Leszczyńska (; 23 June 1703 – 24 June 1768), also known as Marie Leczinska (), was Queen of France as the wife of King Louis XV from their marriage on 4 September 1725 until her death in 1768. The daughter of St ...

, and Mariana, the future

Joseph I of Portugal '' Dom'' Joseph I (; 6 June 1714 – 24 February 1777), known as the Reformer (Portuguese: ''o Reformador''), was King of Portugal from 31 July 1750 until his death in 1777. Among other activities, Joseph was devoted to hunting and the opera. ...

. According to the terms of the

, the island would remain a condominium.

Political status

The island is a

condominium A condominium (or condo for short) is an ownership regime in which a building (or group of buildings) is divided into multiple units that are either each separately owned, or owned in common with exclusive rights of occupation by individual own ...

, the world's smallest, under joint

sovereignty Sovereignty can generally be defined as supreme authority. Sovereignty entails hierarchy within a state as well as external autonomy for states. In any state, sovereignty is assigned to the person, body or institution that has the ultimate au ...

of Spain and France; for alternating periods of six months, it is officially under the governance of the naval commander of

Hondarribia Hondarribia (; ; ) is a Spanish town situated on the west shore of the Bidasoa river's estuary, in Gipuzkoa, in the Basque Country (autonomous community), Basque Autonomous Community. The border town is situated on a little promontory facing Hend ...

, Spain (1 February – 31 July) and of a French viceroy (1 August – 31 January). Currently, the French position of "deputy director for the sea and coast of the Atlantic Pyrenees and Landes departments" carries the title of "

viceroy A viceroy () is an official who reigns over a polity in the name of and as the representative of the monarch of the territory. The term derives from the Latin prefix ''vice-'', meaning "in the place of" and the Anglo-Norman ''roy'' (Old Frenc ...

of Pheasant Island", an unusual name in the French Republic. One of the French officers with this title was Julien Viaud, better known as the writer

Pierre Loti Pierre Loti (; pseudonym of Louis Marie-Julien Viaud ; 14 January 1850 – 10 June 1923) was a French naval officer and novelist, known for his exotic novels and short stories.This article is derived largely from the ''Encyclopædia Britannica Ele ...

. In practice, it is administered in turn by the mayors of

Irun Irun (, ) is a town of the Bidasoaldea region in the province of Gipuzkoa in the Basque Autonomous Community, Spain. History It lies on the foundations of the ancient Oiasso, cited as a Roman- Vasconic town. During the Spanish Civil War, ...

(in

Gipuzkoa Gipuzkoa ( , ; ; ) is a province of Spain and a historical territory of the autonomous community of the Basque Country. Its capital city is Donostia-San Sebastián. Gipuzkoa shares borders with the French department of Pyrénées-Atlantiqu ...

, Spain) and

Hendaye Hendaye (; Basque: ''Hendaia'',HENDAIA
Pyrénées-Atlantiques Pyrénées-Atlantiques (; Gascon language, Gascon Occitan language, Occitan: ''Pirenèus Atlantics''; ) is a Departments of France, department located in the Regions of France, region of Nouvelle-Aquitaine in the southwest corner of metropolitan ...

, France).

Geography

, the island was approximately long and wide, and it was eroding. Since the Franco-Spanish boundary line follows the

thalweg In geography, hydrography, and fluvial geomorphology, a thalweg or talweg () is the line or curve of lowest elevation within a valley or watercourse. Normally only the horizontal position of the curve is considered (as viewed on a map); the c ...

of the Bidasoa river's main course, which is located on the northern shore of the islet, the whole territory of Pheasant Island is an

enclave An enclave is a territory that is entirely surrounded by the territory of only one other state or entity. An enclave can be an independent territory or part of a larger one. Enclaves may also exist within territorial waters. ''Enclave'' is so ...

located within the borders of Spain.

Access

The island can sometimes be reached on foot from the Spanish side at low tide. It is uninhabited, and access is forbidden, except very occasionally on heritage open days. Other than that, employees of the municipal government of Irun or Hendaye may access the island once every six months for cleaning and gardening, and members of the Naval Commands of San Sebastián (Spain) and Bayonne (France), responsible for monitoring the island, land on it every five days.

References

External links

Pheasant Island article
from

BBC News BBC News is an operational business division of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs in the UK and around the world. The department is the world's largest broad ...

The World's Only Border-Swapping Island
by The Tim Traveller on

YouTube YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...

Faisanes, Isla de los
(in Spanish) at

Auñamendi Encyclopedia The Auñamendi Encyclopedia is the largest encyclopedia of Basque Basque may refer to: * Basques, an ethnic group of Spain and France * Basque language, their language Places * Basque Country (greater region), the homeland of the Basque peopl ...

{{Authority control River islands of Spain River islands of France Islands of Nouvelle-Aquitaine France–Spain border Landforms of Pyrénées-Atlantiques Irun International islands Condominia (international law) Diplomatic sites Landforms of the Basque Country (autonomous community)