The Isle of Bouin or Boing () no longer actually exists as it has silted up. It was part of a vast area of

marsh In ecology, a marsh is a wetland that is dominated by herbaceous plants rather than by woody plants.Keddy, P.A. 2010. Wetland Ecology: Principles and Conservation (2nd edition). Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK. 497 p More in genera ...

located around Bouin, separated from the mainland by the course of the River Dain. The creation of a dyke protecting the Breton Marsh from

storm surge A storm surge, storm flood, tidal surge, or storm tide is a coastal flood or tsunami-like phenomenon of rising water commonly associated with low-pressure weather systems, such as cyclones. It is measured as the rise in water level above the ...

s resulted in a reclamation of the

island An island or isle is a piece of land, distinct from a continent, completely surrounded by water. There are continental islands, which were formed by being split from a continent by plate tectonics, and oceanic islands, which have never been ...

that increased the land area inland of the Bay of Bourgneuf.

History

The Isle of Bouin was pillaged and razed by the

Vikings Vikings were seafaring people originally from Scandinavia (present-day Denmark, Norway, and Sweden), who from the late 8th to the late 11th centuries raided, pirated, traded, and settled throughout parts of Europe.Roesdahl, pp. 9� ...

813 Events By place Byzantine Empire * June 22 – Battle of Versinikia: The Bulgars, led by Krum, ruler ('' khan'') of the Bulgarian Empire, defeat Emperor Michael I near Edirne (modern Turkey). The Byzantine army (26,000 men) is ...

and by the French in 1471 (the town was Breton at the time) during the wars between Brittany and France. During the Vendée Wars, the island was renamed "Ile Marat" by the revolutionaries in homage to

Jean-Paul Marat Jean-Paul Marat (, , ; born Jean-Paul Mara; 24 May 1743 – 13 July 1793) was a French political theorist, physician, and scientist. A journalist and politician during the French Revolution, he was a vigorous defender of the ''sans-culottes ...

, assassinated on 13 July 1793. In the 14th century, the island benefited from island franchises, favourable to the development of

contraband Contraband (from Medieval French ''contrebande'' "smuggling") is any item that, relating to its nature, is illegal to be possessed or sold. It comprises goods that by their nature are considered too dangerous or offensive in the eyes of the leg ...

. In the 17th century, as on the

Île d'Yeu Ile or ILE may refer to: Ile * Ile, a Puerto Rican singer * Ile District (disambiguation), multiple places * Ilé-Ifẹ̀, an ancient Yoruba city in south-western Nigeria * Interlingue (ISO 639:ile), a planned language * Isoleucine, an amino ...

, the islanders grew their own

tobacco Tobacco is the common name of several plants in the genus '' Nicotiana'' of the family Solanaceae, and the general term for any product prepared from the cured leaves of these plants. More than 70 species of tobacco are known, but the ...

plants. This clandestine trade became so flourishing that they had to engage in massive importation. Companies trading in fake snuffboxes, involving all layers of island society, were created to regulate the traffic. The

boat A boat is a watercraft of a large range of types and sizes, but generally smaller than a ship, which is distinguished by its larger size or capacity, its shape, or its ability to carry boats. Small boats are typically used on inland waterways s ...

s sailed in

flotilla A flotilla (from Spanish, meaning a small ''flota'' ( fleet) of ships), or naval flotilla, is a formation of small warships that may be part of a larger fleet. Composition A flotilla is usually composed of a homogeneous group of the same cla ...

s to the north to bring back "good" tobacco, then stored in

warehouse A warehouse is a building for storing goods. Warehouses are used by manufacturers, importers, exporters, wholesalers, transport businesses, customs, etc. They are usually large plain buildings in industrial parks on the rural–urban fringe, out ...

s. Before 1789, Bouin was part of the Bishopric of Nantes. Politically, it belonged to the Marche de Bretagne, therefore came under both

Poitou Poitou ( , , ; ; Poitevin: ''Poetou'') was a province of west-central France whose capital city was Poitiers. Both Poitou and Poitiers are named after the Pictones Gallic tribe. Geography The main historical cities are Poitiers (historical ...

and

Brittany Brittany ( ) is a peninsula, historical country and cultural area in the north-west of modern France, covering the western part of what was known as Armorica in Roman Gaul. It became an Kingdom of Brittany, independent kingdom and then a Duch ...

. In 1789, its representatives asked, in vain, that it be attached to the department of Loire-Inferior, with

Nantes Nantes (, ; ; or ; ) is a city in the Loire-Atlantique department of France on the Loire, from the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast. The city is the List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, sixth largest in France, with a pop ...

as its capital. The place is cited as the southern limit of Brittany in the 1843 edition of the ''Historical and geographical dictionary of Brittany''.Ogée, Marteville, Varin, '' Historical and geographical dictionary of Brittany '', Molliex libraire-éditeur à Rennes, 1843, of the preliminary speech. Se
digital copy
on Google Books.

History

References

See also