Cugand

Cugand is a common French, located in the department of the the Vendée and the area Pays of the Loire.

Geography

History

Origins

If one believes the significance of Cugand of it - of cocut or cucut adjectival derived from pre-indo-European cucc (round height) probably with Breton the gwenn (white) - the occupation of the site starts before the arrival of the Romans.

According to Gregoire de Tours, historian of the Life century, Conan Mériadec obtained from the Maxime tyrant, the country which it had just conquered with the title of king. This country was the Armorique or the Brittany. Maxime having been killed in the battle at Aquilée into 391, Conan recognized Theodore as emperor. He carried the war in Aquitaine, he made himself main of the country of Retz into 405, he shook the yoke of the Romans into 410. To stop the incursions devastators of Breton, the emperor Honorius made build fortifications called " wall of Honorius" who consisted of turns whose base was the wood stones and stages and where are today the communes of Cugand, Gétigné, Boussay, Clisson, Bois of Céné, Légé, Saint-Etienne-of-Wood and Tiffauges.

From these old times, it would remain only little of vestiges: the piles of a bridge at the bottom of the Separates to the Low-Walnut tree (Roman way of Durivum (Saint-Georges-with-Montaigu) with Angers) and of the flagstones in a farm in Ambenière (Roman way of Durivum with Clichio (Clisson)).

Steps of Brittany and Poitou

In the beginning, certainly more coherent, the common steps of Brittany and Poitou were divided at the XV century into several pieces. In the east, between Clisson and Tiffauges, the High steps were which included/understood the four parishes of Gétigné, Boussay, Cugand and Bruffière, which depended simultaneously on the seigniories on Tiffauges (Poitou) and Clisson (Brittany) for the temporal one and spiritual Cugand and Gétigné depended on the diocese on Nantes and Boussay and Bruffière on that on Luçon.

This zone enjoyed particular privileges, confirmed successively by the dukes of Brittany then by the kings of France. Thus, Jean V, duke of Brittany, recognized by a charter of September 3rd, 1431, the antiquity of the franknesses and privileges from the Steps:

" Jehan (…). With noz senneschal, allocated and prosecutor of Nantes (…) hello. Venuz are to ourselves pluseurs of the manans and habitans moving old (…) complaignans humbly and expousans as of touz time they acoustumé estre and will demorez frank and free from touz fouages, aydes, subcides, quetz, guards, subvencions or imposicions unspecified, by what ilz is moving common of Brittany and Poictou, which is in that exempcion and previlège, direction what it is licit with seignorie riens impouser of new load esd. steps, without the scent of the other, and were the chouses thus introduced in the past, AD what lesd. common steps peussent to remain inhabited and attended (…). "

Then, by ordinance of the king, Louis XIII, dated June 8th, 1639, the inhabitants of the Steps had to pay a tax to be maintained in their privileges. This one will be discharged into 1642,1651,1661,1678,1681,1704 and 1762.

At the time of the general states of 1789, made unique in France, the three orders (nobility, clergy and third-states) wrote their complaints together: to preserve the privileges of the Steps. What Convention will refuse.

The revolution

The abolition of the privileges, on August 4th, 1789, raised general indignation: the population of Cugand meets to protest. Then, the civil constitution of the clergy, on July 12th, 1790, and the levy in masse of 300.000 men issued by Convention, started the beginning of the wars of the Vendée in the area. The vice-chancellor Bastard refusing to lend oath, took refuge in clandestinity.

All began on March 11th, 1793, when 4000 peasants of the surrounding parishes walked on Clisson. Under the control of Belorde of Grenotière, the national guard went on Cugand, making 16 prisoners and another detachment several deaths on Gétigné. In spite of the reinforcements from Nantes, under the impulse of the catch of Cholet, on March 14th, the insurrectionists took Clisson and seized Vertou the 18. Mr. de Vieux, lord of the Wild Pine was the general commander of this gathering.

September 16th, the republican troops arrived at Clisson. During this battle, the insurrectionists beating retirement were to push back with the combat by their wives who treated them cowards and of couards, the republicans were finally beaten in Torfou 19. In front of impossibility of overcoming, the Republic created 12 infernal columns to charge killing and with burning all that is on their passage. One of them will make several passages to Cugand including the one on June 10th, 1794. During this period, one estimates that approximately 200 cugandais perished. In 1789, Cugand included/understood approximately 1800 inhabitants.

In addition to this war, the Revolution brought other changes. Thus, by the law of January 15th, 1790, the departments and the communes transfer the day. In this cutting, Cugand is found in the Vendée what was not taste of the inhabitants. They wrote a complaint with the address of the Public prosecutor Syndic asking to be joined together with the district of Clisson, on July 10th, 1790. So at the beginning, this one seemed favorable to the project, it adopted the point of view of the Richard abbot of the Alder, deputy of the Steps and originating in Boussay, to maintain Cugand in the Vendée.

The industrialization of Separates

Cugand being in the Steps of Brittany and Poitou, the inhabitants enjoyed certain privileges. To benefit the best from their exemptions very favorable to the commercial exchanges (goods travelling without taxes), they multiplied mills and manufactures in the valley of Sèvre. To the old mills with corn and rye, they added mills to tan, fuller, paper in which the hydraulic force allowed a mechanization partial of the production. In same time, whereas the spinning of the Wool, Hemp, flax and, later, Coton was ensured by the women of the villages working residence, weaving became the work of specialized craftsmen gathered in the borough.

One generally locates at the 16th century, the rational exploitation of the roadways by the artisanal companies: one advances the dates of 1562 for Hucheloup, 1587 for Doucinière, 1593 for Antières, 1595 for Fouques. Let us examine different the occupations from the roadways:

High Doucinière: a mill with corn (1686), a fuller
Low Doucinière: a mill with corn (1586), a fuller then an electric factory (1915-1920)
Hucheloup: a mill with corn (1522), a fuller (1562) then a spinning mill (1835-1985)
Bas-Hucheloup: a mill with corn (1522) then a tannery (XIX century) and a chamois-leather factory
Fradet: a mill with corn (1503 - 1900)
Antières: a mill with corn (1430), a fuller (1593), a paper mill (1644-1934), a cardboard factory (1946-1960) then a rubber factory and plastics (since 1960)
Gaumier: a mill with corn (1522), a fuller (1595-1957) and a weaving (1815-1957)
Grenotière: a mill with corn (1522), a fuller (1595) then a tannery
Fouques: a mill with corn (1522), a fuller (1595) then a forging mill (1776-1828) and a spinning mill (1828-1960)
Broken into leaf: a mill with corn (1522), a paper mill (1680-1839), a spinning mill and dyeing (1839-1899), a tannery (1899-1929), a chamois-leather factory (1929-1969) then a movie studio (since 1969)
Plessard: a mill with corn (1634-1815) become flour mill (1815-1910), an electric factory (1910), a tannery transformed into rural lodgings.

We lean on the two main activities: paper and weaving. Which was, at that time, the manufactoring process of paper? The water of Sèvre was essential to each stage of manufacture, except for drying! Water passed by the steeping vats of the old rags, sorted beforehand by the women. Water ran out in the laundrettes where the cut pieces were cleaned, before the transformation into paper pulp under the action of the mallet mills or of the mills with cylinders. Work was done in cylinders timber sinking covered internally with lead.

When one wanted to use this paste stored in the deposits, one returned from there to the water of Sèvre for the mixing. Lastly, and it was all the art of the paper companion; it was necessary to know to soak the form (the mould, left frame furnished with copper or brass wire) in the paste, to drain it, pass it to the workman bedfellow who posed it on felts or cylinders furnished with wool. Remained to press, extend, dry and paste, press again and finally to extend to the sun or the drier before smoothing it.

At the edge of separates in Gaumier, it exists an old fulling mill whose survival is miraculous. It gives an example astonishing of this process to two piles, formerly very common and now extremely rare. Hydraulic beating with heavy mallets striking wool cloths is an operation of finish, complementary to spinning, fabric and dyeing. It has the aim of degreasing, to reduce and give binder, to even gloss the fabrics called tiretaines or kalmouks, according to dimensions. Very delicate, prolonged operation several hours, of night like day and physically very testing, for which practice. The fabrics were then dried on a pre neighbor on a wire.

Throughout the XIX century, Cugand was the commune of the most industrialized Vendée. The closing of the last spinning mill, in 1985, put an end to the activities on the edges of Separates and at an adventure started at the XVII century. Today, there remain only some ruins and a Reciprocity, meeting of the two companies mutualists of the commune, one founded in 1841 (by the spinners and the first association of the department) and the other in 1849 (by the paper makers and which was the ninth).

Blasonnement

Administration

Demography

Places and monuments

Moulin with Foulon of Gaumier on the Separates Nantes.
the Large-House: old dependence of the castle of Clisson, turn of the 15th century.

Personalities related to the commune

Gabriel-Julien Ouvrard

Events

Festival of Cugand , Dances and Musics of the World, folk groups of the whole world, during 4 days in August (20 000 spectators in 2005 for the 7th edition of the festival).

See too

Common of the Vendée

External bonds

Official site of the commune of Cugand
Cugand on the site of the national geographical Institute
Cugand on the site of INSEE
Cugand on the site of Quid
Localization of Cugand on a chart of France and communes bordering
Plane on Cugand on Mapquest

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