You love questions! With no easy answers… And you’ve been to
Roscoff ? Do you know why there is an expressway that runs from Roscoff, a small village of a bit more than 3000 habitants to Morlaix?
1 – This highway has been constructed because ferrys to England or Ireland leave from Roscoff ?
2 - Or because Johnny Halliday the famous French singer is behind the Anglo-French friendship!
3 - Or is it due to a love story between a Queen of Scotland and a French king?
4 - Or rather a history of shipowners, privateers and pirates!
1 – This highway has been constructed because ferrys to England or Ireland leave from Roscoff ?
If you are regular customer of the ferry, you have already taken the fast lane along the Bay of Morlaix. Ok, Roscoff is the port to
Plymouth and
Cork. But is it the only reason why there is this highway ? Why Roscoff rather than another port on the coast of Brittany?
… Well for economic reasons ... due to
climatic reasons ...
: The whole area around Roscoff has two major
advantages:
- A very
regular climate with a low difference between the highest temperatures and the lowest due to the Gulf Stream (warm water current that goes in front of Roscoff).
- And a really good land for agriculture.
Yes, and then ... it creates unique conditions for an exceptional agriculture.
We harvest almost uninterrupted even in winter ... Agricultural products are shipped from Roscoff to Paris, Brest, in the ports of Holland and England, and particularly on the English coast of Cornwal l: in 187,5 7 803 055 tons of potatoes were sent, 2 million kg of artichokes ... the pier of the port is full of carts that provide vegetables for vessels. (Joanne Guide 1884)
It is not surprising that this stretch of coastline is known as the
Golden Belt (ceinture dorée). Vegetables grow
quicker than the rest of the Bay (3 weeks in advance) and the mildness of the weather allows a
rapid succession of crops.More than
70% of French couliflower and artichokes are produced here.
If you take a
walk on the coastal paths, you will see the agricultural wealth. Every parcel is cultivated.
And this production has to be sold. As the old port is depending on tides that empties it and impede commercial traffic, Roscoff had to find another way to sell its vegies.
The city needed a
deep water port and the energy of a man,
Alexis Gourvennec who, thanks to the capital of local farmers (and the help of the State that wanted to help economically this part of Brittany), created a ferry line to England to sell vegetables (
1972). And then to develop tourism.... This is how the
Brittany Ferries began cross-links.
2 - Or because Johnny Halliday the famous French singer is behind the Anglo-French friendship!
This connection with England is not new, and is not due to the fame of
Johnny, the singer.
It is much more trivial…
Roscoff onions had already created the path. Yes, in
1828, one of the first Johnnie exported onions to England. They were called Johnnies because at the time they took with them their young children.
And everybody knows (specially the British !!!) that all the Bretons sons then were called Yann (Jean in French).You nicknamed the youngs Johnnie…
Those Johnnies and fathers used to leave
mid July, for 5 to 9 months with their bicycles covered of onions and were selling them across the sea. More than
1200 Johnnies made the crossing before the 2nd World War.
This
breed of onion has been brought from Portugal by a monk (mid XVIth century) and was gradually introduced in the region. Indeed, it was a good product for the sailors fighting against
scurvy (a disease caused by a lack of vitamins). Easy to preserve, the onion was useful for vessels, it could be taken on board and kept delaying the effects of the disease on the crews. Trade stopped after the war. A small museum in Roscoff commemorates this episode.
3 - Or is it due to a love story between a Queen of Scotland and a French king?
The connections with England existed long before this onion story ...
Mary Stuart, Queen of Scotland ... You know her… The legend said she resided here.
The future wife of
François II landed at Roscoff in 1548 to join the Court of France, where she had to continue her education before marrying the king 10 years later.
But it is a legend, because the houses where she lived did not exist at the time! The
chapel of Saint Ninien or rather what remains of it
(close to the watchtower, a remnant of the old city walls) commemorates the Scottish episode.
4 – Or is it rather due to an history of shipowners, privateers and pirates!
The relations with the British have not always been as peaceful as they are today.
In the Middle Ages and beyond, Roscoff was repeatedly
attacked and destroyed by the English troops. The honor of both side is safe because the reverse is also true.
It is a
hole for buccaneers and an old nest for privateers, the Breton poet
Tristan Corbière described it in the 19th century.
It is also a
port that trade with Flanders, Spain or Portugal (linen, cloth, salt ...). During the French Revolution period it became a place for
smuggling brandy, tea and gin with English ... The
Wines and Beers are the worthy successors of that time!
This wealth is still encarved in the walls of the houses :
sculptures still decorate the granite.
Read it in French :
Roscoff : porte vers l'Angleterre et l'Irlande
French
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