version anglaise du site principale

Relatively little is known about the Merovingian period (late 5th ? 10th centuries) in Brittany. Ille-et-Vilaine was subjected to pressure from two forces ? the Francs in the East and the Bretons in the west.
As to the mediaeval period, it was marked by the introduction of Christianity and the expansion of the Roman Catholic Church. It was also a period of struggle against the Vikings, Francs and between the Breton leaders themselves.

It was not the marriage of Anne of Brittany and the King of France that marked the end of independence for the Duchy of Brittany; it was the Edict of Union signed in 1532. The Edict gave the duchy a large number of privileges and annexation to France had very little effect on Breton liberties. This was Brittany's Golden Age.

The situation changed in the reign of Louis XIV. With the help of Colbert, he reformed the government and began to centralise and unify bureaucracy. After the uprising in Rennes against new taxes in 1675 (known as the Stamped Paper Revolt), the Breton Parliament in Rennes, a higher court that was independent of Paris, was exiled to Vannes. An intendant representing royal authority was appointed in 1689.