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Genealogy Cheat Sheet - All genealogical resources for your genealogy in Haute-Garonne: archives, civil status, history, useful sites
©️Wikimedia - Claude Villetaneuse
Updated: July 16, 2024
The Haute-Garonne department is located at the heart of the Occitanie region. It stretches from the foothills of the Pyrenees in the south to the hills of Lauragais in the north.
The Haute-Garonne department was created during the French Revolution in 1790. Until 1808, it included the Castelsarrasin arrondissement, which later became part of the Tarn-et-Garonne department. The Haute-Garonne department is bordered by the Ariège, the Aude, the Tarn, the Tarn-et-Garonne, the Gers, and the Hautes-Pyrénées, as well as Spain.
Geographically, Haute-Garonne is crossed by the Garonne River, which gives it its name. The department is characterized by a variety of landscapes, from the Pyrenees mountains to the plains of the Toulouse Midi, passing through the hills of Comminges and Volvestre.
Historically, the region has been inhabited since prehistoric times, as evidenced by the decorated caves of Marsoulas and Gargas. In the Gallo-Roman era, Toulouse (Tolosa) became an important city, a status it retained in the Middle Ages as the capital of the County of Toulouse.
Haute-Garonne is distinguished by its cultural and historical specificities. The Occitan language, still present in some rural areas, was long the vernacular language of the territory. The department also played an important role in the history of Catharism and the Albigensian Crusades in the 13th century.
The economic history of the department was marked by pastel in the 16th century, then by the development of aeronautics in the 20th century, influencing population movements and demographic evolution.
Visiting the departmental archives of Haute-Garonne:
🏢 11 boulevard Griffoul-Dorval, 31400 Toulouse
Contacting the departmental archives of Haute-Garonne:
📞 05 34 32 50 00
Browse the digitized and online archives to search for your ancestors:
The department of Haute-Garonne and the Occitanie region have experienced significant migrations and population movements:
Antiquity : the Volques Tectosages (a Celtic people) settle in the territory around the 3rd century BC before Roman colonization starting in the 2nd century BC, when Tolosa becomes an important city with around 15,000 to 20,000 inhabitants in the 1st century AD.
Middle Ages : in the 5th century, around 100,000 Visigoths settle throughout Aquitaine. Toulouse will develop as the capital of the county, and its population reaches around 30,000 inhabitants in the 13th century. Finally, population movements related to the Albigensian Crusades (1209-1229) result in the displacement of about 10,000 to 15,000 people in the region.
Renaissance and Modern Period : in the 16th century, the department experiences immigration of Italian artisans and merchants attracted by the pastel trade. After the revocation of the Edict of Nantes (1685), about 4,000 to 5,000 Protestants leave the Toulouse area.
19th Century : Toulouse's population grows from 50,000 to 150,000 inhabitants between 1800 and 1900. Spanish and Italian immigration for agricultural work leads to the settlement of about 10,000 people between 1850 and 1900.
20th Century : in 1939, Haute-Garonne experiences a massive influx of Spanish refugees fleeing the civil war (about 40,000 people). In the 1950s-1960s, about 15,000 Italians and Portuguese settle in the department. Also, following the repatriation of French people from Algeria, 20,000 people settle in Haute-Garonne in 1962. Finally, starting in the 1960s-1970s, about 30,000 Maghrebis settle in the department.
For more information:
On Gallica: the books, the press and the manuscripts to learn everything about the Haute-Garonne department
Happy searching!
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