Prehistory Palaeolithic of Menchecourt-les-Abbeville, shown at the
1867 International Exposition) –
Muséum de Toulouse The subsoil contains many vestiges of the
Pleistocene. This discovery was a founding element of
prehistory as a science. The name Abbeville has been adopted to name a category of
Paleolithic These stone tools which are some of the earliest found in Europe, were chipped on both sides so as to form a sharp edge, were known as
Abbevillian handaxes or
bifaces, but recently the term 'Abbevillian' is becoming obsolete as the earlier form of stone tool, not found in Europe, is known as the
Oldowan chopper. Some of these artifacts are displayed at the
Musee Boucher-de-Perthes. A more refined and later version of handaxe production was found in the Abbeville/Somme River district. The more refined handaxe became known as the
Acheulean industry, named after
Saint-Acheul, today a suburb of Amiens. It retained some importance into the
Bronze Age.
Middle Ages Early Middle Ages In the 7th century, the Benedictine monks of
Saint-Valéry,
Saint-Josse,
Saint-Saulve de Montreuil,
Forest-Montiers,
Balance and
Valloires cleared the woods that were close to their monasteries. The Frankish king
Dagobert I then gave part of the forest of
Crécy, the hermitage became the : it is the Act of birth of the abbatial field of Abbeville. The name, Abbeville, comes from the
Latin and means "
town (or more exactly)
field of Abbots" (of Saint-Riquier). The first historical mention of Abbeville, in the chronicle of
Hariulf, dates to 831 AD. It was a small island in the Somme, inhabited by fishermen who took refuge there with their boats and had fortified it against
barbarian invasions from the north. The Abbot
Angilbert built a castle to defend this island, which depended on the
Abbey of
Saint-Riquier. under the dependence of the Abbots of Saint-Riquier. Subsequently, the silting up of the Bay of Somme forced the sea to recede by , but the city continued to be a trading port. Abbeville became the capital of the Ponthieu and rapidly spread on both banks of the River Somme, right on the slope of the hillsides and left into the marshes. In 1095,
Guy I Count of Ponthieu founded the Abbey Saint-Pierre of Abbeville and on 24 May 1098, he was
dubbed as a
Knight by
Louis the Fat. On the occasion of the
First Crusade, Abbeville was the meeting point of many troops from the northern provinces.
Godefroy de Bouillon reviewed them on the current location of the . With the rapid development of the salt trade (from
Rue),
woad (
waide in Picard) and industry of wool cloth, the bourgeois increased in number and political importance: They asked for a
charter granted in the course of the 12th century and which was confirmed in 1184 In 1214, the Abbeville militia took part in the
Battle of Bouvines. In the middle of the 13th century, Abbeville was "one of the best cities of the Kings of France". Its port was one of the first of the Kingdom and its considerable trade. In 1259, the
Estates-General of the Kingdom stood at Abbeville and
Henry III of England has met with
Louis IX of France to sign the
Treaty of Paris, which settled the question of the conquests of
Philip Augustus. In 1272, Ponthieu with Abbeville, passed by marriage to the
kings of England, but
Philip V took over the city, claiming that
Edward II of England had not fulfilled its duty of
vassal. Edward II complied with the feudal law, and Abbeville fell under English rule. However many challenges rose between the bourgeois and their new masters.
Late Middle Ages Throughout the
Hundred Years' War, the town was alternately occupied by English and French forces, causing the inhabitants of the town enormous suffering. They were tested by excessive taxes and terrible epidemics. Over the decades, the region was devastated by
looting,
epidemics and
wolves. The city thus appealed to the King of France twice, in 1406 and in 1415. Affected by the , Abbeville resisted the English army, and served as a home base for who refuelled
Calais besieged by the English. In 1360, it was transferred, with the County of Ponthieu of which it was the capital, to the Crown of England by the
Treaty of Brétigny. That same year,
John II of France stayed there after returning from captivity. In 1361, Abbeville, again English, poorly welcomed its new masters. Ringois, a bourgeois of the city, refusing to take the oath of obedience to Edward III of England, was taken to English soil and hurled from the top of the Tower of
Dover Castle into the sea in 1368. During this period, a revolt of
Jacques was defeated by the Abbeville militia in the vicinity of Saint-Riquier. The soldiers of
Charles V captured the city by surprise, but the English recaptured it shortly after and it remained in their possession until 1385. Like other Picardy cities, it then passed under
Burgundian rule at the end of the in 1421. In 1430,
Henry VI of England was received at Abbeville. In 1435, the city was ceded to
Philip the Good, the
Duke of Burgundy, by the
Treaty of Arras. but in 1465
Charles the Bold revoked the grant by taking the lead of the
League of the Public Weal. In 1466, the municipality enacted safety regulations recommending to reduce or not use flammable materials (such as walls in timber or straw roofs) in construction, in order to reduce the risk of fire. However, it clashed with general hostility, and the regulations were finally just applied. Louis XI failed before Abbeville in 1471, but recovered Picardy on the death of the Duke of Burgundy in 1477.
Early modern era In 1477 it was annexed by King Louis XI, He plundered and sacked the , towns, churches and castles of
Authie and
Saint-Valery-sur-Somme region. The
St. Bartholomew's Day massacre caused no casualties in Abbeville due to the moderation of
Léonor d'Orléans, the
Duke of Longueville and governor of Picardy. However, Abbeville had embraced the
Catholic League and suffered from the Wars of Religion0, and it was relieved when it was recognised, by
Henry IV in April 1594, despite the clergy who persisted in its resistance. Following this, on 18 December 1594, the King of France Henry IV visited Abbeville.
17th century At the beginning of the 17th century a plague epidemic wreaked havoc. More than 8,000 people perished, thus depopulating Abbeville. On 21 December 1620, King
Louis XIII visited the town. His sister
Henrietta went there several times. In 1635 and 1636 the town suffered from the
war against the
Holy Roman Empire and
Spain. They destroyed many villages located in the surrounding area. Richelieu stayed in the city in October. A plague epidemic raged again during the years 1635, 1636 and 1637. In 1656, 6,000 soldiers, who had participated in the
English Civil War, landed in France and took their quarters in Abbeville from where they left to go and reinforce the army of
Turenne en route to
Valenciennes. Shortly after, Balthazar de Fargues sold the place to
John of Austria and after meeting the price, he refused to deliver it to him, raising troops for himself who were then spread throughout the Ponthieu to ransom the inhabitants. Finally stopped, he was tried and hanged at
Place Saint-Pierre on 17 March 1665. In 1657, Louis XIV came twice to Abbeville with his mother,
Anne of Austria. By the mid-16th century, the woad trade shrank after the promotion of the
pastel of the Pays du Midi, and it took to restructuring crafts.
Colbert used it, and under
Louis XIV, the city developed through the installation of Van Robais, manufacturers of sheets and tapestries from the Netherlands who, in 1665, created the (drapery workshops). In 1685, it suffered a serious blow at the
Revocation of the Edict of Nantes, the Protestant temple was destroyed and the persecuted workers who were the majority of skilled labour left the town, including those of Van Robais. The population decreased very strongly and never fully recovered from this exodus of talent. On 2 November 1773, the powder magazine exploded killing 150 people and damaging nearly 1,000 houses. Administratively, the people of Abbeville formed a whose competence has been confused with that of the delegation of the same name (located in the
Generalitat of Amiens). On the eve of the
Revolution, Abbeville was the chef-lieu of a main electoral
Bailiwick (without secondary Bailiwick). Abbeville was fairly important in the 18th century, when the Van Robais Royal Manufacture (one of the first major factories in France) brought great prosperity (but some class controversy) to the town. Voltaire, among others, wrote about it.
Contemporary era French Revolution There were no significant excesses during periods of
Revolution and the
Terror. In 1793, on
Place Saint-Pierre the furniture of the churches was burned, along with images and the feudal titles. The became the
Temple of Reason. On 8 June 1794, a festival was celebrated in honour of the
Supreme Being. Abbeville suffered from famine in 1794 and 1795. On 5 January 1795, the Hotel of Grutuze, built under
Charles VII, attended by the directors of the district, was destroyed by a fire. In 1797, the , one of the oldest learned societies of France, was created. In 1798 and 1799, the winter was severe and a part of the town was flooded.
Consulate and Empire On 18 brumaire year X (9 November 1801), there was a terrible
hurricane that caused more than 1,300,000
francs worth of damage in the
arrondissement. On 29 prairial year XI (18 June 1803),
Napoleon passed through the town for the first time. During the preparations of the expedition he was planning against the United Kingdom, the First Consul often spent time in Abbeville by going to the
camp of Boulogne. In 1813, as part of the reorganisation of the cavalry which had been
decimated in Russia, the arrondissement offered the government 43 men mounted and equipped. Early in 1814, with
invasion becoming more imminent every day, the urban
National Guard was reorganised across the whole of the
Empire. 30 pieces of artillery were placed on the walls, and to complete the defense system, trees were felled in the vicinity to make 30,000 palisades and 14,000 shields. On 20 February, a column of cavalry forming the vanguard of the 3rd Corps of the Prussian army, commanded by
Baron de Geismar, arrived in
Doullens, before heading to Abbeville. Immediately, the Abbevillois ran to arms. 800 rifles were made available and a vigorous resistance began when the population learned that this supposed vanguard of the Prussian army had more than 1,500 to 2,000 men in its ranks, both
Cossacks and
Saxon Lancers, who eventually made their way to Paris. In early April, after the
Battle of Paris and the
abdication of Napoleon, 2,000 Lancers and
Prussian
cuirassiers commanded by
General Röder arrived from Paris and the surrounding countryside, and committed all kinds of excesses during their stay. On 27 April 1814,
Louis XVIII entered the town and was received with an outpouring of joy. He stayed at the
Abbey of Saint-Pierre. During the
First Restoration, many distinguished people and about 10,000 British troops passed through Abbeville, to return to their country. The
Duke of Berry, accompanied by the and the , stayed there. On 21 March 1815, King Louis XVIII, who was on the way to exile, spent a night in the town. In 1815, after the
Battle of Waterloo, the town was again put into defence. However, after numerous desertions, the garrison was reduced to 400 men.
July monarchy, Second Republic and Second Empire Victor Hugo came to Abbeville three times, as a tourist: In 1835, he stayed there successively from July 26 (after going down to ''L'Écu de Brabant
), then on 4 and 5 August (staying at L'Hôtel d'Angleterre''). In August and September 1837, he came to Amiens after having descended the Somme by Steamboat. Finally, in 1849, leaving the city in the rain on 11 September. In 1847, there was the arrival of the railway in Abbeville with the opening of the Amiens-Abbeville section of the line of the
Longueau–Boulogne railway. In 1856, the
Abbeville railway station was inaugurated, which is still in service.
End of 19th century and Belle Epoque Abbeville was the birthplace of
Rear Admiral Amédée Courbet (1827–1885), whose victories on land and at sea made him a
national hero during the
Sino-French War (August 1884 to April 1885). Courbet died in June 1885, shortly after the end of the war, at
Makung in the
Pescadores Islands, and his body was brought back to France and buried in Abbeville on 1 September 1885 after a
state funeral at
Les Invalides a few days earlier. Abbeville's old Haymarket Square (Place du Marché-au-Blé) was renamed Place de l'Amiral Courbet in July 1885, shortly after the news of Courbet's death reached France, and an extravagant baroque statue of Courbet was erected in the middle of the square at the end of the nineteenth century. The statue was damaged in a devastating German
bombing raid during World War II. It was an allied base during
World War I. In 1896, the Socialist
Jules Guesde came to lecture in Abbeville. In the aftermath, a group of the
French Workers' Party and a House of the people are created. 1899, the phone has already arrived in Abbeville but its operation does not any satisfaction. In 1899, Abbeville industry had a mill, a table linen factory, a rope factory, a factory of weight scales, three smelters, a boiler works, a locksmith for buildings, a wood grinding mill, a distillery, etc. On 7 July 1907 was the inauguration of the
La Barre Monument, gathering many Republicans, delegates from Socialist groups and free-thinkers.
World War I and the conferences of Abbeville During World War I, the town was never occupied by the German troops (as evidenced by the monument built on the Mont de Caubert). In 1916, during the
Battle of the Somme, it served as a military hospital (the 3rd Australian General Hospital). As with Amiens and Beauvais, the town was partially destroyed and the is significant nearby, particularly due to
unexploded ordnance still found in the soil. In 1918, it was the seat of two Anglo-French conferences (conferences of Abbeville): That of 25 March, between Field Marshal
Haig and Generals
Wilson and
Foch, who convened the
Doullens conference. During the second conference on 2 May, Foch demanded authority on the Italian front but only obtained a power of coordination. It was at the Conference of Abbeville (1 and 2 May 1918) while the armies weakened that Foch opposite
Clemenceau and
Lloyd George would have considered a fallback to the south to protect the capital. In the event that the French and British armies were separated and they could no longer defend both access to the ports of the English Channel and Paris, the British army would have then withdrawn and stood on the Somme. On May 31, 1918,
American war poet John Allan Wyeth was a
Second Lieutenant in the
33rd U.S. Infantry Division, which was largely composed of soldiers from the
Illinois Army National Guard. Lt. Wyeth and his fellow
Doughboys were stationed in nearby
Huppy, when German
aeroplanes began a bombing raid on Abbeville. At the time, such air raids were a nightly affair and Abbeville was in the process of being evacuated. Lt. Wyeth later versified his memories of the air raid in the
sonnet Huppy.
Interwar period On 3 May 1936, voters in the 1st District of Abbeville did not derogate from a broad popular movement. In the 2nd round, they chose as the MP who, at 27 years old, was the youngest elected to the chamber.
World War II On 12 September 1939 the
Abbeville Conference took place in which
France and the United Kingdom decided to not continue the
attack on Germany, which resulted in a tougher situation on
eastern front. On 9 May 1940, authorities in
Belgium arrested a number of both
far right and
far left activists and put them in custody of a
French Army unit stationed near Abbeville. On 20 May, when the advancing German Army cut off the area (see following), a group of French soldiers carried out a massacre and killed a number of members of the right wing
Verdinaso and
Rexist Party and of the
Belgian Communist Party. Altogether, twenty two suspects of varying political stripe were selected and executed without trial. In the development of the 1940
Battle of France, the Germans had massed the bulk of their armoured force in Panzer Group von Kleist, which attacked through the comparatively unguarded sector of the
Ardennes and achieved a breakthrough at Sedan with
air support. The group raced to the coast of the English Channel at Abbeville, thus isolating (20 May 1940) The Germans were forced back about . The Allied
Aerodrome Abbeville was used by the German Luftwaffe during most of the war. After five years, in September 1944, Abbeville was liberated by the Polish
1st Armoured Division (which was attached to the 1st Canadian Army) under General
Stanisław Maczek, which entered Abbeville through the suburb of Rouvroy. World War II was not kind to the architecture of the town as the famous 17th-century Gothic
Cathedral of St. Vulfran was nearly destroyed. It, along with the town hall with its tower from the 13th century were saved, albeit damaged.
Floods of 2001 In the spring of 2001, the city, like the Somme Valley, had to suffer
floods. These lasted several weeks, because of the saturation of the
water table, the result of a year of exceptional precipitation. The station was inaccessible, the tracks being covered by several centimetres of water. ==Military life==