Brittany

Brittany [dubious – discuss] is a <a href="/facts/Peninsula/vnqBFUvp">peninsula</a>, <a href="/facts/Historical_country/v5j2ltV8">historical country</a> and <a href="/facts/Cultural_area/gDduK1G8">cultural area</a> in the north-west of modern <a href="/facts/France/CxIeIKM3">France</a>, covering the western part of what was known as <a href="/facts/Armorica/GfloNVus">Armorica</a> in <a href="/facts/Roman_Gaul/lwD5gbaV">Roman Gaul</a>. It became an <a href="/facts/Kingdom_of_Brittany/Qbo4wCdq">independent kingdom</a> and then a <a href="/facts/Duchy_of_Brittany/f5opp6hA">duchy</a> before being <a href="/facts/Union_of_Brittany_and_France/j7D7X4ld">united</a> with the <a href="/facts/Kingdom_of_France/Ul6rT7cQ">Kingdom of France</a> in 1532 as a <a href="/facts/Provinces_of_France/7fwpoSWA">province</a> governed as a separate nation under the crown. Brittany is the traditional homeland of the <a href="/facts/Breton_people/0yN9dlNg">Breton people</a> and is one of the six <a href="/facts/Celtic_nations/YW5DEv7T">Celtic nations</a>,
 retaining <a href="/facts/Culture_of_Brittany/WdVF67VT">a distinct cultural identity</a> that reflects <a href="/facts/History_of_Brittany/TNumAqKp">its history</a>.
Brittany has also been referred to as Little Britain (as opposed to <a href="/facts/Great_Britain/TNgGQRPj">Great Britain</a>, with which it shares an etymology). It is bordered by the <a href="/facts/English_Channel/UPjaSEXf">English Channel</a> to the north, <a href="/facts/Normandy/0NfFuSct">Normandy</a> to the northeast, eastern <a href="/facts/Pays_de_la_Loire/PXjIskEq">Pays de la Loire</a> to the southeast, the <a href="/facts/Bay_of_Biscay/nlsdKMBg">Bay of Biscay</a> to the south, and the <a href="/facts/Celtic_Sea/6z8xE3kf">Celtic Sea</a> and the <a href="/facts/Atlantic_Ocean/EI4uChIb">Atlantic Ocean</a> to the west. Its land area is 34,023 km2 (13,136 sq mi).
Brittany is the site of some of the world's oldest standing architecture, home to the <a href="/facts/Cairn_of_Barnenez/8FwjMMNL">Cairn of Barnenez</a>, the <a href="/facts/Tumulus_Saint-Michel/5lnfaDMM">Tumulus Saint-Michel</a> and others, which date to the early 5th millennium BC. Today, the historical province of Brittany is split among five French departments: <a href="/facts/Finist%25C3%25A8re/TR71JoCC">Finistère</a> in the west, <a href="/facts/C%25C3%25B4tes-d%2527Armor/HoBAMpwM">Côtes-d'Armor</a> in the north, <a href="/facts/Ille-et-Vilaine/RwXyQyBG">Ille-et-Vilaine</a> in the northeast, <a href="/facts/Morbihan/ghYrMLAK">Morbihan</a> in the south and <a href="/facts/Loire-Atlantique/KVJ3TjgL">Loire-Atlantique</a> in the southeast. <a href="/facts/Loire-Atlantique/KVJ3TjgL">Loire-Atlantique</a> now belongs to the <a href="/facts/Pays_de_la_Loire/PXjIskEq">Pays de la Loire</a> region while the other four departments make up the <a href="/facts/Brittany_(administrative_region)/Rl15opf5">Brittany region</a>.
At the 2010 census, the population of historic Brittany was estimated to be 4,475,295. In 2017, the largest metropolitan areas were <a href="/facts/Nantes/nFEAy6uk">Nantes</a> (934,165 inhabitants), <a href="/facts/Rennes/V89b3R3z">Rennes</a> (733,320 inhabitants), and <a href="/facts/Brest%2c_France/GQyqB8nV">Brest</a> (321,364 inhabitants).
<a href="/facts/Breton_nationalism/pnTbjRAf">A nationalist movement</a> seeks greater autonomy within the French Republic, or independence from it. The <a href="/facts/Reunification_of_Brittany/hBDMpEzc">reunification of Brittany</a> is supported by half of the inhabitants of Brittany and of Loire-Atlantique, and is considered a prerequisite to further autonomy.

Brittany open-in-new

Brittany