Editing Cherbourg (section)

==<FONT COLOR="#0000CC">'''HISTORY OF CHERBOURG'''</FONT>==
Old Cherbourg is probable built on the site of the '''Roman camp of Coriallum''', although no visible ruins remain. The name of Cherbourg first appeared in 1026 when Duke Richard II donated the castle to his future wife. Development of Cherbourg as a port was significantly aided following creation of the Anglo-Norman state in 1066 after William's victory at Hastings. <br/>
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In 1204, the King of France, Philip-Auguste, took control of Normandy. Franco-English relations deteriorated and in 1295 the English carried out the first of many raids on Cherbourg, and set fire to the town. Only the castle held firm and it was later fortified several times. In 1337, the Hundred Years War began and '''Cherbourg became a strategic trump card''' with the town changing sovereign six times. <br/>
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In 1563 and in 1574, the Protestants of Normandy, tried to capture Cherbourg but the town was victoriously defended by Jacques de Matignon whose descendants subsequently governed Cherbourg until the middle of the 18th century. '''In 1686, Vauban suggested important defence works but these were never completed.''' At that time, the harbour consisted of a natural lagoon where forty vessels could anchor but with no protection as shown by the aftermath of the 1692 battle known as the La Hougue. <br/>
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From 1739 to 1744, on the orders of Louis XV, the town was given a commercial port that, in 1758, '''was entirely destroyed when the British again captured Cherbourg'''. These were restored in a long-term project begun in the 1770s and completed mid-19th century. <br/>
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In 1940, the Germans occupied Cherbourg and developed the port as a base for U-boats - protected by massive concrete "pens". Allied bombing then, and later during its recapture in 1944 by the Allies, so essential for its port facilities for landing reinforcements and materiel, caused heavy damage. <br/>
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'''''More informations about the History of Cherbourg on the [[wikipedia:Cherbourg]] !'''''