The Battle for Bordeaux

In short, the reason for the vast contention of the French region of Bordeaux began with the marriage of Louis and Eleanor, the duchess of Aquitaine. Very soon after their marriage, Louis’ father died, making him the King and Eleanor the Queen of France. While their relationship was never on solid ground, it took a bitter turn after she sided with her Uncle in opposition of Louis continuing his pilgrimage to Jerusalem instead of conquering Edessa straight away. This defiance, in addition to many other problems, led to a strenuous situation that lead to an annulment after she was unable to give the King a son. Shortly after this separation, Eleanor married the Duke of Normandy, Henry Plantaget. Not only was this a political power move, but Henry was also the future King of England via his mother’s lineage. Two years later, he became King and inherited a massive amount of once French land due to his acquisition of Aquitaine by marriage and his possession of Normandy by name. Now under British control, Bordeaux quickly became one of the greatest port cities in Europe and due to the exemption of export taxes, became the cheapest and most popular choice of wine in England. Bordeaux is situated at the mouth of the Garrone river which provided a massive geographical advantage as the English were able to restrict exports from wines produced farther inland. This suppression of local wines allowed Bordeaux to explode as a legendary location in the wine industry. Eventually, due to a continued affair, Henry and Eleanor grew apart before she eventually supported his sons unsuccessful revolt against their father. This led to her imprisonment for over a decade before she was released when her husband finally died. She was given regency of England before her son, John, was named King. All of this tension, along with many other issues, exasperated the Hundred Years War which resulted in the Bordeaux region finally being reclaimed by the French. Overall, the disputes of this magnificent wine venue can be traced back to one common denominator, Eleanor.