Roussillon

Roussillon (rsēyôN`), small region and former province, S France, bordering on Spain along the Pyrenees and on the Mediterranean. It is now roughly coextensive with Pyrénées-Orientales dept. Perpignan is the historical capital. Wine, fruit, and olives are the chief products of this fertile and densely populated region, which also has a tourist industry. The area has changed hands many times, from the Romans, who arrived c.121 B.C., through the Visigoths, the Arabs, the Carolingians, the Spaniards, the counts of Barcelona, and the kings of Aragón, France, and Majorca. Louis XIII conquered it from Spain in 1642, and French possession was confirmed by the Treaty of the Pyrenees (1659).

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Roussillon

Historical and cultural region, southern France. Originally inhabited by Iberians, the region was conquered by Rome in the 2nd century BC. It was held by the Visigoths in the 5th century AD, and successively by Arabs and Carolingian Franks. It was acquired by the counts of Barcelona in the 9th century. Monasticism flourished from the 10th century on, and the area is rich in Romanesque architectural remains. It became part of the kingdom of Aragon in the 12th century. It was acquired from Spain by treaty in 1659. The chief city is Perpignan. There are numerous families of Catalan gypsies, and Catalan is widely spoken.

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Roussillon

a former province of S France: united with Aragon in 1172; passed to the French crown in 1659; now forms part of the region of Languedoc-Roussillon