Duchy of Gascony

The Duchy of Gascony, also known as Vasconia, was a medieval duchy in the Aquitaine region, encompassing parts of present-day southwestern France and northeastern Spain. Originally a Frankish march established to control the Basques, the duchy evolved from a distinctively Basque entity to a personal union with the Duchy of Aquitaine, and later became a dependency of the Plantagenet kings of England. Gascony was under continuous English rule for approximately 300 years, from 1152 until its dissolution in 1453. Charles VII of France reconquered the territory as a final act of the Hundred Years' War, leading to its annexation by the Kingdom of France.