The language, customs, and costumes are preserved mainly in the more isolated west. Its university is a center of Celtic studies. Early vegetables, soft fruit, and flowers are grown for the Parisian and British markets. Traditionally, Bretons have been sailors and fishermen. Their catch includes cod from the Grand Banks of Newfoundland, oysters, lobsters, sardines, and tuna.
Hedgerows surround small fields, resulting in a picturesque landscape called bocage.
Celts later settled in the area, and in 56 BC they were conquered by Julius Caesar. The Anglo-Saxon invasions of Britain in the 5th and 6th centuries drove Celtic refugees to settle in Brittany. In the 9th century, under the leadership of Nomenoe, Brittany was united, winning independence from Carolingian rule. In the 10th century, Brittany became a duchy with its capital at Rennes . For the next 4 centuries it sought to retain its independence amid French and British rivalries.