VENDEE, a department of the south-west of France, formed out of the western part of the ancient Lower Poitou. It extends in north latitude from 46° 19’ to 47° 7', and in east longitude from 0° 44' to 2° 32'. It is bounded on the north by the departments of the Lower Loire and Mayenne-Loire, on the east by that of the two Sèvres, on the south by the Lower Charente, and on the west and south-west by the ocean. Its shape is nearly a square, and it extends over 2662 square miles. It is divided into three arrondissements; and those into thirty cantons, comprehending 294 communes, and contained in 1836 a population of 341,312 persons, who, with the exception of a few scattered families, adhere to the Catholic church. They have been commonly described as hospitable, good tempered, faithful to their engagements, simple and antique in their manners, averse to any changes in their customs, and attached almost to superstition to the doctrines and observances of the Romish religion. The noble families, the ancient chief proprietors of the land, were only distinguished from the rest of the inhabitants, their feudal tenants, by a greater degree of cleanliness in their dwellings, their clothing, and their food; but were equally resolute in their opposition to the changes operated by the Revolution, and the whole were alike distinguished by their bravery, their perseverance, and their endurance of those hardships which they brought on themselves by the political party they embraced. The civil war whose name was derived from this department, extended to all the district round it, in a greater or less degree; and its long continuation may be attributed to the peculiarities of the country, and its capabilities for defensive warfare, as much as to the resolute courage of the population.

The surface of this department is an extensive plain, uninterrupted by any hills except by two chains in the eastern part, separated from each other by a valley about two miles in breadth, none of the points of which exceed 400 feet in height. This more hilly part is distinguished by the name of the Boccage, on account of the great number of trees and bushes with which it is covered, and it was the chief theatre of the long and bloody civil war, whose traces are even now far from extinct. The western and southern parts consist of the Marais or marsh land, which contains excellent pasture land, protected by embankments and drained by artificial canals. Another part along the coast, including the islands Bouen, Dieu, and Noirmoutier, contains much fertile soil, of which about two-thirds are used as pasture, and one-third produces corn.

The rivers are of no great importance. The chief of them, from which the department takes its name, is a moderate stream issuing from the Sèvres, and falling into the Mortaise. It supplies water to several small canals, and is navigable for barges carrying sixteen or eighteen tons from Fontenoy, where it is about 120 feet in breadth. The Mortaise is navigable through its whole extent for small vessels, and enters the sea through several marshes near to the city of Aiguillon, in the bay of that name. The other streams, the Lay, the Isle, the Ausance, and the Pairay, with some others, are navigable but a short distance from their respective mouths.

The agriculture is in a low state. Little of the land is cultivated by the proprietors, but chiefly by metayers, who divide the gross product in equal parts with their lords. Except in the lands on the three principal streams, the common rotation of grain is, two corn crops after a year’s clear fallow. The ploughing is performed almost exclusively by oxen. The wheat is good, and much of it is converted into flour for exportation to the French West India islands. The other kinds of corn produce good crops, and of late years the cultivation of potatoes has been introduced and extended. The breed of horses is of an indifferent kind, but many of them are used to mount the hussar troops. The black cattle are numerous, but the sheep very few and not good, though of late years attempts have been made to improve the race, as regards the fineness of the wool, by crosses with Spanish rams. Silk was once a part of the agricultural pursuits; but during the disturbed state of the country, the planting of mulberry trees was neglected, and some years must pass before the produce can amount to its former quantity. Wine is extensively made, the quality is good, and much of it will bear to be kept a long time without the aid of brandy. The manufactures are few. The most considerable are those of linen, but some woollen cloths for home use are made. The department furnishes two deputies to the Chamber of Representatives. It is included in the tenth military division, and is in the diocese of Montauban.