VENDE

coastal dpartement, Pays de la Loire rgion, western France. It was created in 1790 from the historic province of Poitou (q.v.) and from the gnralit (a fiscal subdivision) of Poitiers. Vende is historically renowned for the Wars of the Vendecounterrevolutionary peasant uprisings at the end of the 18th and beginning of the 19th century. Vende borders the Atlantic Ocean for most of the distance between the Loire and the Gironde estuaries. About two-thirds of the dpartement, which lies largely in the Armorican Massif, is bocage countryside, characterized by numerous trees and by small hedge-bound fields, which are chiefly either under grass or used for growing fodder crops; there are also many cider apple orchards. Farming is devoted primarily to cattle raising and dairying. In the Gtine country, extending from northwest to southeast, the hills rise to 945 feet (288 m) and are covered with heath or woods. Inland from the coast in the north and south are extensive marshlands. The marshy Marais Poitevin in the south is drained by canals that are used as thoroughfares by farmers and market gardeners. The coastline stretches for about 125 miles (200 km); offshore there are numerous reefs and sandbanks. Much of the coast is lined with woods, including the Fort d'Olonne located on sand dunes north of Les Sables d'Olonne, a seaside resort with one of the finest stretches of sand in France. On the coast the climate is mild and rainy. The dpartement, which is essentially rural, has three arrondissements, La-Roche-sur-Yon (the capital), Fontenay-le-Comte, and Les Sables d'Olonne. Vende is in the educational division of Nantes. Area 2,595 square miles (6,720 square km). Pop. (1992 est.) 520,680.