Bearn

Bearn, an old province of France of which the capital was Pau, now forms the greater portion of the department of Basses-Pyrenees. It became an appanage of the crown of France in the person of Henry IV., who was a descendant of the family of Foix, the rulers of Bearn, and who, because he was born and brought up there, was nicknamed the Bearnois. Not until 1620 was it formally incorporated with France by Louis XIII., and up to 1790 it continued to be governed by its own constitution.