Morbihan

Morbihan, a maritime department of France, formed out of ancient Brittany, with the Atlantic on the south and Finistère on the west. Area, 2624 sq. m.; pop. (1872) 490,352; (1891) 544,470. The coast is much indented, and has a multitude of bays, promontories, harbours, and islands. The largest island is Belle Isle (q.v.). The department forms a plateau of no great elevation, partly cultivated, partly occupied by extensive tracts of heath and marsh (see BRITTANY). Morbihan is divided into the four arrondissements of Vannes, L'Orient, Ploermel, and Pontivy. The chief town is Vannes (q.v.), but the most populous is L'Orient (q.v.). Many ancient customs still prevail in Morbihan; communal proprietorship survives there, and in some of the islands the curé, assisted by a council of notables, governs the people in a patriarchal fashion.