Baussenque Wars

The Baussenque Wars (from French Guerres Baussenques, meaning "wars of Baux") were a series of armed conflicts (1144–1162) between the House of Barcelona, then ruling in Provence, and the House of Baux. They are held up in Provence as the idealistic resistance by one of her native families against Catalan "occupation." In reality, they were the first of many successful expansions of Catalan power and influence in the Mediterranean world.

Three major factors played into the eruption of this conflict: the competition between the counts of Toulouse and those of Barcelona for influence in the region of Provence, the succession crisis of the first ruling dynasty of the county of Provence, and the ambitions of the Baux family.

Due to a lack of success in the Reconquista on their southern frontier, the Catalans turned towards the Mediterranean littoral and northwards. They coveted the region between the Cévennes and the Rhône, then under the control of Toulouse. In 1112, the count of Barcelona, Ramon Berenguer III, married the heiress of Provence, Douce, who was the daughter of Countess Gerberga of Provence, Gévaudan, Carlat, and part of Rodez. The marriage was probably taken at the urging of the church, which was then in conflict with house of Toulouse. In 1076, its count, Raymond IV, was excommunicated but he still lent his support to Aicard, the deposed archbishop of Arles (since 1080). With the count away on the First Crusade, the church took the opportunity to seize the balance of power in the region. This marriage effectively put Provence under Catalan control.

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