Bayonne is located at the confluence of the Nive and Adour rivers in the northern part of the cultural region of the Basque Country. This area also constitutes the southern part of Gascony , where the Aquitaine Basin joins the beginning of the Pre-Pyrenees. Together with nearby Anglet , Biarritz , Saint-Jean-de-Luz , and several smaller communes, Bayonne forms an urban area with , inhabitants in the census, 51, of whom lived in the commune of Bayonne proper.
The site on the left bank of the Nive and the Adour was probably occupied before ancient times ; a fortified enclosure was attested to in the 1st century at the time when the Tarbelli occupied the territory. In , Bayonne was the capital of Labourd. In the 12th century, it extended to the confluence of the Nive River and beyond.
During that time, its first bridge spanning the Adour was built. The city came under English control in through the marriage of Eleanor of Aquitaine ; it became important commercially and, to a lesser degree, militarily thanks to maritime trade. The loss of trade with the English was followed by the river gradually filling with silt and becoming impassable to ships.
As the city developed to the north, its position was weakened compared to earlier times. The district of Saint-Esprit developed initially from settlement by Sephardic Jewish refugees fleeing the Spanish expulsions dictated by the Alhambra Decree.
This community brought skill in chocolate making, and Bayonne gained a reputation for chocolate. The course of the Adour was changed in by dredging under the direction of Louis de Foix , and the river returned to its former mouth. Bayonne flourished after regaining the maritime trade that it had lost for more than a hundred years. In the 17th century, the city was fortified by Vauban , whose works were followed as models of defense for years. It was the last time the city was under siege.
