Ile de Faisans: And Island That's Sometimes Spanish, and Sometimes French

Jasmine Grace
5 days ago
2 min read

In the Bidosa river as it flows into the Bay of Biscay, there lies an island about 10 meters from the Spanish bank of the river and 20 meters from the French bank. It is called Ile de Faisans, meaning 'Pheasant Island,' but there are no pheasants living there. You may think that's a little odd, yet by far the strangest thing about this island is that its nationality changes every six months.

Though this strip of land is only about 200 meters long and just 40 meters long and has no inhabitants, it holds great significance, evidenced by a monolithic monument stands in the center, yet it is rarely open to visitors. Why all the fuss and exclusivity about such a small island?

Because Ile de Faisans is the site of the meetings which created the Treaty of the Pyrenees, a document that, in 1659, renegotiated borders between France and Spain. This island lies in the Bidasoa River, which marks the border between the two nations, and to commemorate this historic compromise, France and Spain agreed to share custody of Ile de Faisans. For six months of the year, it is Spanish land, then for the other six, it is French.

The Summits and the Treaty

In 1648, a ceasefire in the 30 Years' War brought fragile peace to the region. France and Spain needed to then renegotiate their borders. Ile de Faisans was chosen as a neutral place to hold summits and meetings.

There were 24 summits held in total. They were tense events, and both sides had military guards ready if negotiations failed to remain peaceful. Cardinal Mazarin (on the side of France) and Don Luis Mendez de Haro y Sotomayor (on the Spanish side) were the primary negotiators. Finally, in 1659, 11 years after the ceasefire, King Louis XIV of France and King Philippe IV of Spain signed the Treaty of the Pyrenees, setting new borders and creating peace between the two nations.

Ile de Faisans was a symbol of that peace, and therefore, both nations decided to share the tiny island. From February 1 to July 31 each year, the island belongs to Spain, then from Aug 1 to Jan 31, the island is French land.

An Island Named for Birds It Doesn't Have

Why is this place called 'Pheasant Island' when there are no such birds on the island? It is a question that has bothered people for ages. Even Victor Hugo commented on the lack of pheasants in 1843.

There never were pheasants on the island, but the name comes from a series of mistranslations and mistakes. In Roman times, the island was called 'Pausoa', which came from the Basque word for passage or step. Then the French mistakenly translated pausoa to paysans, which means peasant. Then the name was misinterpreted again, and paysans became faisans, as those two words rhyme when spoken aloud. Then, despite the lack of pheasants on the island, the name stuck. It is called the same thing in Spanish (Isla de los Faisanes).