The Comtat Venaissin was a Papal enclave in southern France that existed from 1274 to 1791. Alphonse, Count of Poitiers bequeathed the county to the Catholic Church on his death in 1271, and it became Papal territory three years later. Venasque served as capital until 1320, when Carpentras replaced it; Avignon, the location of the Avignon Papacy, was also located within the enclave. The enclave prospered due to its inhabitants' exemption from taxes and military service and its religious tolerance (especially of Jews), but it was occupied by France in 1663, 1668, and from 1768 to 1774 during disputes between the King of France and the Pope. In 1791, during the French Revolution, an unauthorized plebiscite held in the city voted for annexation by France, and the Papal States recognized its annexation in 1814.
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