870-   German territory under various sovereignties.
       Divided into a number of secular and ecclesiastical lordships and
       municipalities.
1648-  France gets an informal protectorate over Alsace
       (as a result of "Alsatian cities, caught between the opposing
       Catholic and Protestant sides and feeling their liberties
       threatened, appealed to France for help.")
1681-  French occupation of Strasbourg and full control, but then
       flourishing autonomy.
1789-  Autonomy abolished. Adminstrative incorporation.
       "The people of Alsace continued to speak a German dialect known as
       Alsatian, but the use of French spread among the upper classes."
1871-  Ceded to Germany. Reichsland (imperial state). No self-government.
       German rule unpopular and protested.
1902-  Self-government within Germany.
1911-  Grant of an [Alsatian] constitution. German rule less unpopular.
1919-  Retroceded to France.
       "Alsace-Lorraine developed a strong "home rule" movement in the
       1920s and unsuccessfully sought autonomy within the French
       Republic."
1940-  Ceded to Germany.
1945-  Retroceded to France.
       Autonomist movement has largely disappeared.

Un résumé de l'Encyclopaedia Britannica, 1995