POITOU-CHARENTES INFORMATION
POITOU-CHARENTES Topography
The region of Poitou-Charentes is located in the far west of central France. It is bounded, to the northwest by the region of Pays-de-la-Loire, to the north by the region of Centre, to the east by Limousin, to the southeast and south by Aquitaine and to the west by the Atlantic Ocean’s Bay of Biscay. It consists of four départements: Charente, Charente-Maritime, Deux-Sèvres and Vienne. The two areas of Poitou and Charente are joined by the Charente River valley, with the vines of the Cognac on the right bank. Poitiers is the capital of Poitou-Charentes and was the ancient capital of Poitou, the region’s northern part.
POITOU-CHARENTES History
Poitou is a historic region in west central France. Poitiers, the former capital of the region, is its chief city, although the port of La Rochelle rivals it in economic importance. Farming is important to the economy; wheat, corn and cattle are raised. Industries produce machinery, chemicals and dairy products.
The region's first known inhabitants, the Pictavi, a Gallic tribe, were conquered in 56 BC by the Romans who incorporated the area into Gaul as part of the province of Aquitania. The Visigoths seized the region in 418 AD, but it passed to the Franks in 507. In 732 or 733, Charles Martel brought the Muslim invasion of Western Europe to a standstill by his victory in the Battle of Poitiers. From the 10th to the mid-12th century, the counts of Poitou were also the dukes of Aquitaine, and the city of Poitiers grew in importance.
In 1152, Poitou came under English control through the marriage of Eleanor of Aquitaine to Henry II (later king of England). The region was reunited with the French crown in 1416 and was a province of France until the Revolution (1789-95), when it was divided into three departments, Vienne, Deux-Sevres, and Vendee.
Françoise-Athénaïs, marquise de Montespan was born in the area in 1640 (d 1707). She was the famous mistress to Louis XIV; Some of their descendants are still alive today.
POITOU-CHARENTES Climate
The climate, in Poitou-Charentes, is of oceanic nature Aquitanian. The precipitations, distributed on the whole of the year, vary approximately between 650 mm and 900 mm, the North-East of the area (Northern of the department of Vienna) being less sprinkled than South-west (littoral of the Charente-Maritime). The winters are soft, the hot summers but without excess. The area profits from an important sunning (more than 2000 hours per annum on the littoral). In spite of rains distributed on the whole of the year, the evapotranspiration is high during the summer months: from May to September
POITOU-CHARENTES Demography
The population, after a decline due to the rural migration, knows a light but continuous increase. It is at its two principal departments, the Charente-Maritime and Vienna, that returns the merit from there. The first records an important migratory balance, related to the return of many Picto-Residents of Charente left to work in other areas. The second profits from the positive natural balance for which is responsible the arrival for young couples attracted by the tertiary services of the regional capital and the new activities of the secondary industry recently established on the axis Poitiers-Châtellerault.
The rural population remains majority in Two-Sevres and in Charente. The agglomerations were given positive demographic balances. In same time, the most rural cantons continue to be depopulated dangerously (departure of the youngest elements). The new facilities of communication (TGV, highway A 10) make it possible to go to work in the big cities, not necessarily those of the Area (Turns, Bordeaux, Paris). The campaigns suffer seriously from these defections: below a threshold of population given, they lose their vital services (school, doctor, trade).
In French its residents are known as Picto-Charentais. In 2003, the region ranked 15th out of 26 in population. In area it ranked 12th in size.
Three regional languages, Poitevin, Saintongeais and Limousin are spoken by a minority of people in the region.
Poitou is believed to be the region of origin of most of the Acadian and Cajun populations of North America (now found chiefly in New Brunswick and Louisiana, respectively). Their ancestors emigrated from the region in the 17th and 18th centuries.
At first, these French immigrants from Poitou settled in eastern Canada, and established an agricultural and maritime economy (farming and fishing). This area of the "New World" was dubbed Acadia by the French, after the Greek Arcadia - the idyllic part of the Peloponnesian peninsula in Greece. It was renamed Nova Scotia (New Scotland) in the aftermath of the 1755 expulsion of most of the Acadians by the English
POITOU-CHARENTES Main cities
Angoulême, La-Rochelle, Niort, Poitiers, Rochefort, Saintes
POITOU-CHARENTES Wine
POITOU-CHARENTES HOLIDAY RENTALS in Region of FRANCE
MORE THAN 10.000 B&B in all France
MORE THAN 10.000 Gîtes in all France
with our portal Dream French Property.eu