Poitou-Charentes

Lore & Background

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 halted the Muslim invasion of Western Europe at the Battle of Poitiers. From the 10th to the mid-12th century, the counts of Poitou were also the dukes of Aquitaine, and Poitiers grew in importance.

In 1152, Poitou came under English control through the marriage of Eleanor of Aquitaine to Henry II. The region was reunited with the French crown in 1416 and remained a province until the Revolution (1789–1795), when it was divided into three departments: Vienne, Deux-Sèvres, and Vendée. Françoise-Athénaïs, marquise de Montespan, mistress to Louis XIV, was born in the area in 1640.

Reader's Guide

Poitou-Charentes is historically significant as the origin region for many Acadian and Cajun populations of North America, including those in New Brunswick, Louisiana, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, the Gaspé Peninsula of Quebec, and Maine. Their ancestors emigrated in the 17th and 18th centuries, first settling in what is now eastern Canada, where they established an agricultural and maritime economy. The area was dubbed 'Acadia' by the French, possibly after the Greek Arcadia or from the Mi'kmaq word 'Cadie' meaning 'fertile land'. It was renamed Nova Scotia after the 1755 expulsion of most Acadians by the English. The region's economy relied on farming (wheat, corn, cattle) and industries producing machinery, chemicals, and dairy products. Three regional languages—Poitevin, Saintongeais, and Occitan—were spoken by a minority. The regional council had 56 members.

Did You Know?

• The region's residents were known as Picto-Charentais in French.
• Southern Poitou-Charentes and Aquitaine is believed to be the origin of Acadian and Cajun populations.
• The name 'Acadia' may derive from the Mi'kmaq word 'Cadie' meaning 'fertile land'.
• Françoise-Athénaïs, marquise de Montespan, mistress to Louis XIV, was born in the area in 1640.