Poitou-Charentes

Region of west-central France, comprising the départements of Charente, Charente-Maritime, Deux-Sèvres, and Vienne; area 25,809 sq km/9,965 sq mi; population (2001 est) 1,640,100. It is situated between the Armorican and Central mountain ranges, between the Paris and Aquitaine basins, and on the edge of the Atlantic Ocean. The River Charente flows through the region. Its administrative centre is Poitiers. The area contains cereal plains, wooded valleys, wine-growing areas, and coastal and marsh areas. The majority of the population live in the region's valleys. Industries include dairy products, wheat, maize, chemicals, and metal goods; brandy is made at Cognac. The Côte de Beauté attracts tourists throughout the year and the Port des Minimes, is the first nautical port in Europe. The area is also well known for goats cheese, sunflower crops, and pedigree cattle rearing.

Poitou-Charentes was part of the Roman province of Aquitania. It was captured by the Visigoths in the 5th century and by the Franks in AD 507. It was seized by England in 1152, but was recovered by France, under Philip II, in 1204. The area was contested by the English and French until the end of the Hundred Years' War in 1453, when it was incorporated into France by Charles VII.

There are universities at La Rochelle and Poitiers (1431). Poitou-Charentes has three airports in Poitiers, Angoulême, and La Rochelle.