Place:Angoumois, France

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NameAngoumois
TypeFormer province
Located inFrance

Angoumois is a former French province, located between Limousin to the East, Périgord to the south, Saintonge to the West, and Poitou to the North.

It corresponds to the central area of the Charente department. It also contained a few parishes from the current Deux-Sèvres department (Pioussay, Hanc and Bouin).

History

This province was formed on the territory of the Agesinates, a Gallic people form the Aquitania secunda, whose capital was Icolisma, the current Angoulême


Key events in the history of Angoumois:

  • Formation of the city of Angoulême at the end the 4th Century
  • Merges with Périgord and Agenais during the 9th Century and becomes a comté in 866
  • At the height ot its power during the 10th and 11th Centuries (Guillaume III Taillefer and Guillaume IV)
  • The comté becomes the subject of a rivalry between the Plantagenêts and the Capétiens. In 1200, John Lackland abducts the very young Isabelle d'Angoulême, only daughter of Aymar Taillefer. Philippe Auguste, King of France, confiscates the English possessions on the continent, thus initiating hostilities between the two countries.
  • The comté becomes part of the French Realm under Philippe Le Bel in 1308. It is taken over by England in 1360 and is captured back in 1373, however the English will linger until 1445, particularly in the fortresses of La Rochandry and Bouteville.
  • Under François Ier, Angoumois is eleveated to a Peerage Duchy in February 1614, thus becoming a Royal Fiefdom.
  • Peasnt revolts in the 16th and 17th Century (taxes, poverty, religious wars, revocation of the Edict of Nantes)
  • Becomes a Généralité in 1692 in order to better control the tax collections


the text in this section is copied from an article in Wikipedia

Angoumois, historically the County of Angoulême, was a county and province of France, originally inferior to the parent duchy of Aquitaine, similar to the Périgord to its east but lower and generally less forested, equally with occasional vineyards throughout. Its capital was Angoulême with its citadel and castle above the river Charente.

It almost corresponds to the Charente Department which also takes in the east of the coastal comté de Saintonge.

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