Tarn-et-Garonne (; oc, Tarn e Garona ) is a department in the

Occitania Occitania ( oc, Occitània , , or ) is the historical region in Western and Southern Europe where the Occitan language was historically spoken and where it is sometimes still used as a second language. This cultural area roughly encompasse ...

region In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as zones, lands or territories, are areas that are broadly divided by physical characteristics ( physical geography), human impact characteristics ( human geography), and the interaction of humanity an ...

Southern France Southern France, also known as the South of France or colloquially in French as , is a defined geographical area consisting of the regions of France that border the Atlantic Ocean south of the Marais Poitevin,Louis Papy, ''Le midi atlantique'', A ...

. It is traversed by the rivers Tarn and

Garonne The Garonne (, also , ; Occitan, Catalan, Basque, and es, Garona, ; la, Garumna or ) is a river of southwest France and northern Spain. It flows from the central Spanish Pyrenees to the Gironde estuary at the French port of Bordeaux – ...

, from which it takes its name. The area was originally part of the former

provinces A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or state. The term derives from the ancient Roman '' provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire's territorial possessions ou ...

Quercy Quercy (; oc, Carcin , locally ) is a former province of France located in the country's southwest, bounded on the north by Limousin, on the west by Périgord and Agenais, on the south by Gascony and Languedoc, and on the east by Rouergue and ...

and

Languedoc The Province of Languedoc (; , ; oc, Lengadòc ) is a former province of France. Most of its territory is now contained in the modern-day region of Occitanie in Southern France. Its capital city was Toulouse. It had an area of approximately ...

. The department was created in 1808 under

Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader wh ...

, with territory taken from the neighbouring Lot,

Haute-Garonne Haute-Garonne (; oc, Nauta Garona, ; en, Upper Garonne) is a department in the Occitanie region of Southwestern France. Named after the river Garonne, which flows through the department. Its prefecture and main city is Toulouse, the country' ...

, Lot-et-Garonne,

Gers Gers (; oc, Gers or , ) is a department in the region of Occitania, Southwestern France. Named after the Gers River, its inhabitants are called the ''Gersois'' and ''Gersoises'' in French. In 2019, it had a population of 191,377.

and

Aveyron Aveyron (; oc, Avairon; ) is a department in the region of Occitania, Southern France. It was named after the river Aveyron. Its inhabitants are known as ''Aveyronnais'' (masculine) or ''Aveyronnaises'' (feminine) in French. The inhabitan ...

departments. The department is mostly rural with fertile agricultural land in the broad river valley, but there are hilly areas to the south, east and north. The departmental

prefecture A prefecture (from the Latin ''Praefectura'') is an administrative jurisdiction traditionally governed by an appointed prefect. This can be a regional or local government subdivision in various countries, or a subdivision in certain international ...

Montauban Montauban (, ; oc, Montalban ) is a commune in the Tarn-et-Garonne department, region of Occitania, Southern France. It is the capital of the department and lies north of Toulouse. Montauban is the most populated town in Tarn-et-Garonne, ...

; the sole subprefecture is Castelsarrasin. In 2019, it had a population of 260,669.Populations légales 2019: 82 Tarn-et-Garonne
INSEE

History

History of the region

Quercy was part of ''Aquitania prima'' under the Romans;

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global popula ...

was introduced during the 4th century. Early in the 6th century the area fell under the authority of the

Franks The Franks ( la, Franci or ) were a group of Germanic peoples whose name was first mentioned in 3rd-century Roman sources, and associated with tribes between the Lower Rhine and the Ems River, on the edge of the Roman Empire.H. Schutz: Tools ...

, and in the 7th century became part of the autonomous Duchy of

Aquitaine Aquitaine ( , , ; oc, Aquitània ; eu, Akitania; Poitevin-Saintongeais: ''Aguiéne''), archaic Guyenne or Guienne ( oc, Guiana), is a historical region of southwestern France and a former administrative region of the country. Since 1 Janu ...

. At the end of the 10th century its rulers were the powerful counts of

Toulouse Toulouse ( , ; oc, Tolosa ) is the prefecture of the French department of Haute-Garonne and of the larger region of Occitania. The city is on the banks of the River Garonne, from the Mediterranean Sea, from the Atlantic Ocean and fr ...

. During the hostilities between England and France in the reign of

Henry II of England Henry II (5 March 1133 – 6 July 1189), also known as Henry Curtmantle (french: link=no, Court-manteau), Henry FitzEmpress, or Henry Plantagenet, was King of England from 1154 until his death in 1189, and as such, was the first Angevin kin ...

, the English placed garrisons in the county, and by the 1259 Treaty of Paris lower Quercy came under the control of England. The kings of both England and France around this time tried to curry favour by adding to the privileges of the towns and the district. In 1360, the

Treaty of Brétigny The Treaty of Brétigny was a treaty, drafted on 8 May 1360 and ratified on 24 October 1360, between Kings Edward III of England and John II of France. In retrospect, it is seen as having marked the end of the first phase of the Hundred Years ...

was signed and the whole of Quercy passed to England. However, in the 1440s the English were finally expelled by the newly created army of

Charles VII of France Charles VII (22 February 1403 – 22 July 1461), called the Victorious (french: le Victorieux) or the Well-Served (), was King of France from 1422 to his death in 1461. In the midst of the Hundred Years' War, Charles VII inherited the throne of F ...

. In the 16th century Quercy was a stronghold of the Protestants, and the scene of fierce religious conflicts. The civil wars of the reign of

Louis XIII Louis XIII (; sometimes called the Just; 27 September 1601 – 14 May 1643) was King of France from 1610 until his death in 1643 and King of Navarre (as Louis II) from 1610 to 1620, when the crown of Navarre was merged with the French crow ...

largely took place around

. After Napoleon's defeat in 1815, the monarchy was re-established in France, but the discredited

Bourbon Dynasty The House of Bourbon (, also ; ) is a European dynasty of French origin, a branch of the Capetian dynasty, the royal House of France. Bourbon kings first ruled France and Navarre in the 16th century. By the 18th century, members of the Spanis ...

was overthrown in the July Revolution of 1830, which established the constitutional

July Monarchy The July Monarchy (french: Monarchie de Juillet), officially the Kingdom of France (french: Royaume de France), was a liberal constitutional monarchy in France under , starting on 26 July 1830, with the July Revolution of 1830, and ending 23 ...

, which lasted until 1848. During this time the divide between the rich and poor increased; in Montauban, hundreds turned to begging as wages fell, factories closed and

food prices Food prices refer to the average price level for food across countries, regions and on a global scale. Food prices have an impact on producers and consumers of food. Price levels depend on the food production process, including food marketing ...

rose; rioting was widespread and the home of the mayor was stoned by building workers in 1847.

History of the department

Tarn-et-Garonne department evolution map-fr

Before the department's formation in the nineteenth century, the northern half formed part of the old province of

and the southern half, part of

. The department was created on 4 November 1808 during the

First French Empire The First French Empire, officially the French Republic, then the French Empire (; Latin: ) after 1809, also known as Napoleonic France, was the empire ruled by Napoleon Bonaparte, who established French hegemony over much of continental E ...

by a decision of

. The emperor had been invited to visit the town of

, an important industrial and commercial centre at the time, whose populace thought the town was central enough and sufficiently important to be the capital of a new department. He was impressed by their loyalty and granted their request. The department was formed out of territories that had previously been part of neighbouring areas. More than half of the territory was taken from the Department of Lot (including Montauban and

Moissac Moissac () is a commune in the Tarn-et-Garonne department in the Occitanie region in southern France. The town is situated at the confluence of the rivers Garonne and Tarn at the Canal de Garonne. Route nationale N113 was constructed through ...

), over one-third was taken from

(including Castelsarrasin), and the rest from the departments of Lot-et-Garonne,

, and

. The first

prefect Prefect (from the Latin ''praefectus'', substantive adjectival form of ''praeficere'': "put in front", meaning in charge) is a magisterial title of varying definition, but essentially refers to the leader of an administrative area. A prefect's ...

was Félix Le Peletier d'Aunay, who was installed in his post on 31 December 1808.

Geography

Tarn-et-Garonne constitutes part of the Occitanie

. It borders on the departments of Lot to the north,

to the northeast, Tarn to the east,

to the south, and

and Lot-et-Garonne to the west. The capital of the department is Montauban which lies about north of Toulouse. Montauban is situated on the right bank of the river Tarn at its confluence with the river

Tescou The Tescou (french: Le Tescou) is a tributary of the Tarn in the basin of the Garonne in southern France. It flows through the departments of Tarn, Tarn-et-Garonne and Haute-Garonne. The source is near Gaillac in the Massif Central, and its ...

, and the Tarn is joined by the

about further downstream. The second largest commune in the department is Castelsarrasin which stands near the confluence of the Tarn and River Garonne. Montauban is connected to the

via the Canal de Montech.Fluviacarte
Canal de Montech The central part of the department is a broad river valley that does not exceed in altitude, but near the commune of Valence-d'Agen, in the extreme west of the department, the valley narrows as the hilly regions of Bas-Quercy to the north and Lomagne to the south draw closer together. In the northeast of the department is higher land in the form of limestone plateaus known as the Causses, part of the

Massif Central The (; oc, Massís Central, ; literally ''"Central Massif"'') is a highland region in south-central France, consisting of mountains and plateaus. It covers about 15% of mainland France. Subject to volcanism that has subsided in the last 10,0 ...

. The highest point in the department, at , is the Pech Maurel, situated in the commune of

Castanet Castanets, also known as ''clackers'' or ''palillos'', are a percussion instrument (idiophone), used in Spanish, Kalo, Moorish, Ottoman, Italian, Sephardic, Swiss, and Portuguese music. In ancient Greece and ancient Rome there was a similar ...

Demographics

Principal towns

The most populous commune is

, the prefecture. As of 2019, there are 7 communes with more than 5,000 inhabitants:

Economy

The economy of the department depends mainly on agriculture but there is also some industry, and it benefits from its proximity to Toulouse. The commercial importance of Montauban is mainly due to its trade in agricultural products, horses, game and poultry, but it does have some manufacturing industries, which include cloth-weaving, cloth-dressing, flour-milling, wood-sawing, and the manufacture of furniture, silk-gauze and straw hats. The surrounding countryside supports nursery-gardening, wine-making and the growing of maize, olives and mulberries. This area is approximately at the northern limit for the commercial production of the latter two crops because of the vagaries of the climate.

Politics

Departmental Council of Tarn-et-Garonne

The Departmental Council of Tarn-et-Garonne has 30 seats. The president of the Departmental Council is Michel Weill, elected in July 2021.

Members of the National Assembly

Tarn-et-Garonne elected the following members of the

National Assembly In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the r ...

during the 2022 legislative election:

Tourism

File:Montauban - place nationale.jpg, National square in

File:Bruniquel - Ensemble -1.jpg,

Bruniquel Bruniquel (; Languedocien: ''Borniquèl'') is a commune in the Tarn-et-Garonne department in the Occitanie region in southern France. Geography The tiny fortified village of 561 inhabitants is at an altitude of by the river Aveyron. The river ...

, one of the formally listed "Most Beautiful Villages of France" File:Église de Lauzerte.JPG, Saint Barthelemy church in Lauzerte File:MaisonDuRoy-StAntonin.jpg, The "King's House" in

Saint-Antonin-Noble-Val Saint-Antonin-Noble-Val (; oc, Sent Antonin) is a commune in the Tarn-et-Garonne department in the Occitanie region in southern France. Having played an influential and somewhat bellicose role in the history of the region from the 12th to th ...

File:Moissac facade SaintPierre.jpg, Saint Peter abbey in

File:Château de Montauriol (Montauban).jpg, Château de Montauriol, seat of the Departmental Council of Tarn-et-Garonne

References

External links

*
Prefecture of Tarn-et-Garonne website
*
Departmental council of Tarn-et-Garonne website
*
Arkheia History Review of Tarn-et-Garonne website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tarn-Et-Garonne 1808 establishments in France Departments of Occitania (administrative region) States and territories established in 1808