CHARENTE, an inland department of south-western France, comprehending the ancient province of Angoumois, and small por tions of Saintonge, Poitou, Marche, Limousin and Perigord. It is bounded north by the departments of Deux-Sevres and Vienne, east by those of Haute Vienne and Dordogne, south by Dordogne and Charente-Inf erieure, and west by Charente-Inf erieure. Area 2,305 square miles. Pop. (1931 1 310.489. The Confolentais (known also as the Terres Froides) in the north-east is a region of granitic rocks which may be considered as a western extension of the Plateau Central. Here some parts exceed i,000 ft. in height and the whole provides good upland pasture for cattle. The re mainder of the department, known as the Terres Chaudes, consists of Jurassic, Cretaceous and Tertiary deposits and provides rich arable land. Cereals and potatoes are the principal crops and chestnuts, walnuts and cider-apples the chief fruits. The Terre Champagne is noted for its vines, much of the wine produced being distilled into brandy named of ter the town of Cognac. A large area drains to the river Charente, the chief affluents of which, in this section, are the Tardoire, the Touvre and the Ne. The Confolentais is watered by the Vienne, a tributary of the Loire, while the district of Barbezieux, noted for its poultry farming, belongs almost wholly to the basin of the Gironde.
Charente has stone quarries, peat workings and beds of clay which supply brick and tile-works and earthenware manufactories. There is a large foundry of naval guns at Ruelle. Flour-mills and leather-works are numerous. Angouleme is a paper-making centre and manufactures gunpowder. Coal, salt and timber are promi nent imports. Exports include paper, brandy, stone and agricul tural products. The department is served chiefly by the Orleans and Ouest-ttat railways, and the Charente is navigable below Angouleme. Charente is divided into the three arrondissements of Angouleme, Cognac and Confolens (29 cantons, 426 communes). It belongs to the region of the XII. army corps, to the province of the archbishop of Bordeaux, and to the academie (educational division) of Poitiers. Its court of appeal is at Bordeaux.
Angouleme (q.v.) is the capital and Cognac, Confolens, Jarnac, and La Rochefoucauld are other towns (qq. v.) . The department abounds in churches of Romanesque architecture, of which those of Bassac, St. Amant-de-Boixe (portions of which are Gothic in style), Plassac and Gensac-la-Pallue may be mentioned. There are remains of a Gothic abbey church at La Couronne, and Roman remains at St. Cybardeaux, Brossac and Chassenon (where there are ruins of the Gallo-Roman town of Cassinomagus).
a maritime department of south-western France, comprehending the old provinces of Sain tonge and Aunis, and a small portion of Poitou, and including the islands of Re, Oleron, Aix and Madame. Area, 2,791 sq. miles. Pop. It is bounded north by Vendee, north-east by Deux-Sevres, east by Charente, south-east by Dordogne, south west by Gironde and the estuary of the Gironde, and west by the Bay of Biscay. The department is low-lying and consists of Jurassic, Cretaceous, Tertiary and Quaternary deposits which run in a north-westerly direction. This trend can be traced also in many sections of the coast and in the islands of Oleron and Re. Post-Pleistocene submergence has resulted in the formation of many inlets and estuaries, particularly the Gironde, and there are several good harbours, the chief of which are La Rochelle and Rochefort. The latter has developed at the expense of Tonnay Charente which is too high up the river to cope with modern shipping. Oysters and mussels are bred in the neighbourhood of La Rochelle and Marennes and there are many fishing villages. Royan, on the north shore of the Gironde, is a much-frequented watering-place. The chief crops are wheat, oats, maize, barley and potatoes. Horse and cattle-raising is carried on and dairying is prosperous. A considerable quantity of wine, most of which is distilled into brandy, is produced. The department has a few peat workings, and produces freestone, lime and cement ; the salt marshes of the coast are important. Ship-building, iron-founding, machine construction and the making of glass, pottery, bricks and earthenware are also carried on. The railways traversing the depart ment belong to the Ouest-Etat system, except one section of the Paris-Bordeaux line belonging to the Orleans Company. Internal communication is facilitated by the navigable reaches of the Charente, the Sevre Niortaise, the Boutonne, the Seudre and the Gironde and by the canals of the coast. There are four ar rondissements (4o cantons, 482 communes), cognomina) with the towns of La Rochelle, Rochefort, Saintes and Jonzac. The depart ment forms the diocese of La Rochelle, and is attached to the 18th military region, and in educational matters to the academie of Poitiers. Its court of appeal is at Poitiers.
La Rochelle, St. Jean d'Angely, Rochefort and Saintes are the principal towns. Surgeres and Aulnay possess fine Roman esque churches. Pons has a chateau of the 15th and i6th centuries and a keep of the 12th century.