COGNAC, a town of south-western France, capital of an arrondissement in the department of Charente, on the left bank of the river Charente, 23 m. W.N.W. of Angouleme. Pop. (1931) 16,452. The streets of the old town are very narrow, but the newer parts have open spaces such as the Parc Francois Ier over looking the Charente. In 1526 Cognac gave its name to a treaty concluded against Charles V. by Francis I., the pope, Venice and Milan. Its possession was contested during the wars of religion, and in 157o it became one of the Huguenot strongholds. In 1651 it successfully sustained a siege against Louis II., prince of Conde, leader of the Fronde. The I2th century church of St. Leger preserves a fine Romanesque facade and a tower of the 15th cen tury. A castle of the 15th and 16th centuries, once the residence of the counts of Angouleme, and a mediaeval gate stand in the older part of the town. Cognac is the seat of a subprefect and has tribunals of first instance and of commerce, a council of trade arbitrators, and a chamber of commerce. Its most important in dustry is the distillation of the brandy (q.v.) to which the town gives its name. Large quantities are carried, by way of the river, to the neighbouring port of Tonnay-Charente. The industries sub sidiary to the brandy trade, such as the making of cases and bottles, occupy many hands. A considerable trade is maintained in grain and cattle. (See also BRANDY.)