French Picardie
Région (pop., 1999: 1,857,834), encompassing the northern French département s of Oise, Somme, and Aisne and roughly coextensive with the historical region of Picardy, France.
In the 13th century the historical region included the countships of Amiénois and Vermandois, which were united to the French crown by Philip II from 1185. Picardy was joined to Burgundy in 1435 and became a province of France in 1482. The province of Picardy from the 16th century to the end of the ancien régime in 1789 comprised the Somme River basin from Saint-Quentin to the English Channel, the basins of the Serre and upper Oise rivers, and Montreuil on the Canche beyond the Authie River. The region was the scene of heavy fighting in both world wars, especially in the Battle of the Somme (1916). The capital of the French administrative region of Picardy is Amiens. Picardy has an area of 7,490 sq mi (19,399 sq km).