LIMOUSIN

rgion, encompassing the central French dpartements of Corrze, Haute-Vienne, and Creuse and coextensive with the former province of Limousin. The capital is Limoges. The rgion has an area of 6,541 square miles (16,942 square km) and is bounded by the dpartements of Indre and Cher to the north, Allier, Puy-de-Dme, and Cantal to the east, Lot to the south, Dordogne to the southwest, Charente to the west, and Vienne to the northwest. Limousin took its name from the tribe of the Lemovices, under whom the area formed a civitas, or tribal association, of Gaul. Controlled by the Romans from about 50 BC, the civitas was a part of the province of Aquitania. Under the Merovingians (6th8th century AD), the pagus Lemovicinus (i.e., the district of the Lemovices) was disputed by rival kings; under the Carolingians (8th10th century), it was included in the kingdom of Aquitaine. From the Merovingian period to the 12th century, its monasteries, especially Saint-Martial at Limoges, were major cultural centres. In the 10th century Limousin was divided into a number of feudal units. The northern part was set up as the county of Marche; other sections were annexed by the neighbouring counts of Auvergne, Angoulme, and Poitou. By the mid-11th century the viscounts of Limoges, Comborn, Turenne, and Ventadour had control of the remaining territory and recognized the overlordship of the Duke of Aquitaine. From the 12th to the 15th century, Limousin was one of the areas disputed between the English and the French. The marriage of Eleanor of Aquitaine to the future Henry II of England (1152) brought suzerainty of Limousin to the English, but Philip II Augustus recovered the province in the early 13th century. During the course of the Hundred Years' War (13371453), Limousin was ceded to the English by the Treaty of Calais (1360) and reconquered by the French king Charles V from 1370 to 1374. After further disruptions during the war, Limousin remained under the suzerainty of the French kings. Royal control became direct when the viscounty of Limoges was added to the domain (1607) and when Turenne was purchased in 1738. The gouvernement of Limousin, organized in the 17th century, was much reduced in size from the original province, including only the territory of the four medieval viscounties. The three dpartements of the area, dating from the French Revolution, joined in the 1960s to form the rgion of Limousin. Limousin belongs to the Massif Central and enjoys an oceanic climate. Annual precipitation is high, ranging from 30 to 50 inches (750 to 1,200 mm). The population, which decreased by more than one-third between 1891 and 1980, has been depleted by emigration of the young. Emigrants have left behind an aging population, with the result that the birth rate lags behind the national average. The population is predominantly rural. Haute-Vienne has grown at the expense of Creuse and Corrze, with the industries of Limoges accounting for much of the increase. Emigration from the countryside has resulted in the consolidation of farms and in the extension of wasteland and abandoned land; afforestation is also increasing. Farms in Creuse rely on migrant workers from Mayenne and Sarthe. Absentee ownership of farmland is widespread. Animal husbandry predominates; cattle and sheep are largely raised for meat. Wheat and fodder are cultivated in the south. The industrial sector is underdeveloped outside Limoges, where automobiles and electrical equipment are manufactured. Bessines-sur-Gartempe in Haute-Vienne is a leading producer of uranium; hydroelectric power from the Dordogne River is exported. The region is linked by highway to Paris and Toulouse and by railway to Bordeaux, Clermont-Ferrand, and Lyon. Tourism is underdeveloped and centres on eastern Corrze. Pop. (1990) 722,850.