Normandy's name comes from the settlement of the territory byVikings ("Northmen") from the 9th century, and confirmed by treaty in the 10th century between KingCharles III of France and the VikingjarlRollo.
In 1204, during the reign ofJohn of England, mainland Normandy was taken from theAngevin Empire by France under KingPhilip II. Insular Normandy (the Channel Islands) remained, however, under English control. In 1259,Henry III of England recognized the legality of French possession of mainland Normandy under theTreaty of Paris.
In 1790 the five departments of Normandy replaced the former province.
TheRegional Council of Normandy, created on 1 January 2016, has 102 members who are elected under a system ofproportional representation. The executive consists of a president and vice-presidents.Hervé Morin from the Centre party was elected president of the council in January 2016. The council is based inCaen, making Normandy one of only two regions (the other beingBourgogne-Franche-Comté) where the prefecture and seat of local government are located in different cities.
As of January 2006 the population of Normandy (including the part ofPerche which lies inside theOrnedépartement) is estimated at 3,260,000 with an average population density of 109 inhabitants per km2, just under the French national average, but rising to 147 forUpper Normandy.
The main cities (population given from the 1999 census) areRouen (518,316 in the metropolitan area), the capital since 2016 of the province and formerly of Upper Normandy;Caen (420,000 in the metropolitan area) and formerly the capital of Lower Normandy;Le Havre (296,773 in the metropolitan area); andCherbourg (117,855 in the metropolitan area).
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