The department is mostly rural with fertile agricultural land in the broad river valley, but there are hilly areas to the south, east and north. The departmentalprefecture isMontauban; the solesubprefecture isCastelsarrasin. In 2019, it had a population of 260,669.[3]
Quercy was part ofAquitania prima under the Romans;Christianity was introduced during the 4th century. Early in the 6th century the area fell under the authority of theFranks, and in the 7th century became part of the autonomous Duchy ofAquitaine. At the end of the 10th century its rulers were the powerful counts ofToulouse. During the hostilities between England and France in the reign ofHenry II of England, the English placed garrisons in the county, and by the 1259Treaty of Paris lower Quercy came under the control of England.[4]
The kings of both England and France around this time tried to curry favour by adding to the privileges of the towns and the district. In 1360, theTreaty of Brétigny was signed and the whole of Quercy passed to England. However, in the 1440s the English were finally expelled by the newly created army ofCharles VII of France.[5] In the 16th century Quercy was a stronghold of the Protestants, and the scene of fierce religious conflicts. The civil wars of the reign ofLouis XIII largely took place aroundMontauban.
After Napoleon's defeat in 1815, the monarchy was re-established in France, but the discreditedBourbon Dynasty was overthrown in the July Revolution of 1830, which established the constitutionalJuly Monarchy, which lasted until 1848. During this time the divide between the rich and poor increased; in Montauban, hundreds turned to begging as wages fell, factories closed andfood prices rose; rioting was widespread and the home of the mayor was stoned by building workers in 1847.[6]
Map of the region before the creation of the department
Before the department's formation in the nineteenth century, the northern half formed part of the old province ofQuercy and the southern half, part ofLanguedoc. The department was created on 4 November 1808 during theFirst French Empire by a decision ofNapoleon.[7] The emperor had been invited to visit the town ofMontauban, an important industrial and commercial centre at the time, whose populace thought the town was central enough and sufficiently important to be the capital of a new department. He was impressed by their loyalty and granted their request.[7]
The department was formed out of territories that had previously been part of neighbouring areas. More than half of the territory was taken from theDepartment of Lot (including Montauban andMoissac), over one-third was taken fromHaute-Garonne (includingCastelsarrasin), and the rest from the departments ofLot-et-Garonne,Gers, andAveyron. The firstprefect was Félix Le Peletier d'Aunay, who was installed in his post on 31 December 1808.[7]
Tarn-et-Garonne constitutes part of theOccitanieregion inSouthern France. It borders on the departments ofLot to the north,Aveyron to the northeast,Tarn to the east,Haute-Garonne to the south, andGers andLot-et-Garonne to the west. The capital of the department is Montauban which lies about 50 km (31 mi) north of Toulouse. Montauban is situated on the right bank of the riverTarn at its confluence with the riverTescou, and the Tarn is joined by theAveyron about 10 km (6.2 mi) further downstream. The second largestcommune in the department isCastelsarrasin which stands near the confluence of the Tarn andRiver Garonne.[8] Montauban is connected to theGaronne via the 11 km (7 mi)Canal de Montech.[9]
The central part of the department is a broad river valley that does not exceed 150 m (492 ft) in altitude, but near the commune ofValence-d'Agen, in the extreme west of the department, the valley narrows as the hilly regions of Bas-Quercy to the north and Lomagne to the south draw closer together. In the northeast of the department is higher land in the form of limestone plateaus known as theCausses, part of theMassif Central.[8] The highest point in the department, at 510 m (1,673 ft), is the Pech Maurel, situated in the commune ofCastanet.[10]
Graphs are unavailable due to technical issues. Updates on reimplementing the Graph extension, which will be known as the Chart extension, can be found onPhabricator and onMediaWiki.org.
The economy of the department depends mainly on agriculture but there is also some industry, and it benefits from its proximity to Toulouse. The commercial importance of Montauban is mainly due to its trade in agricultural products, horses, game and poultry, but it does have some manufacturing industries, which include cloth-weaving, cloth-dressing, flour-milling, wood-sawing, and the manufacture of furniture, silk-gauze and straw hats. The surrounding countryside supports nursery-gardening, wine-making and the growing of maize, olives and mulberries. This area is approximately at the northern limit for the commercial production of the latter two crops because of the vagaries of the climate.[13]
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