Poitou

Poitou was a province of France of west-central France whose capital city was Poitiers. There is a marshland called the Poitevin Mar on the Gulf of Poitou, on the west coast of France, just north of La Rochelle and west of Niort.

Poitou
Coat of arms
Country	France
Area
• Total	19,709 km2 (7,610 sq mi)
Population  (2006 estimate) Residents known as Poitevins[1]
• Total	1,375,356
Time zone	CET

Many of the Acadians who settled in what is now Nova Scotia beginning in 1604 and later to New Brunswick, came from the region of Poitou. After the Acadians were deported by the British beginning in 1755, a number of Acadians eventually took refuge in Poitou and in Québec. A large portion of these refugees also migrated to Louisiana in 1785 and following years became known as Cajuns.

Related pages

• Poitou-Charentes for the present-day Region of France including Poitiers.