Boundaries.] France, as it is bounded at present, is marked as one of the separate kingdoms of Europe by natural limits on three of its sides. It has the Channel, which separates it from England on the N.; the Bay of Biscay, on the W.; and the Mediterranean, with the Pyrenean mountains, separating it from Spain on the S. Its inland boundaries, on the N. E., E., and S. E., have not been traced by the hand of Nature, but are dependant on political circumstances. At present, the boundary line commences to the N. E. of Dunkirk, betwixt it and Furnes on the coast o maritime Flanders. Thence it runs S. E., along the ancient limits of the Belgian provinces, the late bishopric of Liege, and the duchy of Bouillon. Passing onwards, it separates the grand duchy of Luxemburg from the department of the Ardennes; and thence runs in a S. E. direction, cutting the Maese, and crossing the Moselle at Syrk, where it leaves the frontier of the Netherlands, and begins to separate the Prussian dominions from France, running along the west bank of the Saare, between Sarrelouis and Bouzonville, and Sarrebruck and Sarreguemines. Thence it passes S. E., cutting the mountains Des Vosges, as far as the source of the Lauter, along whose southern bank it runs till it falls into the Rhine. The boundary then runs due S., along the Thalweg, or course of the Rhine, separating the grand duchy of Baden from France, till it reaches Huningue, where the river becomes navigable. It then turns to the W., after which it runs straight south and cuts the Vosges, then E., and then S., along the crest of the Jura, separating France from Switzerland on the E., as far as to the S. of Geneva, whence it runs south, along the Rhone, to that point where the river turns to the W.; traversing the Isère at the point where that river becomes navigable, it reaches the Cottian Alps, along which it runs in a S. E., and then a southern direction, separating France from the Sardinian States, as far as the shore of the Mediterranean. Thus the present inland boundaries of France are the United Netherlands on the N. E.; Germany and Switzerland on the E.; and Savoy and Piedmont on the S. E. PROGRESSIVE GEOGRAPHY.-Roman Period.] The progressive geography of this country has been very different at different periods of its history. It was anciently called Gaul, and not only comprehended what is denominated modern France, but also the duchy of Savoy,-the cantons of Switzerland, then called Helvetia,-the four late electorates of the Rhine: viz. the Palatinate, and the archbishoprics of Mentz, Treves, and Cologne, and the territories of Liege, Luxemburg, Flanders, and Brabant. Julius Cæsar found this country divided into three parts, denominated Gallia Belgica, Aquitania, and Gallia Propria or Celtica. The Aquitani had passed, it is supposed, from Spain, and were of African origin; they had seized upon modern Gascony and Bearn, while the warlike Perhaps no method is so well-adapted for arriving at some degree of accuracy respecting the superficial contents of any country, as that first adopted by Dr Long of Cambridge, in 1742, for ascertaining the proportions of land and water on the surface of the globe, and lately practised by Mr Jardine and Sir George Mackenzie in calculating precisely the superficial contents of Scotland. The method is, to take a copy, we shall suppose of Chaucard's map of 13 sheets, the latest and most accurate that has been yet published of France, the paper to be as nearly as possible of uniform thickness; a portion of each sheet, equal to 5,000 British miles, being carefully weighed by a balance sensible to the hundredth part of a grain when loaded with two lbs. in each scale, let each department be accurately separated by means of a sharp pointed knife, and its weight carefully compared with that portion of the sheet to which it belongs; in those districts which are indented with deep bays, arms, or inland gulfs, let these be separated and compared in a similar manner; and from these data let the land and water of each district, or department, be deduced; and the result, if not absolutely accurate, will be a near approximation at least to geographical truth." German tribes, under the name of Belgæ, settled themselves in the northeastern parts of Gaul, and introduced the Gothic language and manners. Celtic Gaul, which was inhabited by a people differing in their customs and language from the Belga and Aquitani, called in their own language Celts, but by the Romans Gauls, was further divided into Gallia Comata, so called because the people wore long hair,-Gallia Braccata, in which the people wore breeches,-and Gallia Togata, where the Roman toga, or gown, had been adopted by the inhabitants after their subjection to the Roman sway. Gallia Celtica comprehended all the territory bounded by the ocean, the Seine, the Marne, the Saone, the Rhine, and the Garonne. Belgic Gaul was bounded by the Seine, the Marne, the mountains of Vosges, the Rhine, and the sea. Aquitania lay between the ocean, the Pyrenees, and the Garonne. Gaul was afterwards divided by Augustus into 4 provinces: viz. Narbonensis, Aquitania, Lugdunensis, and Belgica. In the 4th century the Notitia Imperii exhibits Gaul divided into 5 provinces ; and finally it was divided by Constantine the Great into 17 provinces, 6 of which were consular, and 11 under presidents who resided in the capital cities. Under the Franks.] The modern name of France is derived from the Franks, a German tribe, or rather, as has been supposed, a motley multitude of different tribes, who, uniting themselves in defence of their liberty, against the Romans, styled themselves Franks,-that word signifying in their language, as it still does in ours, free. They inhabited that part of Germany which lies between the Rhine, the Wesser, and the German Ocean; and were known in the time of Tacitus by the names of Chauci, Cherusci, Catti, &c. In the 5th century, in conjunction with the Alemans, the Vandals, the Alans, and the Burgundians, the Franks crossed the Rhine, and, under Clovis, achieved the conquest of Gaul. Upon the death of Clovis, the dominion of the Franks was split into two divisions: viz. Oesterric, or the Eastern kingdom, corruptly called Austrasia, and Westerric, or the Western kingdom, called Neustria. These were again subdivided into smaller principalities, which were all re-united by Charlemagne, the founder of the Carlovingian dynasty; but, under the reign of his weak successors, France was again split into a number of feudatory principalities, though the name continued paramount through all the struggles of those little monarchies, till at last it became that of the whole kingdom. Under the Capetian Dynasty.] Hugh Capet, the founder of the present race of sovereigns, who succeeded the last of the Carlovingian line, in 987, possessed nothing of France but Picardy, the Isle of France, and Orleanais. Berry was reunited to the crown in 1100. Touraine and Normandy were reconquered by Philip Augustus in 1200. Languedoc was annexed in 1316. The final and permanent union of Champagne to the French crown was effected in 1361. The Lyonnais came under the possession of the crown in the reign of Philip the Fair; and Dauphiné, under Philip de Valois, who received it from its last count, on condition that the eldest son of the French king should always take the title and bear the arms of the Dauphin. Poitou, Aunis, Limousin, and Saintonge, were conquered by Charles V.; and Guyenne and Gascony by Charles VII. Louis XI. obtained Maine and Anjou by inheritance,-seized the province of Burgundy, on the death of its last Duke, Charles the Bold, in 1477,— and took possession of all Provence upon the death of Charles king of Sicily, who was count of Provence. By the successive marriages of Charles VIII. and Louis XII. with the heiress of Brittany, this last pro vince was united to the crown of France. Francis I. confiscated the provinces of Auvergne, Bourbonnais, and Marche, and united them to his kingdom. By the accession of Henry IV. to the throne, Bearn, Foix, and part of Gascony, were added to France. Roussillon, formerly belonging to Spain, was ceded to France in 1659. Artois, formerly belonging to the Spanish Netherlands, was ceded to Louis XIV. by Charles II. of Spain. Alsace was also seized by Louis XIV. and ceded to him by the peace of Ryswick, in 1697. Franche-Comté was also seized by the same monarch in 1668, and again in 1674; and afterwards ceded and confirmed to him by the treaties of Nimeguen and Ryswick. That part of the Netherlands which France is still permitted to retain, was acquired by conquest during the reign of Louis XIV. Lorraine was the last acquisition of France previous to the late revolution: Louis XV. having, upon the death of his father-in-law, Stanislaus, seized upon the duchy of Lorraine, properly so called, and also the duchy of Bar, both of which were afterwards ceded to him by treaty. Present Limits.] France, by the treaty of Paris in 1814, was reduced nearly to the same limits that bounded it previously to the revolution, although by that treaty, she actually obtained an extension of territory, and an additional population of 700,000 persons; but, by the treaty of November 20th, 1815, she was compelled to part with these acquisitions, and also to cede the fortresses of Philippeville and Marienburg, with their dependant districts in French Hainault, together with the whole duchy of Bouillon, to the sovereign prince of the Netherlands, the fortress of SareLouis, and the course of the Saare, to Prussia,-and the important fortress of Landau, with all the left bank of the Lauter, to Germany. Part of the county of the Gex, and the town of Versoix, was also ceded to the Helvetic Confederacy. Divisions.] Before the revolution, France was divided into 32 provinces, or distinct governments. By a new arrangement in 1790, it was divided into 83 departments; and subsequently the addition of Corsica, and of the Venaissin or department of Vaucluse, together with the formation of the department of the Garonne and Tarn, completed the present number of 86 departments. But as the old divisions, though no longer subservient to the political organization of the country, still continue to be referred to, and are firmly incorporated with the language, they shall be enumerated, along with their corresponding departments, and the population of each department, as stated by the Société de Géographes of Paris in 1828. We must also observe, that each department is subdivided into districts, called arrondissements, of which there are 368 in the kingdom. These districts are again divided into 2,669 cantons; and finally, each canton is composed of a certain number of communes, that is to say, of towns and villages, of which there are 38,990 at present. A commune is sometimes a single town, and sometimes several villages united, possessing a mayor and communal municipality. All the considerable cities are divided into several communes. |