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OLERON

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Originally appearing in Volume V20, Page 77 of the 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica.
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OLERON , an See also:

island lying off the See also:west See also:coast of See also:France, opposite the mouths of the See also:Charente and Seudre, and included in the See also:department of Charente-Inferieure. In 1906 the See also:population numbered 16,747. In See also:area (66 sq. m.) it ranks next to See also:Corsica among See also:French islands. It is about 18 in. in length from N.W.to S.E., and ' in extreme breadth; the width of the strait (Pertuis de Maumusson) separating it from the mainland is at one point less than a mile. The island is See also:flat and See also:low-lying and fringed by See also:dunes on the coast. The greater See also:part is very fertile, but there are also some extensive See also:salt marshes, and See also:oyster culture and fishing are carried on. The See also:chief products are See also:corn, See also:wine, See also:fruit and vegetables. The inhabitants are mostly Protestants and make excellent sailors. The chief places are St See also:Pierre (pop. 1582 in 1906), Le See also:Chateau d'Oleron (1546), and the watering-See also:place of St Trojan-See also:les-Bains. Oleron, the Uliarus Insula of See also:Pliny, formed part of the duchy of See also:Aquitaine, and finally came into the See also:possession of the French See also:crown in 1370. It gave its name to a See also:medieval See also:code of maritime See also:laws promulgated by Eleanor of See also:Guienne.

End of Article: OLERON

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