Normandy (/ˈnɔːrməndi/; French: Normandie[nɔʁmɑ̃di]ⓘ; Norman: Normaundie; from Old FrenchNormanz, plural of Normant, originally from the word for 'northman' in several Scandinavian languages)[4] is the northwesternmost of the eighteen regions of France, roughly coextensive with the historical Duchy of Normandy.
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Normandy's name comes from the settlement of the territory by Vikings ("Northmen") from the 9th century, and confirmed by treaty in the 10th century between King Charles III of France and the Viking jarlRollo.
In 1204, during the reign of John of England, mainland Normandy was taken from England by France under King Philip 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 the Treaty of Paris.
In 1790 the five departments of Normandy replaced the former province.
The Regional Council of Normandy, created on 1 January 2016, has 102 members who are elected under a system of proportional 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 in Caen, making Normandy one of only two regions (the other being Bourgogne-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 of Perche which lies inside the Ornedépartement) 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 for Upper Normandy.
The main cities (population given from the 1999 census) are Rouen (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); and Cherbourg (117,855 in the metropolitan area).