Franche-Comté

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Franche-Comté Historic region of e France; its capital was Dôle until 1674 and Besançon thereafter. Founded in the 12th century as the ‘free county’ of the Burgundians, it was disputed throughout the Middle Ages between the Holy Roman Empire, France, Burgundy, Spain, and Switzerland. After Louis XIV's conquest of 1674, it was finally recognized as part of France in 1678. Area: 16,202sq km (6256sq mi). Pop. (1999) 1,117,059.

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