Quercy is a former province of France but is now considered as one of its departments. It is situated in the southwest portion of France. Perigord and Agenis surround this place on the west, on the north by Limousin, on the south by Languedoc and Gascony as well as on the east by Auvergne and Rouergue.  

Quercy is a former country and region and SW France is now separated from Lot as well as the Tran-et-Garone deparments.  Charos is its the main city. A large portion of this land contains arid limestone plateaus cut by fertile valleys of the Averryon, Lot and Dorgone River.  Sheep racing is the main activity in Causses. The popular Rocamadour cheese, which is popular in thid department, is made from sheep milk. From the Gallo-Roman origin, Quercy becomes a fief of the counts of Toulouse. It was savagely challenged throughout the Hundred Years War.  After the war, it was united with the French crown and the Guienne province.

Nowadays Quercy is separated between northern half of the Tarn-et-Garonne department and the Lot department. Cahors is the traditional capital of Quercy. Montauban lies in the traditional boundary between Languedoc and Quercy. Languedoc is an area that is extremely different form Quercy. It is also very close culturally and historically to Toulouse and the rest of Languedoc but it should be considered a special case.

The Perigord region is famous for its cause more mainly the duck dishes, magret de conar and cofit de conard, and the dark red wine of Charos. The Quercy has a land area that measures about 6,987 kilometers square. During the 1999 Census there were 275, 984 inhabitants in the territory in the earlier province of Quercy. If Montauban is not included within Quercy, then the total population of Quercy in 1999 was about 224,129 inhabitants. The largest urban areas of Quercy are Moissac with 12,321inhabitants, Montauban with a 51,855 inhabitants, Figeac with 9,991 inhabitants and Cahors with 23,128 inhabitants.
In the year 1060, Qyercy become the department of Batch. A significant part of white Quercy was separated from this department throughout the creation of the department of Tar-et-Graonne in the year 1808.

The name Quercy is taken from a Garlic tribe. The Caduri was applied to a small district watered by the places of Lot, Tarn and Dordogne. It was then bordered by Rouergue, Limousin, Perigord Agenais and Armagnac.  Quercy was established at Montauban Judiciallt and was under the authority of the parliament of Bordeaux.  Under the Romans, Quercy is part of the Aquitania prima as well as when Christianity is introduced therein throughout the 4th century.  In the Early 6th century, it was passed on unto the Frank authority. In the 9th century, it became a member of the Aquitaine Frankish kingdom. By the end of 10th century, the rulers were the influential count of Toulouse. Throughout the wars of France and England in the region of Henry II, the English placed garrisons in the country and by the treaty of Paris. In addition, in the year 1259, the lower portion of Quercy was given up to England. Both the king of France and King of England confirmed and added to the privileges of the towns and the district hoping to connect the inhabitants to their own interest. In 1360, a treaty for the France called “Bretigny” was signed and passed to England but after four or so years, the Englishmen were at last expelled. In the 16th century, Quercy was an iron grip of the Protestant and this scene of a savage spiritual combat. The civil wars in King Louis XII’s area are centered on Montauban. Quercy was considered as an early industrial district. It gave its name to a type of light linen called “coducum” and the bankers of Cahors were popular back then.

Almost all the Quercy megaliths were built with limestone stabs. At the side of the Perigord department of Dosdogne, it was really poor in dolmens wherein about 20 are remarkable and much is ruined. The present of the dolmens vary from simple dolmens Aquitanian allee conuvertes passage dolmens and several menhirs. The mega lights are made out of limestone, sandstone along with a grinding stone. The people of Artenac culture used the megalithic monuments of Quercy and Perigord between 3000 and 1700 before our era. They appear at the end of the Neolithic era that is one of the great stages of the prehistoric human adventure.

Subdivisions

Geological subdivision of Quercy:

• The white Quercy or low Quercy area of large plates and white limestone is situated at the south west of Cahors with villages such as Castelnau-Montratier, Montcuq, Lalbenque and Montpezat.
• The high Quercy broad band of hard and fissured Jurassic limestone which includes understand Causses of Marteland Limogne-in-Quercy are dry and permeable plates where the decomposition of the rocks dug small fertile depression or vertical walls.

The Natural Park of Quercy

The natural theme park of Quercy was created during the year 1999 and was extended on 175. The park measures about 717 heactares and gathers 97 of the 340 communes of Lot. The territory is composed of three geological mediums such as the Causse Valley and Limargue in the east equipped with a significant hydrological network. It is this network that forms the multitude of pits and caves. The underground cavities shelter eight rare and vulnerable species of the chauve-souris. The five valley of the Batch are Ouysse, Worms, and Alzou. They overhung cornices where nest of large raptors such as the Hibou large duke and the Peregrine Falcon.

Famous Personalities from Quercy

• Jean Le Parrisot de La Valette – Grad Master of the Order of Malta in year 1492 to year 1568. 
• John XXII – Pope of year 1316 to year 1332. 
• Clement Marot – Poet in year 1496 to year 1544
• Etienne Henri d’Escayrac Lauture – Counter Revolutionary in year 1747 to 1791
• Olivier de Magny – Poet in the year 1529 to year 1561
• Stanislas d’Escayrac lauture – Explorer in year 1822 to 1868
• Andre Etienne d’Audebert de Ferussac – Naturalist in year 1786 to 1836
• Francis Maratuech – poet and writer
• Leon Gambetta – Politician
• Christian Signol – Writer
• Philippe Gaubert – Composer and conductor
• Fabien Galthie – Rugby player
• Alfred Roques – Rugby player