MONTAUBAN, chief town of the department of Tarn- •et-Garonne, France, is situated on a slight eminence between the right bank of the Tarn and its tributary streams the Tescou and Lagarrigue, 128 miles by rail east-southeast of Bordeaux. It is connected with the suburb of Ville-Bourbon on the left bank of the Tarn by a remarkable brick bridge of the 14th century, which is 672 feet in length, and consists of seven pointed arches resting on piers, themselves pierced by pointed arches. The cathedral, built in 1739, contains the Vow of Louis XIII., one of the finest paintings of Ingres, a native of Montauban, and at the end of the Carmelite walk a monument was erected to his memory in 1871. In the town-house, once occupied as a palace by the counts of Toulouse and by the Black Prince, are the paintings bequeathed by Ingres, an archaeological collection, and a very curious library containing the bequests of several celebrated collectors. Montauban possesses a Protestant theological college. The town has some trade in corn, wine, and grapes. The manufacture of corn-dressers, coarse cloth, pens, and earthen and china ware are the principal industries; and there are also corn and woollen mills. The population in 1881 was 28,335....
Montauban was only a village in the time of the Romans. In the 8th century a monastery was founded there by the Benedictines, who exercised lordship over the neighbouring population. A considerable impetus was in the 12th century given to its prosperity by a decree of the counts of Toulouse offering freedom to all serfs taking up their residence in the town. Montauban was twice besieged by Simon de Montfort in the Albigensian wars, and was sacked in 1207. By the treaty of Bretigny (1360) it was ceded to the English; but shortly afterwards they were expelled by the inhabitants. In 1560 the bishops and magistrates embraced Protestantism, expelled the monks, and demolished the cathedral. About ten years later it became one of the Huguenot strongholds, and formed a small independent republic. It was the headquarters of the Huguenot rebellion of 1621, and was vainly besieged by Louis XIII. for eighty-six days; nor did it submit until after the fall of Rochelle in 1629, when its fortifications were destroyed by Richelieu. In the same year the plague cut off over 6000 of its inhabitants.
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