Saintonge , historically spelled
Xaintonge and
Xainctonge, is a former
province of France located on the west central
Atlantic coast. The capital city was
Saintes (Xaintes, Xainctes). Other principal towns include
Saint-Jean-d'Angély,
Jonzac,
Frontenay-Rohan-Rohan,
Royan,
Marennes,
Pons, and
Barbezieux-Saint-Hilaire. The borders of the province slightly shifted through history, and some mapmakers, such as
Nicolas Sanson (1650),
Johannes Blaeu (1662), and Bernard Antoine Jaillot (1733), show it extending into
Cognac, traditionally part of
Angoumois, and to the parishes of
Braud-et-Saint-Louis and
Étauliers, part of the Pays Gabay on the right bank of the
Gironde River.