Franche-Comté is a traditional province of eastern France, with Besançon serving as its capital. The region's name means "Free County", referring to the "Free County of Burgundy" (which had separated from Burgundy during the 1400s). In 1492, King Charles VIII of France ceded the region to Philip of Austria, grandson of Charles the Bold, whose death in battle in 1477 had led to Louis XI of France becoming its new ruler. In 1516, Philip's son Charles inherited the region, thereby passing it to the Spanish. In 1668, Franche-Comté was reconquered by the Kingdom of France during the War of Devolution before being returned to Spain; it was again conquered by France in 1674 during the Franco-Dutch War, and it was finally ceded to France in 1678 under the Treaty of Nijmegen. In 2009, Franche-Comté had a population of 1,168,208 people.
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