Descartes () is a large village and

commune A commune is an alternative term for an intentional community. Commune or comună or comune or other derivations may also refer to: Administrative-territorial entities * Commune (administrative division), a municipality or township ** Communes of ...

in the

Indre-et-Loire Indre-et-Loire () is a department in west-central France named after the Indre River and Loire River The Loire (, also ; ; oc, Léger, ; la, Liger) is the longest river in France and the 171st longest in the world. With a length of , it ...

department Department may refer to: * Departmentalization, division of a larger organization into parts with specific responsibility Government and military *Department (administrative division), a geographical and administrative division within a country, ...

in central

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

. It is approximately 29 kilometers east of Richelieu and about 48 kilometers east of Loudun, on the banks of the

Creuse Creuse (; oc, Cruesa or ) is a department in central France named after the river Creuse. After Lozère, it is the second least populated department in France. It is bordered by Indre and Cher to the north, Allier and Puy-de-Dôme to the eas ...

River, near the border of the French department of

Vienne Vienne (; Poitevin-Saintongeais: ''Viéne'') is a landlocked department in the French region of Nouvelle-Aquitaine. It takes its name from the river Vienne. It had a population of 438,435 in 2019.Centre-Val de Loire Centre-Val de Loire (, , ,In isolation, ''Centre'' is pronounced . ) or Centre Region (french: région Centre, link=no, ), as it was known until 2015, is one of the eighteen administrative regions of France. It straddles the middle Loire Valley ...

and

Nouvelle-Aquitaine Nouvelle-Aquitaine (; oc, Nòva Aquitània or ; eu, Akitania Berria; Poitevin-Saintongeais: ''Novéle-Aguiéne'') is the largest administrative region in France, spanning the west and southwest of the mainland. The region was created by t ...

. It is famous for the birthplace of the French mathematician and philosopher who invented the

Cartesian coordinate system A Cartesian coordinate system (, ) in a plane is a coordinate system that specifies each point uniquely by a pair of numerical coordinates, which are the signed distances to the point from two fixed perpendicular oriented lines, measured in t ...

René Descartes René Descartes ( or ; ; Latinized: Renatus Cartesius; 31 March 1596 – 11 February 1650) was a French philosopher, scientist, and mathematician, widely considered a seminal figure in the emergence of modern philosophy and science. Mathem ...

History

Initially called La Haye-en-Touraine, the town was the birthplace of the

philosopher A philosopher is a person who practices or investigates philosophy. The term ''philosopher'' comes from the grc, φιλόσοφος, , translit=philosophos, meaning 'lover of wisdom'. The coining of the term has been attributed to the Greek th ...

(1596–1650), who invented the

, although his family home was in nearby

Châtellerault Châtellerault (; Poitevin-Saintongeais: ''Châteulrô/Chateleràud''; oc, Chastelairaud) is a commune in the Vienne department in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region in France. It is located in the northeast of the former province Poitou, and the re ...

. Descartes left La Haye in approximately 1606 to attend the College Henri IV at

La Flèche La Flèche () is a town and commune in the French department of Sarthe, in the Pays de la Loire region in the Loire Valley. It is the sub-prefecture of the South-Sarthe, the chief district and the chief city of a canton, and the second most po ...

."Editor's Preface" in Discourse on Method and Meditations on First Philosophy (Hackett: 1998) During the

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, the liberation of Descartes happened in 1944. The demarcation line was used as a border of

Vichy France Vichy France (french: Régime de Vichy; 10 July 1940 – 9 August 1944), officially the French State ('), was the fascist French state headed by Marshal Philippe Pétain during World War II. Officially independent, but with half of its ter ...

from 1940 to 1942. The town was renamed La Haye-Descartes in 1802 in his honour, and then renamed again to Descartes in 1967. In 1966, the commune of Balesmes was merged with the commune of Descartes, as the commune's population was increased to 4,627 in 1968, rather than its smaller population in 1962 (about 1,679 people).

Geography

The river

forms a border between the department of

and

. The town is situated approximately 300 kilometers south of

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

, the country's capital, and about fifty kilometers south of

Tours Tours ( , ) is one of the largest cities in the region of Centre-Val de Loire, France. It is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Indre-et-Loire. The Communes of France, commune of Tours had 136,463 ...

, the prefecture of the department. The commune is bordered by nine other communes, six of them is in

, and three is in

Vienne Vienne (; Poitevin-Saintongeais: ''Viéne'') is a landlocked department in the French region of Nouvelle-Aquitaine. It takes its name from the river Vienne. It had a population of 438,435 in 2019.Marcé-sur-Esves Marcé-sur-Esves is a commune in the Indre-et-Loire department in central France. Population See also *Communes of the Indre-et-Loire department The following is a list of the 272 communes of the Indre-et-Loire department of France. The c ...

to the north,

La Celle-Saint-Avant La Celle-Saint-Avant () is a commune in the Indre-et-Loire department in central France. Population See also *Communes of the Indre-et-Loire department The following is a list of the 272 communes of the Indre-et-Loire department of France. ...

to the northwest,

Civray-sur-Esves Civray-sur-Esves () is a commune in the Indre-et-Loire department in central France. Population See also *Communes of the Indre-et-Loire department The following is a list of the 272 communes of the Indre-et-Loire department of France. Th ...

to the northeast,

Cussay Cussay () is a commune in the Indre-et-Loire department in central France. Population Cussay Eglise.jpg, Church CussayPanorama.JPG, Panorama See also *Communes of the Indre-et-Loire department The following is a list of the 272 communes ...

to the east,

Neuilly-le-Brignon Neuilly-le-Brignon () is a commune in the Indre-et-Loire department in central France. It is a small village near Descartes, Le Grand-Pressigny, and Abilly. History The village of Neuilly-le-Brignon is mentioned for the first time by Gregor ...

to the southeast,

Abilly Abilly () is a commune in the Indre-et-Loire department in central France. Population See also *Communes of the Indre-et-Loire department The following is a list of the 272 communes of the Indre-et-Loire department of France. The communes ...

to the south, and the department of Vienne to the east across the

by the communes of Buxeuil to the southwest, and finally by Les Ormes and

Port-de-Piles Port-de-Piles () is a commune in the Vienne department and the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, western France. Demographics See also *Communes of the Vienne department The following is a list of the 266 communes of the Vienne department of Franc ...

to the east.

Education

The education of France is very advanced, and it is one of the advanced country. The following kindergartens, schools and universities in Descartes are: *L'école maternelle Côte des Granges *L'école élémentaire Côte des Granges *L'école primaire Balesmes *L'école primaire privée Louis Lefé *Le collège Roger Jahan

Population

Etymology

The town was originally called as Haiam in Latin (refers to a wood or a field that is surrounded by fences) in 1155, then La Haye, and then La Haye-en-Touraine. It was renamed to La Haye-Descartes during the

French Revolution The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in November 1799. Many of its ideas are considere ...

, the name of a revolutionary that is survived until the middle 20th century. The commune of Balesmes was merged with the commune of Descartes in 1966. The new commune was formed and was renamed to Descartes in 1967, as a honour of the philosopher

, who was born in the village in 1596. The town is locally nicknamed as the "town of the three Renés" (

, René de Buxeuil, and

René Boylesve René Boylesve (14 April 1867 in La Haye-Descartes – 14 January 1926 in Paris), born René Marie Auguste Tardiveau, was a French writer and a literary critic. Biography Boylesve was orphaned early and went to school in Poitiers and Tours. ...

Personalities

The town is notable in Acadian genealogy as the birthplace of the Heberts and the famous mathematician

, who invented the

. To honour him, there is a statue near the town hall. It was also the birthplace of landscape painter, Pierre Ballue, as well as

, writer and literary critic, the electrical engineer

Gustave Trouvé Gustave Pierre Trouvé (2 January 1839 – 27 July 1902) was a French electrical engineer and inventor in the 19th century. Trouvé was born on 2 January 1839 in La Haye-Descartes (Indre-et-Loire, France) and died on 27 July 1902 in Paris. A pol ...

, and the composer René de Buxeuil.

International relationships

Descartes is twinned with four other cities in three countries: *

Cheddar Cheddar most often refers to either: *Cheddar cheese *Cheddar, Somerset, the village after which Cheddar cheese is named Cheddar may also refer to: Places * Cheddar, Ontario, Canada * Cheddar Yeo, a river which flows through Cheddar Gorge and th ...

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

(1952) * Aurora do Tocantins,

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

(1973) *

La Albuera La Albuera is a village southeast of Badajoz, Extremadura, Spain. it had a population of c. 2,000 inhabitants. History It was scene of the Battle of Albuera (16 May 1811) between Spanish, Portuguese and British troops under William Carr Beresfo ...

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

(1996) *

Pueblonuevo del Guadiana Pueblonuevo del Guadiana, also shortened as Pueblonuevo, is a Spanish town and municipality in the province of Badajoz, Extremadura. It has a population of 2,046 and an area of 30,95 km². History The town is a planned community founded in 19 ...

, Spain (2013) Descartes also has cooperation with

Lhatse The new town of Lhatse or Lhatse Xian, also known as Quxar (, Quxia (), or Chusar, is a small town of a few thousand people in the Tibet Autonomous Region in the valley of the Yarlung Tsangpo River in Lhatse County, southwest of Shigatse and just ...

Tibet Tibet (; ''Böd''; ) is a region in East Asia, covering much of the Tibetan Plateau and spanning about . It is the traditional homeland of the Tibetan people. Also resident on the plateau are some other ethnic groups such as Monpa people, ...

and

Villadiego Villadiego is a Spanish town and municipality in the comarca of Odra-Pisuerga, in west of the province of Burgos, Castilla y León. It is seat of the comarca of Odra-Pisuerga. It is located 39 kilometres away from Burgos. According to demographi ...