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NANTEL. 229 NANTICOKE. tercsts of colonization Solre nord-ouest provincial (1HS8). NANTERRE, niix'tar'. A town of Fiance in llie JJeprti'tuieut of Seine, situated a few niiles north of Paris, near Saint Denis. Accord- ing to the tradition, it is the birthplace of Sainte Genevi&ve, the patron saint of Paris. Population, in 1901, 92U; of comm-une, 14,140. NANTES, niiNt. An important seaport town, capital of the Department of Loire-lnferieure, France, situated on the right bank of the Loire, at its continence with the Erdre and the S6vre- Nantaise, both navigable streams (iMap: France, E 4). It is about 250 miles by rail southwest of Paris. Besides railways, there is communica- tion with the interior by steamers on the Loire. The city is handsome and well built. Among the numerous striking and beautiful buildings, the chief are the Cathedral of Saint Pierre and the old castle, dating from 938. The Bourse is a modern building and one of the finest in France. There are a public library containing 200,000 volumes, a museum of paintings, a museum of natural history, an ecclesiastical college, several learned societies, and three theatres. A very beautiful promenade, formed by the Cours Saint Pierre and the Cours Saint Andre, extends from the Erdre to the Loire. It is planted with four rows of trees, bordered with lines of palatial houses, and ornamented with statues. On the right bank of the river there are six miles of quayage. Formerly vessels of 200 tons only could reach the port, vessels of greater burden unloading at Paimboeuf, or Saint-Nazaire, but a ship canal on the left bank now admits large sailing vessels and steamers directly to Nantes. In the manufacture of sugar Nantes stands next to Paris and Marseilles. Its ship-building in- dustry and its tobacco factories are also very important. There are also iron, copper, and lead foundries, oil and soap works, food-preserving establishments, saw mills, and manufactures of railroad material, of cotton and woolen goods, chemicals, and cement. Nantes, anciently Condivincum, was founded before the Roman conquest. It took its ])resent name from that of a Gallic tribe, the Namnetes. It was the capital of the Duchy of Brittany, and its history until the fifteenth century is a record of struggles with successive invaders in defense of its independence. In 1491 the duchy was miited to France by the marriage in the castle of Anne of Brittany to Charles VIII., King of France. The castle also witnessed the sign- ing of the famous Edict of Nantes (q.v.) by Henry IV. in 1598. From the fifteenth century the commerce of the town began to have a gi'cat development, and in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries its prosperity increased on account of the slave trade, but in 1700 Nantes had declined greatly in importance. During the Revolution it W'as the scene of the noundps and other atrocities of the infamous Carrier (q.v.). The popiilation, which showed a falling off in 1880 and in 1890, in the last decade advanced again, and in 1901 Nantes had 132,990 inhabit- ants. Consult iMaillard, Nantes et le diparte- ment an XlXeme sircle (Nantes, 1896). NANTES. Edict of. The name given to the famous decree signed in the city of Nantes by Henry TV. of France, April 13, 1598, which se- cured to the Protestant portion of his subjects partial freedom of religion. The document con- sisted of ninety-two patent or public articles and fifty-six secret or close ones, and among its chief provisions were the following: the procla- mation of a full amnesty ; the granting of liberty of conscience to the Huguenots; the permitting to Huguenot chiefs and noblemen of pul)lic religious exercises attended 1)V themselves, their families, and the families of their de- pendents. In addition the Huguenots were to be allowed to establish new churches, except in Paris and the surrounding districts, and in the royal residences ; and to maintain universities, or theological colleges, of which the Huguenots had four, those at Montauban, Saunuir. Jiont- pellier, and Sedan. Adherents of tlu' reformed faith were also to be eligible to all civil oHices and dignities; bvit they were obliged outwardly to celebrate the festivals of the Catholic Church, and to pay tithes to the Catholic priesthood. In each Parlement a chambre de lYdit was created to take cognizance of all cases arising out of the act and to supervise its working. Owing to the difficulties and delays in registering the Edict of Nantes, it was not published until a year after it had been signed by the King. It remained in force until revoked by Louis XIV., October 22, 1685. See Huguenots. NANTEUIL, niix'te'v', Rohert ( 1030-78) . A celebrated French engraver, born at Rheims. He studied in his native city under Nicolas Regnes- son. About 1645 he went to Paris, and there worked in crayon and pastel for some time before he took up the graver again. His plates having come to the King's notice, he was ap- pointed designer of the Cabinet (1058). He is credited with the decree of 1600, dated from Saint Jean de Luz. by which engraving was raised to an equality with painting and set apart from the purely mechanic arts. He left about three hundred plates, which include portraits of many of the celebrities of the time. Consult Duplessis, Histoire de la gravure en France (Paris, 1861). NAN'TICOKE. A former important Algon- quian tribe of Maryland. They were noted for their dark complexion and peculiar customs and ceremonies, from which they acquired the repu- tatftin of being a tribe of sorcerers. Their power was broken by the Iroquois in 1678. In 1707 they had seven villages, and in 1722 their principal village still contained about one hundred inhabitants and was the seat of an 'em- press,' who ruled over all the neighboring Indians. The whole tribe then numbered about 500. Soon afterwards they began a gradual removal to the Iroquois country, and settled in several villages on the eastern branch of the Susquehanna, in southern New York, although a portion of them continued to reside in their old country. In 1753 a part of those on the Susquehanna became incorporated with the Iroquois, but the majority removed to the Ohio and joined the Delaware tribe, with which they became com- pletely merged. There are still several score of mixed-blood Nanticoke in southern Delaware. NAN'TICOKE. A borough in Luzerne Coun- ty, Pa., eight miles west-southwest of Wilkes- barre; on the Susquehanna River, and on the Pennsylvania, the Lackawanna, and the Central of New Jersey railroads (Map: Pennsylvania, E 2). It is chiefly engaged in mining and pre-