“ CHARLEROI (Carolus Rex) , a town in the province of Hainaut, Belgium. Pop. (1904) 26,528. It was founded in 1666 on the site of a village called Charnoy by the Spanish governor Roderigo and named after his sovereign Charles II. of Spain. Charleroi is the centre of the iron industry of Belgium. It is connected by a canal with Brussels, and from its position on the Sambre enjoys facilities of communication by water with France as well as Belgium. It was ceded soon after its foundation to France by the treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle, and Vauban fortified it. ”