Escaut (, nl, Schelde) was a

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, ...

of the

French First Republic In the history of France, the First Republic (french: Première République), sometimes referred to in historiography as Revolutionary France, and officially the French Republic (french: République française), was founded on 21 September 1792 ...

and French First Empire in present-day

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

and

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

. It was named after the river

Scheldt The Scheldt (french: Escaut ; nl, Schelde ) is a river that flows through northern France, western Belgium, and the southwestern part of Netherlands, the Netherlands, with its mouth at the North Sea. Its name is derived from an adjective corr ...

(Escô, Schelde), which is called the Escaut in French. It was created on 1 October 1795, when the Austrian Netherlands and the Prince-Bishopric of Liège were officially annexed by the French Republic. Before annexation by France, its territory was part of the

County of Flanders The County of Flanders was a historic territory in the Low Countries. From 862 onwards, the counts of Flanders were among the original twelve peers of the Kingdom of France. For centuries, their estates around the cities of Ghent, Bruges and Ypr ...

and the

Dutch Republic The United Provinces of the Netherlands, also known as the (Seven) United Provinces, officially as the Republic of the Seven United Netherlands (Dutch: ''Republiek der Zeven Verenigde Nederlanden''), and commonly referred to in historiography ...

(

Staats-Vlaanderen The Generality Lands, Lands of the Generality or Common Lands ( nl, Generaliteitslanden) were about one fifth of the territories of the United Provinces of the Netherlands, that were directly governed by the States-General. Unlike the seven pr ...

). The

Chef-lieu An administrative center is a seat of regional administration or local government, or a county town, or the place where the central administration of a commune is located. In countries with French as administrative language (such as Belgium, Lux ...

of the department was

Ghent Ghent ( nl, Gent ; french: Gand ; traditional English: Gaunt) is a city and a municipality in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is the capital and largest city of the East Flanders province, and the third largest in the country, exceeded in ...

(''Gand'' in French). The department was subdivided into the following four

arrondissement An arrondissement (, , ) is any of various administrative divisions of France, Belgium, Haiti, certain other Francophone countries, as well as the Netherlands. Europe France The 101 French departments are divided into 342 ''arrondissements' ...

s and

cantons A canton is a type of administrative division of a country. In general, cantons are relatively small in terms of area and population when compared with other administrative divisions such as counties, departments, or provinces. Internationally, t ...

(as of 1812): *

Gand Gand may refer to: * Ghent (French: Gand), a city in Belgium * Gand (''Star Wars''), a fictional planet and its resident species in the ''Star Wars'' franchise * Gand., the standard author abbreviation for Michel Gandoger * ', Old Norse word for ...

: Cruyshouthem, Deysne, Evergem,

(4 cantons), Loochristi,

Nazareth Nazareth ( ; ar, النَّاصِرَة, ''an-Nāṣira''; he, נָצְרַת, ''Nāṣəraṯ''; arc, ܢܨܪܬ, ''Naṣrath'') is the largest city in the Northern District of Israel. Nazareth is known as "the Arab capital of Israel". In ...

, Nevèle, Oosterzeele, Sommergem and Waerschoot. * Termonde:

Alost Aalst (; french: Alost, ; Brabantian: ''Oilsjt'') is a city and municipality on the Dender River, northwest from Brussels in the Flemish province of East Flanders. The municipality comprises the city of Aalst itself and the villages of Baardegem, ...

(2 cantons), Beveren,

Hamme Hamme () is a municipality located in the Belgian province of East Flanders. The municipality comprises the towns of Hamme proper, Kastel Moerzeke, and . In 2018, Hamme had a total population of 24,827. The total area is 40.21 km². The cur ...

, Lockeren, Saint-Gillis, Saint-Nicolas,

Tamise Temse (; french: Tamise ) is a municipality in East Flanders, Belgium. The name Temse is derived from the Gallo-Roman/Gaul Tamisiacum or Tamasiacum. This is also reflected in the French name for the town, Tamise. The main sights include the C ...

, Termonde, Wetteren and Zèle. * Eccloo: Assenède, Axel, Capryck, Eccloo, L'Écluse,

Hulst Hulst () is a municipality and city in southwestern Netherlands in the east of Zeelandic Flanders. History Hulst received city rights in the 12th century. Hulst was captured from the Spanish in 1591 by Maurice of Orange but was recaptured b ...

, Oostbourg and Yzendick. * Andernarde: Andernarde (2 cantons), Grammont, Herzèle, Maria-Hoorebecke, Niderbrakel, Ninove,

Renaix Ronse (; french: Renaix, ) is a Belgian city and a municipality in the Flemish province of East Flanders. The municipality only encompasses the city of Ronse proper. History Early settlements to 14th century The hills around Ronse show clu ...

and Sotteghem. After

Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...

was defeated in 1814, the department became part of the

United Kingdom of the Netherlands The United Kingdom of the Netherlands ( nl, Verenigd Koninkrijk der Nederlanden; french: Royaume uni des Pays-Bas) is the unofficial name given to the Kingdom of the Netherlands as it existed between 1815 and 1839. The United Netherlands was cr ...

. Its territory corresponded with the present Belgian province of

East Flanders , native_name_lang = , settlement_type = Province of Belgium , image_flag = Flag of Oost-Vlaanderen.svg , flag_size = , image_shield = Wapen van O ...

and the Dutch region of Zeelandic Flanders.

Administration

Prefects

The Prefect was the highest state representative in the department.

General Secretaries

The General Secretary was the deputy to the Prefect.

Subprefects of Andenarde

Subprefects of Eccloo

This subprefecture was created in 1803, replacing Sas-de-Gand.

Subprefects of Gand

Until 1811, the Prefect also held the office of Subprefect of Gand.

Subprefects of Sas-de-Gand

This subprefecture was replaced by Eccloo in 1803.

Subprefects of Termonde

References

{{Authority control Former departments of France in Belgium Former departments of France in the Netherlands 1795 establishments in France History of East Flanders History of Zeeland Zeelandic Flanders