French Hainaut (french: Hainaut français ) is one of two areas in

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 ...

that form the département du Nord, its eastern part. It corresponds roughly with the

Arrondissement of Avesnes-sur-Helpe The arrondissement of Avesnes-sur-Helpe is an arrondissement of France in the Nord department in the Hauts-de-France region. It has 151 communes. Its population is 230,372 (2016), and its area is . Composition The communes of the arrondissement ...

(east),

Arrondissement of Cambrai The arrondissement of Cambrai is an arrondissement of France in the Nord department in the Hauts-de-France region. It has 116 communes. Its population is 162,045 (2016), and its area is . Composition The communes of the arrondissement of Cambr ...

(south-west) and

Arrondissement of Valenciennes The arrondissement of Valenciennes is an arrondissement of France in the Nord department in the Hauts-de-France region. It has 82 communes. Its population is 351,260 (2016), and its area is . Composition The communes of the arrondissement of Val ...

(north-west). Until the 17th century it was an integral part of the

County of Hainaut The County of Hainaut (french: Comté de Hainaut; nl, Graafschap Henegouwen; la, comitatus hanoniensis), sometimes spelled Hainault, was a territorial lordship within the medieval Holy Roman Empire that straddled what is now the border of Belg ...

, ruled by the Burgundians and later the

Habsburgs The House of Habsburg (), alternatively spelled Hapsburg in Englishgerman: Haus Habsburg, ; es, Casa de Habsburgo; hu, Habsburg család, it, Casa di Asburgo, nl, Huis van Habsburg, pl, dom Habsburgów, pt, Casa de Habsburgo, la, Domus Hab ...

. In a series of wars between France and Spain, this southern part of Hainaut was conquered by France, together with the adjacent smaller Cambrésis or the

Bishopric of Cambrai The Archdiocese of Cambrai ( la, Archdiocesis Cameracensis; French: ''Archidiocèse de Cambrai'') is a Latin Church ecclesiastical jurisdiction or archdiocese of the Catholic Church in France, comprising the arrondissements of Avesnes-sur-Helpe ...

to the south-west, loosely associated with it, and the similar area to these two combined in the west, southern Flanders, which borders on the

English Channel The English Channel, "The Sleeve"; nrf, la Maunche, "The Sleeve" (Cotentinais) or ( Jèrriais), (Guernésiais), "The Channel"; br, Mor Breizh, "Sea of Brittany"; cy, Môr Udd, "Lord's Sea"; kw, Mor Bretannek, "British Sea"; nl, Het Kana ...

(French: la Manche). Together these formed the French province of Flandre immediately before 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 ...

, which became the current Nord département

References

Gilbert of Mons Gislebert (or Gilbert) of Mons ( 1150 – 1225) was a clergyman in the administration of the County of Hainaut and a chronicler whose ''Chronicon Hanoniense'' (''Chronicle of Hainaut'') is an essential eyewitness source for events affecting his pat ...

, ''Chronicle of Hainaut'', Boydell Press, 2005. {{Authority control County of Hainaut Former provinces of France