Artois ( ; ; nl, Artesië; English adjective: ''Artesian'') is a region of northern France. Its territory covers an area of about 4,000 km² and it has a population of about one million. Its principal cities are

Arras Arras ( , ; pcd, Aro; historical nl, Atrecht ) is the prefecture of the Pas-de-Calais department, which forms part of the region of Hauts-de-France; before the reorganization of 2014 it was in Nord-Pas-de-Calais. The historic centre of ...

(Dutch: ''Atrecht''), Saint-Omer, Lens, and Béthune. It is the

eponym An eponym is a person, a place, or a thing after whom or which someone or something is, or is believed to be, named. The adjectives which are derived from the word eponym include ''eponymous'' and ''eponymic''. Usage of the word The term ''epon ...

for the term '' artesian''.

Location

Artois occupies the interior of the

Pas-de-Calais Pas-de-Calais (, "strait of Calais"; pcd, Pas-Calés; also nl, Nauw van Kales) is a department in northern France named after the French designation of the Strait of Dover, which it borders. It has the most communes of all the departments of ...

''département'',"Artois" in ''

The New Encyclopædia Britannica ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the ...

''. Chicago:

Encyclopædia Britannica Inc. An encyclopedia (American English) or encyclopædia (British English) is a reference work or compendium providing summaries of knowledge either general or special to a particular field or discipline. Encyclopedias are divided into article ...

, 15th ed., 1992, Vol. 1, p. 607. the western part of which constitutes the former Boulonnais. Artois roughly corresponds to the

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 of

, Béthune, Saint Omer, and Lens, and the eastern part of the

arrondissement of Montreuil The arrondissement of Montreuil is an arrondissement of France in the Pas-de-Calais department in the Hauts-de-France region. It has 164 communes. Its population is 112,118 (2016), and its area is . Composition The communes of the arrondisseme ...

. It occupies the western end of the coalfield which stretches eastward through the neighbouring

Nord Nord, a word meaning "north" in several European languages, may refer to: Acronyms * National Organization for Rare Disorders, an American nonprofit organization * New Orleans Recreation Department, New Orleans, Louisiana, US Film and televisi ...

''département'' and across central

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 ...

History

Originally a feudal county itself, Artois was annexed by 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 a ...

. It came to France in 1180 as a dowry of a Flemish princess,

Isabelle of Hainaut Isabella of Hainault (5 April 1170 – 15 March 1190) (Also spelled: Ysabella de Hainault, Ysabelle de Hainaut or Ysabeau de Hainaut) was a Queen of France as the first wife of King Philip II. She was also formally ruling Countess of Artois '' d ...

, and was again made a separate county in 1237 for

Robert The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of ''Hrōþ, Hruod'' ( non, Hróðr) "fame, glory ...

, a grandson of Isabelle. Through inheritance, Artois came under the rule of the dukes of

Burgundy Burgundy (; french: link=no, Bourgogne ) is a historical territory and former administrative region and province of east-central France. The province was once home to the Dukes of Burgundy from the early 11th until the late 15th century. The ...

in 1384. At the death of the fourth duke,

Charles the Bold Charles I (Charles Martin; german: Karl Martin; nl, Karel Maarten; 10 November 1433 – 5 January 1477), nicknamed the Bold (German: ''der Kühne''; Dutch: ''de Stoute''; french: le Téméraire), was Duke of Burgundy from 1467 to 1477. ...

, Artois was inherited by the

Habsburg 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 ...

s and passed to the dynasty's Spanish line. After the religious revolts of 1566 in the Netherlands, Artois briefly entered the

Dutch Revolt The Eighty Years' War or Dutch Revolt ( nl, Nederlandse Opstand) ( c.1566/1568–1648) was an armed conflict in the Habsburg Netherlands between disparate groups of rebels and the Spanish government. The causes of the war included the Ref ...

in 1576, participating in the Pacification of Ghent until it formed the Union of Atrecht in 1579. After the Union of Atrecht, Artois and Hainaut (Dutch: ''Henegouwen'') reached a separate agreement with Philip II. Artois remained with the Spanish Netherlands until it was conquered by France during the Franco-Spanish War. The annexation was acknowledged during the

Treaty of the Pyrenees The Treaty of the Pyrenees (french: Traité des Pyrénées; es, Tratado de los Pirineos; ca, Tractat dels Pirineus) was signed on 7 November 1659 on Pheasant Island, and ended the Franco-Spanish War that had begun in 1635. Negotiations were ...

in 1659, and it became a French province. Artois had already been largely French-speaking, but it was part of the

Southern Netherlands The Southern Netherlands, also called the Catholic Netherlands, were the parts of the Low Countries belonging to the Holy Roman Empire which were at first largely controlled by Habsburg Spain (Spanish Netherlands, 1556–1714) and later by the A ...

until the French annexation. Artois experienced rapid industrial development during the second half of the 19th century, fueled by its rich coal resources. During

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

, the front line between the opposing

Central Powers The Central Powers, also known as the Central Empires,german: Mittelmächte; hu, Központi hatalmak; tr, İttifak Devletleri / ; bg, Централни сили, translit=Tsentralni sili was one of the two main coalitions that fought in W ...

and Allied armies in France ran through the province, resulting in enormous physical damage. Since the second half of the 20th century, Artois has suffered along with nearby areas because of the decline of the coal industry.

Notable residents

* Pierre-Charles Le Sueur (c. 1657 – c. 1705), born in Artois, noted explorer and trader. *

Maximilien Robespierre Maximilien François Marie Isidore de Robespierre (; 6 May 1758 – 28 July 1794) was a French lawyer and statesman who became one of the best-known, influential and controversial figures of the French Revolution. As a member of the Esta ...

(1758–1794), French revolutionary leader, born in Arras * Carolus Clusius (1526–1609), early

botanist Botany, also called , plant biology or phytology, is the science of plant life and a branch of biology. A botanist, plant scientist or phytologist is a scientist who specialises in this field. The term "botany" comes from the Ancient Greek wo ...

Robert-François Damiens Robert-François Damiens (; surname also recorded as ''Damier''; 9 January 1715 – 28 March 1757) was a French domestic servant whose attempted assassination of King Louis XV in 1757 culminated in his public execution. He was the last per ...

(1715–1757), failed regicide, born in La Thieuloye

References

External links

* {{Authority control Former provinces of France History of the Pas-de-Calais Subdivisions of the Pas-de-Calais History of Nord (French department) Counts of Artois

Location

History

Notable residents

See also

References

External links