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 Cambrai, ...

(south-west) and Arrondissement of Valenciennes (north-west). Until the 17th century it was an integral part of the County of Hainaut, ruled by the Burgundians and later the Habsburgs. In a series of wars between France and Spain, this southern part of Hainaut was conquered by France, together with the adjacent smaller

Cambrésis Cambrésis () is a former ''pagus'', county and prince-bishopric of the medieval Holy Roman Empire that was annexed to the Kingdom of France in 1679. It is now regarded as one of the "natural regions" of France, and roughly equivalent to the Arr ...

or the Bishopric of Cambrai 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 Ka ...

(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 conside ...

, which became the current Nord département

References

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