My understanding is that Belgium's provinces are basically the same as the
French depts.
BW

>From: "Peter Smaardijk" <smaardijk@...>
>Reply-To: BoundaryPoint@yahoogroups.com
>To: BoundaryPoint@yahoogroups.com
>Subject: [BoundaryPoint] Re: names on the land
>Date: Wed, 14 Nov 2001 16:25:52 -0000
>
>--- In BoundaryPoint@y..., Anton Sherwood <bronto@p...> wrote:
> > obBorders: France briefly had 130 departments, extending into
>Holland
> > and Italy. I wonder whether they have left any physical trace.
>
>In the Netherlands, not really. This was because the Dutch king
>William I insisted that the old provinces should be restored. In some
>areas, however, this was not possible. This was especially so in the
>Francophone part of the Netherlands. I believe that the departements
>of the Forests and of the Ourthe, and possibly that of Jemappes, are
>at the basis of the provinces of Luxembourg (split afterwards, of
>course, into the Germanophone Grand-Duchy and the Francophone
>province), of Liege, and of Hainaut (respectively). Some other
>boundaries that were drawn up by the French were definitely re-used
>by the Dutch, too.
>
>Anyway, have a look at the maps that are available at
>http://home.hetnet.nl/~sgardien/binnen.htm . The maps are not really
>all that great, but it gives you an indication.
>
>Peter S.
>

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