Provinces of the Netherlands

The modern day Netherlands are divided into twelve provinces (provincies in Dutch), listed below with their capital city:

The Departments of the French Period

During the Batavian Republic, the Netherlands were from 1798 to 1801 completely reorganised into 8 new departments, most named after rivers, inspired by the French revolutionary example, in an attempt to do away with the old autonomous provincial status. They are listed below, with their capitals and the territory of the former provinces they mostly incorporated:

Related Topics:
1798 - 1801 - French

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Batavian Departments

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English nameDutch nameCapitalContained the territory of

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Department of the EmsDepartement van de EemsLeeuwardenNorthern Friesland, Groningen

Related Topics:
Ems - Leeuwarden

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Department of the Old IJsselDepartement van de Oude IJsselZwolleSouthern Friesland, Drenthe, Overijssel, northern Gelderland

Related Topics:
IJssel - Zwolle

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Department of the RhineDepartement van de RijnArnhemCentral Gelderland, eastern Utrecht

Related Topics:
Rhine - Arnhem

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Department of the AmstelDepartement van de AmstelAmsterdamThe area around Amsterdam

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Department of TexelDepartement van TexelAlkmaarNorthern Holland minus Amsterdam, northwestern Utrecht

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Department of the DelfDepartement van de DelfDelftSouthern Holland up to the Meuse, southwestern Utrecht

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Department of the DommelDepartement van de Dommel's-HertogenboschThe eastern part of Batavian Brabant, southern Gelderland

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Department of the Scheldt and MeuseDepartement van de Schelde en MaasMiddelburgZeeland, Holland south of the Meuse and the western part of Batavian Brabant

Related Topics:
Scheldt - Meuse - Middelburg

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After only three years, following a coup d'etat, the borders of the former provinces were restored, though not their autonomous status. They were now also called "departments" and Drenthe was added to Overijssel. In 1806 the Kingdom of Holland replaced the republic to further French interests. It was during this administration that Holland was first split in two, with the department of Amstelland to the north and that of Maasland to the south. East Frisia, then as now in Germany, was added to the kingdom as a department in 1807 and Drenthe split off again making a total of 11 departments.

Related Topics:
Coup d'etat - 1806 - Kingdom of Holland - East Frisia - Germany - 1807

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When the Netherlands finally did become fully part of France in 1810, the departments of the kingdom and their borders were largely maintained, with some joined together. They were however nearly all renamed, again mainly after rivers, though the names differed from their Batavian counterparts. Following are their names and the modern day province they corresponded for the most part to:

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French Departments in the Netherlands

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English nameFrench nameDutch nameModern province(s)

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Department of the ZuiderzeeDépartement du ZuyderzéeDepartement van de ZuiderzeeNorth Holland & Utrecht

Related Topics:
Zuiderzee - Département - Zuyderzée

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Department of the Mouths of the MeuseDépartement des Bouches-de-la-MeuseDepartement van de Monden van de MaasSouth Holland

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Department of the Mouths of the ScheldtDépartement des Bouches-de-l'EscautDepartement van de Monden van de ScheldeZeeland

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Department of the Two NethesDépartement des Deux-NèthesDepartement van de Twee NethenWestern North Brabant & Antwerp

Related Topics:
Deux-Nèthes - Antwerp

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Department of the Mouths of the RhineDépartement des Bouches-du-RhinDepartement van de Monden van de RijnEastern North Brabant & southern Gelderland

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Department of the Upper IJsselDépartement de l'Yssel-SupérieurDepartement van de Boven IJsselNorthern Gelderland

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Department of the Mouths of the IJsselDépartement des Bouches-de-l'YsselDepartement van de Monden van de IJsselOverijssel

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Department of FrisiaDépartement de la FriseDepartement FrieslandFriesland

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Department of the Western EmsDépartement de l'Ems-OccidentalDepartement van de Wester EemsGroningen & Drenthe

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Department of the Eastern EmsDépartement de l'Ems-OrientalDepartement van de Ooster Eems(East-Frisia)

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With the defeat and withdrawal of the French in 1813, the old provinces and their names were re-established, Holland was reunited and East-Frisia went its separate way. The 17 provinces of the United Kingdom of the Netherlands were for a significant part based on the former French departments and their borders, in particular in what would later become Belgium.

Related Topics:
1813 - United Kingdom of the Netherlands

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