Hainaut
[key], Du. Henegouwen, province, 1,437 sq mi (3,722 sq
km), S Belgium, bordering on France in the south. The chief cities of the
predominately French-speaking province are Mons, the capital; Charleroi; and Tournai. It is low-lying, except in the
southeast, and has considerable productive farmland where wheat, grains,
sugar beets, and dairy cattle are raised. Manufactures include chemicals and
electrical equipment. The province is drained by the Scheldt, Dender, and
Sambre rivers and is served by a dense rail network and the
Charleroi-Brussels Canal. The county of Hainaut was created in the late 9th
cent., and in the divisions of the Carolingian empire became a fief of
Lotharingia. Count Reginar Long-Neck made himself master (late
9th–early 10th cent.) of the duchy of Lower Lorraine, which continued
under his elder son (see Lotharingia), while his younger son
inherited Hainaut. The widow of Reginar V, the last count of Hainaut,
married (1036) Count Baldwin V of Flanders, but at his death (1070)
Hainaut and Flanders were again separated. In 1191, Flanders again passed,
through marriage, to the counts of Hainaut. Baldwin VI of Hainaut (as
Baldwin IX, count of Flanders) took part in the Fourth Crusade and became
(1204) emperor of Constantinople
as Baldwin I. After Baldwin's death the two counties were united; in 1278
they were again separated. In 1433, Philip the Good of Burgundy added
Hainaut and Holland to his dominions after overcoming the resistance of his
cousin, Countess Jacqueline. Hainaut remained under the house of Burgundy
until the death (1482) of Mary of Burgundy when its history
became that of the Austrian Netherlands (see Netherlands, Austrian and Spanish). By
the treaties of the Pyrenees (1659) and of Nijmegen (1678) parts of Hainaut,
including the city of Valenciennes, were permanently annexed by France; they
form part of the present Nord dept.
The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright © 2024, Columbia University Press. All rights reserved.
See more Encyclopedia articles on: Benelux Political Geography
