Brabant

Brabant, province in central Belgium. In area it is 3,370 sq km (1,300 sq mi) and has a population of 2,262,896 (1993 estimate). Most of the terrain of Brabant consists of an undulating plain covered with fertile farmland. The province is traversed by the Dyle, Demer, and Senne rivers, which drain northward through alluvial valleys to the River Schelde. Over half of the people of Brabant live in or around Brussels, the provincial and national capital, which houses numerous institutions of the European Union. Other important towns in Brabant include Halle, Louvain (Leuven), Vilvoorde, and Wavre.

Agriculture continues to dominate the landscape but the province has undergone much suburban development in recent decades and contains Belgium’s main airport at Zaventem, north-east of Brussels. Farms located south and west of the capital are larger than those in eastern districts of the province. The chief agricultural crops include fodder, cereals, vegetables, and fruit (with extensive areas of glasshouses near Brussels); but less than 3 per cent of the workforce is engaged in farming. About 80 per cent of the working population is employed in service activities, including administration, commerce, tourism, education, and other public services. Textiles, furniture, electrical goods, engineering products, and various other goods are manufactured. The population of Brabant has continued to grow rapidly in recent decades with much new housing being built around its towns and villages to accommodate commuters who work in or around Brussels. Light industries, warehouses, major retail outlets, and technology parks are sited along motorways that radiate from the city. Average incomes are among the highest in Europe.

The official boundary between Flemish- (Dutch-) and French-speakers bisects Brabant, with Flemish-speakers in the north and French-speakers in the south. An exception is Brussels, largely French-speaking, which is north of the boundary, within the Flemish sphere. French-speaking commuters prefer to live in towns and villages of southern Brabant beyond the language divide. The historic city of Louvain, served by a spur from the Antwerp-Brussels canal, was rebuilt after extensive damage during World War I, and houses an ancient university that is now entirely Flemish-speaking. Its French-speaking counterpart is located on a new campus at Louvain-la-Neuve (near Ottignies) and has attracted a range of high-tech industries.

The Treaty of Münster, 1648, established the independence of the Dutch provinces of the Austrian Netherlands, of which Brabant was a part, as the United Provinces. The northern part of the former Duchy of Brabant was ceded to the new state. The southern, and larger, part was divided into the provinces of Antwerp and Brabant. In 1797, during the French Revolution, Brabant was incorporated into France. The decisive Battle of Waterloo was fought in June 1815 in Brabant about 16 km (10 mi) south of Brussels. By the terms of the peace settlement adopted at the Congress of Vienna in 1815, Brabant was included in the United Kingdom of the Netherlands. As a result of the revolution within the kingdom in 1830, Brabant became a province of the new state of Belgium. See also Flemings.