Dyle (department)

Department of Dyle
Département de la Dyle (French)
Departement Dijle (Dutch)
1795–1814
Dyle and other annexed departments
Dyle and other annexed departments
StatusDepartment of the French First Republic and the French First Empire
Chef-lieuBruxelles
50°50′N 04°21′E / 50.833°N 4.350°E / 50.833; 4.350
Official languagesFrench
Common languagesDutch
Historical eraFrench Revolutionary Wars
• Creation
1 October 1795
• Treaty of Paris, disestablished
30 May 1814
Population
• 1784[1]
390,535
• 1800[2]
363,661
• 1806[1]
432,019
• 1812[3]
431,969
Preceded by
Succeeded by
Duchy of Brabant
Province of Brabant
Today part of

Dyle (French: [dil], Dutch: Dijle) was a department of the French First Republic and French First Empire in present-day Belgium. It was named after the river Dyle (Dijle), which flows through the department. Its territory corresponded more or less with that of the Belgian province of Brabant, now divided into Walloon Brabant, Flemish Brabant and the Brussels-Capital Region. It was created on 1 October 1795, when the Austrian Netherlands and the Prince-Bishopric of Liège were officially annexed by the French Republic.[4] Before the annexation, its territory was partly in the Duchy of Brabant, partly in the County of Hainaut, and partly in some smaller territories.

The Chef-lieu of the department was the City of Brussels (Bruxelles in French). The department was subdivided into the following three arrondissements and cantons (as of 1812):[5]

After the defeat of Napoleon the department became part of the United Kingdom of the Netherlands, as the province of (South) Brabant.

  1. ^ a b Massin, Antoine (1812). Almanach du Département de la Dyle (PDF). A.J.D. De Braeckenier. p. 63.
  2. ^ Oudiette, Charles (1804). Dictionnaire géographique et topographique des treize départements de la Belgique et de la rive gauche du Rhin. Imprimerie de Cramer. p. XIII.
  3. ^ Almanach Impérial. Imprimerie de Sa Majesté. 1812. p. 396.
  4. ^ Duvergier, Jean-Baptiste (1835). Collection complète des lois, décrets, ordonnances, réglemens et avis du Conseil d'état, t. 8. p. 300.
  5. ^ Mémoire statistique du département de la Dyle. Imprimerie de Sa Majesté. 1804.