Metadata: Province of East Flanders 1830-1850
Collection
- Country:
- Belgium
- Holding institution:
- State Archives in Ghent
- Holding institution (official language):
- Rijksarchief te Gent
- Postal address:
- Bagattenstraat 43, 9000 Gent
- Phone number:
- +32 (0)9 265 76 70
- Email:
- rijksarchief.gent@arch.be
- Reference number:
- SA-Ghent-514-67/1
- Title:
- Province of East Flanders 1830-1850
- Title (official language):
- Provincie Oost-Vlaanderen 1830-1850
- Creator/accumulator:
- Provincie Oost-Vlaanderen; Province de Flandre Orientale; Province of East Flanders
- Date(s):
- 1830/1850
- Extent:
- 4,812 files
- Scope and content:
- This fonds contains a number of relevant files. We firstly mention the lists, correspondence and other items concerning the Jewish community in this province for the year 1832-1838 (file no. 2610/6, inventory number 1710) and the file concerning the remuneration of the ministers of i.a. the Jewish religion, for the years 1844-1850 (no. 2610/1, inventory number 1705). We also note files related to the Jewish ministers in the prisons (the rabbis Van Praag and De La Meuse), 1827-1849 (file no. 2217/6, inventory number 1132) as well as concerning the dispute in 1840 between the Jewish community of Ghent and the kerkfabriek of Sint-Baafs (wishing to build a chapel on the part of the cemetery used by the Jewish community)(file no. 2216/9, inventory number 1127). Lastly, we point out file no. 3543/5 (inventory number 2154), concerning the Jewish school in Ghent (1845-1848).
- Administrative/biographical history:
- The present division of Belgium into provinces dates back to the French period, when the Southern Netherlands were split up into nine départements (decree of 14 Fructidor, year III). Since the division of the province of Brabant in 1995 Belgium has ten provinces. For almost 150 years, the Provinciewet of 1836 remained the legal framework. The constitutional reforms of 1970 and 1980 also affected the provinces, who escaped elimination but were thoroughly reformed (law of 6 July 1987). Since 1 January 2002 the organic law regarding the provinces is a competence of the Regions; both the Flemish and Walloon Regions have since issued their own provincial decrees. A province is headed by a governor. He/she is assisted by a provincial executive (bestendige deputatie; today called ‘deputatie’ in Flanders, ‘collège provincial’ in Wallonia) selected from the provincial council. The tasks and competences of the provinces were only vaguely described in the Provinciewet. In practice, the provincial executive and the governor primarily supervise(d) lower administrations including municipalities, the Public Centres for Social Welfare and church councils (kerkfabrieken). The province also has the authority to create certain institutions such as schools. The governor is responsible for keeping the peace, public order and security; for this purpose he is authorised to call upon the Gendarmerie (Federal Police, since 1998). As a consequence of these tasks and competences, provincial archives contain documents on a wide range of subjects such as public works, public health, finances of the municipalities and local institutions, elections, provincial education, public order etc. Among the general sources we notably mention minutes of meetings but also the (published) Bestuursmemoriaal in which the decisions, circulars, regulations etc. of the provincial bodies are included. Relevant for this guide are the documents resulting from the organisation and supervision of recognised religions (incl. budgets, accounts, appointment and housing of rabbis, works to synagogues). Provincial archives also contain documents regarding policy during the Second World War, including material on the anti-Jewish ordinances, registration of Jews, deportation, spoliation etc. (P. van den Eeckhout, “De provincies”, in P. van den Eeckhout & G. Vanthemsche (ed.), Bronnen voor de studie van het hedendaagse België 19e – 21e eeuw. Tweede herziene en uitgebreide uitgave, Brussel, Koninklijke Commissie voor Geschiedenis / Commission Royale d’Histoire, 2009, pp. 105-138.)
- Access points: locations:
- East Flanders
- Ghent
- Access points: persons/families:
- De La Meuse
- Van Praag
- Finding aids:
- Provincie Oost-Vlaanderen. Inventaris van het Archiefbestand 1830-1850, 67/1 A-B. (unpublished)
- Yerusha Network member:
- State Archives of Belgium
