Metadata: Province of East Flanders 1851-1870
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-514-67/2
- Title:
- Province of East Flanders 1851-1870
- Title (official language):
- Provincie Oost-Vlaanderen 1851-1870
- Creator/accumulator:
- Provincie Oost-Vlaanderen; Province de Flandre Orientale; Province of East Flanders
- Date(s):
- 1851/1870
- Extent:
- 3,451 items
- Scope and content:
- A number of files from this fonds relate to the organisation of the Jewish religion (as recognised religion). File no. 1596/12 concerns the reservation of plots in the cemetery for the different religions (1863). In file no. 1744/1 we note lists and other items concerning the salary of the ministers of religion, including rabbis De La Meuse and Mossel, for the years 1860-1870. Lastly, file no. 1744/4 relates to requests by rabbi Mossel for financial support of the Jewish community of Ghent (1868-1869).
- 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
- Mossel
- Subject terms:
- Cemeteries
- Financial matters
- Jewish community
- Rabbis
- Finding aids:
- De Roo, Provincie Oost-Vlaanderen. Inventaris van het Archiefbestand 1851-1870, 67/2 A-B. (unpublished)
- Yerusha Network member:
- State Archives of Belgium
