Provinces of France

The provinces (French provinces, Sg province) are the territorial units was divided into France until 1789.

Status

Many provinces correspond formerly independent territories that had become over the years in various ways part of the royal domain ( Domaine royal) of the French kings to the French crown relapsed or retracted from this fief, by personal union with the French crown united territories or areas of foreign States, which were ceded to France or annexed by this. Had a special status of belonging to France part of the Kingdom of Navarre ( Royaume de Navarre ), which is also known as Niedernavarra (Lower Navarre ). Although this was actually one of the provinces of France, formally but legally an affiliated France only in personal union independent kingdom, which is why the kings of France until 1789 ( and after the Restoration again until 1830 ) the title King of France and of Navarre ( Roi de France et de Navarre ) led.

While the provinces were under a common central government, but retained their respective common law ( coutumes et privilèges ) based independent legal status. Individual areas within a province could in turn have their own customary laws and thus form provinces within this province. Therefore, an exhaustive list of all provinces is hardly possible. On the part of the central administration various administrative territorial divisions were used for different purposes, which also changed from time to time, so that on this basis, no single list can be created.

Among the most important legal differences belonged to the different organization of tax collection. In most provinces, the so-called pays d' élections, were local elected officials, the so-called Elu, responsible for collecting the tax. In the so-called pays d' États existed a provincial assembly of the estates, which was also responsible for the control permit if the French kings were anxious to limit the political role of the provincial estates as well as that of the Estates-General of the entire kingdom as far as possible. In its affiliated to the French State in the 17th and 18th century so-called pays d' imposition, there were no provincial estates still elus, but tax collection was right in the hands of the royal intendants.

• See also: List of counties and duchies of France

Development of the institutions

Governorates

As administrative units of the central government existed since the 14th century, the so-called gouvernements. They were headed by a governor, who came mostly from the high nobility. The governorates were essentially for military purposes in the first place, but took over the course of time, numerous civilian tasks. As the noble governors, however, were regarded by the absolutist kings as potential opposition forces, they tried to limit their power. 1661 Louis XIV certain that the governors were allowed only for limited periods with the consent of the king reside in their gouvernements.

The number of gouvernements fluctuated in the 15th and 16th centuries, 3-12, a gouvernement at that time consisted usually several provinces. Under Louis XIII. the number of gouvernements increased in the 17th century to almost 40, so its area is now often corresponded to a single province. In 1776 their number was set to 39, including 32 large provinces ( grands grouvernements ) and 7 small governorates ( petits grouvernements ), which formed enclaves within the major.

Généralités and Intendances

As districts of financial management were in France in 1542, the recettes générales or généralités created. Initially, there were 16 of these, in the course of the following centuries their number rose to 1784 on 36 The areas of généralités corresponded only partially to those of provinces. In larger provinces often exist several généralités, while several smaller provinces were combined to a généralité. The recettes générales were under a receveur général, the one trésorier de France, in charge of the royal estates, and a général des finances, responsible for the direct and indirect taxes, were on hand in each case. For the financial control were since 1555 maîtres de requêtes responsible.

At the beginning of the 17th century, the Maîtres Legal Adviser to the title of police, judicial and financial directors and royal commissioners received ( intendant de police, justice and co- finance and co- commissaire du roi départi ). They had since the end of the 17th century based on duration in the généralité for which they were responsible. The directors who were at any time revocable direct representative of the king, were in fact to the heads of the national administration under their territory and thus took over the tasks that were previously carried out by the governors. Often they took care in addition also to the economic development of the area. Since the responsibilities of directors generally corresponded to the généralités, these are often referred to as généralités - intendances. In some cases, the areas of généralités and intendances but did not cover: So there were two généralités Languedoc ( Toulouse and Montpellier), but only one intendance ( in Montpellier).

Resolution of the provinces

During the French Revolution, the deputies of each province in the National Assembly declared in 1789, the renunciation of the hereditary privileges of their provinces that were considered incompatible with the equality of all citizens. The National Assembly approved the resolution of the provinces and their replacement by the departments that should have all the same size and have the same status as opposed to the provinces. When naming the newly formed department was deliberately avoided the use of the name of the then existing provinces, instead they were mostly named after rivers and mountains.

The provinces have since no political units more but their names live on as geographical names. For the designation of today's French regions fell back again on the names of the historical provinces, if the area of the region largely corresponded to a historical territory. As the boundaries of a region, however, where align the departments, they coincide only in a few cases exactly with the boundaries of the former provinces.

Provinces with the year of annexation to the crown domain

List of provinces

The following list contains the 39 existing in 1789 with the provinces belonging respectively to them provinces.

List of Généralités

The following list shows the existing immediately before the French Revolution Généralités are listed with the associated provinces.

• Historic landscapes and regions in Europe
• Historical territory (France)
• History of France in the early modern period
• Administrative divisions of France
• List ( Historical Geography )
• List ( administrative units in France)