The Antwerp Province (; ; ; ), between 1815 and 1830 known as Central Brabant ( , , ), is the northernmost province both of the Flemish Region, also called Flanders, and of Belgium. It borders on the North Brabant province of the Netherlands to the north and the Belgian provinces of Limburg, Flemish Brabant and East Flanders. Its capital is Antwerp, which includes the Port of Antwerp, the second-largest seaport in Europe. It has an area of , and with over 1.92 million inhabitants as of January 2024, is the country's most populous province. The province consists of three arrondissements: Antwerp, Mechelen and Turnhout. The eastern part of the province comprises the main part of the Campine region.

History

During the early Middle Ages the region was part of the Frankish Empire, which was divided into several pagi. The territory of the present-day province belonged to several pagi of which the region around what would become the city of Antwerp belonged to the Pagus Renesium. The Pagus Toxandria stretched from North Brabant into the Campine region. To the south there was the Pagus Bracbatinsis and the Pagus Hasbaniensis. In 843 the Carolingian Empire of Charlemagne was divided among his sons and the river Scheldt became the border between West Francia and East Francia. In 974 Otto II established the Margraviate of Antwerp as a defence against the County of Flanders.

thumb|240px|The aftermath of the plundering of the village of [[Wommelgem in 1589. Eighty Years' War, painting by Sebastiaen Vrancx.]]

In 1106, Henry V granted the Margraviate to Godfrey I of Leuven. His descendants would from 1235 onwards become the Dukes of Brabant and the region itself was the northern part of the Duchy of Brabant. In 1430 the Duchy became part of the Duchy of Burgundy until 1477 when it fell to the House of Habsburg. In 1713, at the end of the Spanish Succession War the region became part of the Austrian Netherlands until 1794, with in 1790 the short lived United States of Belgium. On 1 October 1795 the former Austrian Netherlands were annexed by France under the French Directory.

The modern province was created as the Department of the two Netes during the First French Empire (when the Southern Netherlands were part of France). After the defeat of Napoleon, the territory became part of the United Kingdom of the Netherlands as the province of Central Brabant, distinguishing it from North Brabant and South Brabant. In 1830, after Belgium's independence the province was renamed Antwerp (after its major city and capital).

Prefects from 1800 until 1814

Prefects of the Department of the two Netes during the First French Empire

  • Marquis Charles Joseph Fortuné d'Herbouville (1800–1805)
  • Charles Cochon (1805–1808)
  • Marc René Marie de Voyer d'Argenson (1809–1813)
  • Baron Jacques Fortunat de Savoye-Rollin (1813–1814)

Governors from 1815 until 1830

Governors of the province of Antwerp during the United Kingdom of the Netherlands

  • Charles–Louis van Keverberg van Kessel (1815–1817)
  • Pierre Joseph Pycke (1817–1820)
  • Leonard Pierre Joseph du Bus de Gisignies (1820–1823)
  • André Charles Membrede (1823–1828)
  • Edmond Charles Giullaume Ghislain de la Coste (1828–1829)
  • Alexandre François Ghislain van der Fosse (1830)

Governors since 1830

Governors of the Belgian province of Antwerp

  • François de Robiano (1830–1831)
  • Jean-François Tielemans (1831)
  • Charles Rogier (1831–1832 and 1834–1840)
  • Henri de Brouckère (1840–1844)
  • Jules Malou (1844–1845)
  • Jan Teichmann (1845–1862)
  • Edward Pycke d'Ideghem (1862–1887)
  • Charles du Bois de Vroylande (1887–1888)
  • Edward Osy de Zegwaart (1889–1900)
  • Fredegand Cogels (1900–1907)
  • Louis de Brouchoven de Bergeyck (1907–1908)
  • Ferdinand de Baillet-Latour (1908–1912)
  • Gaston van de Werve de Schilde (1912–1923)
  • Georges Holvoet (1923–1945)
  • Richard Declerck (1946–1966)
  • Andries Kinsbergen (1967–1993)
  • Camille Paulus (1993–2008)
  • Cathy Berx (since 2008)

Population

  • 1846: 406,354
  • 1856: 434,485
  • 1866: 456,607
  • 1880: 577,232
  • 1890: 700,019
  • 1900: 819,159
  • 1910: 968,677
  • 1920: 1,016,963
  • 1930: 1,173,363
  • 1947: 1,281,333
  • 2008: 1,715,707
  • 2010: 1,744,862

Language

thumb|A Brabantian speaker, recorded in [[Slovakia.]]

As in all Flemish provinces, the official and standard language of the Antwerp province is Dutch. As with Flemish Brabant, North Brabant and Brussels, the local dialect is a Brabantian variety.

Religion