Provinces of France
The kingdom of France was organized into provinces until March 4, 1790, when the establishment of the département system superseded provinces. The change was an attempt to eradicate local loyalties based on feudal ownership of land and focus all loyalty on the central government in Paris. The names of the former provinces are still used by geographers to designate natural regions, and several French List of regions in France carry their names.
The meaning of province
French départments, their names, and their borders were chosen by the central government. In contrast, the existence of provinces came from the droit coutumier (Custom (law)) and was merely certified by the state. A province, also called a pays (country), was characterized by the laws that belonged to it. A province itself could encompass several other provinces. For example, Burgundy was a province but Bresse — another province — was nevertheless a part of Burgundy. There is therefore no official list of provinces. The list of généralités, administrative subdivisions of the kingdom, is often presented when one wants to establish the list of provinces on the eve of the French Revolution. The list below is much larger, encompassing provinces throughout French history.List of former provinces of France
Généralités
Pre-Republican provinces of France, numbered according to their union with France, with provincial capitals marked. Listed as English name (French name, year of union with France, capital).Île-de-France (:fr:Île-de-France, 987, Paris) Berry (province) (:fr:Berry, 1101, Bourges) Orléanais (:fr:Orléanais, 1198, Orléans) Normandy (:fr:Normandie, 1204, Rouen) Languedoc, mainly the County of Toulouse (:fr:Languedoc, adobe acrobat1270, adobe acrobat 70Toulouse) Lyonnais (:fr:Lyonnais, 1313, Lyon) Dauphiné, the County of Vienne (:fr:Dauphiné, 1343, Grenoble) Champagne (province) (:fr:Champagne (province), 1361, Troyes) Aunis, a fief of Aquitaine (:fr:Aunis, 1371, La Rochelle) Saintonge (:fr:Saintonge, 1371, Saintes) Poitou, a fief of Aquitaine (:fr:Poitou, 1416, Poitiers) Aquitaine (:fr:Duché dAquitaine, 1453, Bordeaux) Burgundy (:fr:Bourgogne, 1477, Dijon) Picardy (:fr:Picardie, 1482, Amiens) Anjou (:fr:Anjou, 1482, Angers) Provence (:fr:Provence, 1482, Aix)
- Angoumois (:fr:Angoumois, 1515, Angoulême)
- Bourbonnais (:fr:Bourbonnais, 1527, Moulins)
- La Marche France (:fr:Marche, 1527, Guéret)
- Brittany (:fr:Bretagne, 1532, Rennes)
- Maine (province of France) (:fr:Comté du Maine, 1584, Le Mans)
- Touraine (:fr:Touraine, 1584, Tours)
- Limousin (:fr:Limousin, 1589, Limoges)
- County of Foix (:fr:Comté de Foix, 1607, acrobat distillerFoix)
- Auvergne (:fr:Auvergne, 1610, Clermont-Ferrand)
- Béarn (:fr:Béarn, 1620, Pau)
- Alsace (:fr:Alsace, 1648, Strasbourg)
- Artois, a fief of the Habsburgs Spanish Netherlands (:fr:Artois, 1659, Arras)
- Roussillon (:fr:Roussillon (province), 1659, Perpignan)
- Flanders, a fief of the Habsburgs Spanish Netherlands (:fr:Flandre, 1668, Lille)
- Franche-Comté (:fr:Franche-Comté, 1678, Besan acrobat readeron)
- Lorraine, a personal territory of Stanislaus I of Poland within the Holy Roman Empire (:fr:Lorraine, 1766, Nancy)
- Corsica (off map, fr:Corse, 1768, Ajaccio)
- Nivernais (:fr:Nivernais, 1789, Nevers)
- fabionwgtfComtat Venaissin, a Papal States fief (:fr:Comtat Venaissain, 1791, Avignon) acrobat reader
- Imperial Free City of Mulhouse (:fr:Mulhouse, 1798)
- Savoy, a Kingdom of Sardinia fief (:fr:Duché de Savoie, 1860, Chambéry)
- Nice, a Kingdom of Sardinia fief (:fr:Comté de Nice, 1860, Nice)
- Montbéliard (:fr:Montbéliard, 1816, Montbéliard)
Parts of France in 1789
AlsaceBasse-Alsace
Haute-Alsace
Sundgau
Angoumois
Anjou
Besugeois
Mauges
Artois
Boulonnais
Aunis
Auvergne
Basse-Navarre
Béarn
Soule
Beaujolais
Berry (province)
Bourbonnais
Burgundy
Autunois
Auxerrois
Auxois
Bassigny
Châlonnois
Charollois
Dijonnais
Mâconnais
Bresse
Bugey
Dombes
Pays de Gex
Valromey
Brittany
Champagne, France
Brie champenoise
Perthois
Rhemois
Senonais
Vallage
Corsica
Dauphiné
Baronnies
Brian acrobat readeronnois
Champsaur
Diois
Gapen acrobat readerais
Graisivaudan
Embrunais
Valentinois
Viennois
Flanders
Flandre maritime
Flandre wallonne
Hainaut
Cambresis
Pays de Foix
Donnezan
Forez
Franche-Comté (province de France)
Gascony
Agenois
Armagnac
Bigorre
Comminges
Condomois
Couserans
Estarac
Grave (province of France)
Lomagne
Marsan
Quatre-Vallées
Guyenne
Bordelais
Bazadois
Chalosse
Labourd
Lannes
Périgord
Quercy
Rouergue
Île-de-France
Beauvaisis
Brie fran acrobat readeraise
Gâtinais fran acrobat readerais
Hurepoix
Laonnois
Mantois
Quart de Noyon
Soissonnois
Vexin fran acrobat readerais
Valois
Languedoc
Gévaudan
Orange, France
Velay
Vivarais
Landau (Imperial Free City occupied in 1680, restored to Bavaria in 1815)
Limousin
Lorraine
Barrois
Lyonnais
Plat pays de Lyonnais
Lyon
Franc-Lyonnais
Maine (province of France)
Marche free adobe acrobat reader(province of France)
Combrailles
Nivernais
Normandy
Avranchin
Pays acrobat readerdAuge
Bessin
Pays de Bray
Campagne de Caen
Pays de Caux
Cotentin
le Houlme
Lieuvin
Campagne de Neubourg
Pays dOuche
Roumois
Campagne de Saint-André
Vexin Normand
Orléanais
Blésois
Pays chartrain
Dunois
Gâtinais orléanais
Vendômois
Perche
Perche-Gouët
Thimerais
Picardy
Amienois
Ponthieu
Santerre
Thiérache
Vermandois
Vimeu
Poitou
Provence
Roussillon
Cerdagne
Conflent
Saintonge
Touraine
Trois-Évêchés
Provinces not part of France larenzo52ddin 1789
Comtat VenaissinAvignon
Comté de Nice
Imperial Free City of Mulhouse
Savoy
Savoie propre
Maurienne
Tarentaise
Genevois
Chablais
Faucigny
