Provinces of Belgium
Most of the provinces take their name from earlier duchies and counties of similar location, while their territory is mostly based on the departments installed during French annexation. At the time of the creation of Belgium in 1830, only nine provinces existed, including the province of Brabant, which held the city of Brussels. In 1995, Brabant was split into three areas: Flemish Brabant, which became a part of the region of Flanders; Walloon Brabant, which became part of the region of Wallonia; and the Brussels-Capital Region, which became a third region. These divisions reflected political tensions between the French-speaking Walloons and the Dutch-speaking Flemish; the Brussels-Capital Region is officially bilingual.
Cantons of Belgium
A judicial canton (, ) is a group of municipalities over which a single Justice of the Peace has jurisdiction. A judicial arrondissement consists of all judicial cantons on its territory. There are 225 judicial cantons in Belgium. Most judicial cantons cover multiple municipalities; however cities are often divided into more than one judicial canton. Antwerp, for instance, is divided into 12 judicial cantons.