Editing South Holland (section)

===As a province===
The province of South Holland as it is today has its origins in the period of French rule from 1795 to 1813. This was a time of bewildering changes to the Dutch system of provinces. In 1795, the [[Batavian Republic]] was proclaimed and the old order was swept away by a series of constitutional changes in the following years. In the Constitution enacted on 23 April 1798, the old borders were radically changed. The republic was reorganised into eight departments with roughly equal populations. The south of Holland was split up into three departments. The islands in the south were merged with Zeeland and the west of North Brabant to form the Department of the [[Scheldt]] and [[Meuse]]. The north of the area became the Department of the [[Delf (waterway)|Delf]]. A small region in the east of the area became part of the Department of the [[Rhine]], which spanned much of Gelderland and Utrecht. In 1801, the old borders were restored when the department of Holland was created. The reorganisation had been short-lived, but it gave birth to the concept of a division of Holland, creating less dominant provinces. In 1807, Holland was reorganised once again. This time, the department was split in two. The south, what would later become South Holland, was called the Department of [[Maasland]]. This also did not last long. In 1810, all the Dutch provinces were integrated into the [[First French Empire|French Empire]], and Maasland was renamed [[Bouches-de-la-Meuse]].

[[File:Rotterdam, Laurenskerk, na bombardement van mei 1940.jpg|thumb|The centre of [[Rotterdam]] in ruins after the [[Rotterdam Blitz]] in 1940]]

After the defeat of the French in 1813, this organisation remained unchanged for a year or so. When the 1814 Constitution was introduced, most borders were restored to their situation before the [[French period]]. The north and south of Holland were reunited as the province of Holland. However, the division had not completely been undone. Since its re-establishment in 1814, Holland had always had two [[King's Commissioner]]s, one for the north and one for the south. Even though the province had been reunited, the two areas were still treated differently in some ways and the idea of dividing Holland remained alive. In 1840, it was decided to once again split [[Holland]] into [[North Holland|North]] and South Holland, because the province of Holland was deemed too dominant in area, population and wealth. In the late 20th and early 21st centuries, five municipalities were transferred from South Holland to Utrecht; [[Oudewater]] in 1970, [[Woerden]] in 1989, [[Vianen]] in 2002, [[Leerdam]] and [[Zederik]] in 2019.

The construction of the [[Nieuwe Waterweg]] in 1863 marked the start of the growth of the [[Port of Rotterdam]]. On 14 May 1940, during the [[Second World War]], the centre of [[Rotterdam]] was destroyed by a [[Rotterdam Blitz|German bombardment]]. The subsequent German occupation of the Netherlands resulted in anti-Jewish measures, and many members of Dutch resistance were captured and executed on the [[Waalsdorpervlakte]]. At the same time, the [[Atlantikwall]] was constructed along the coast. After the Second World War, in 1953, the south of South Holland was heavily struck by the  [[North Sea flood of 1953|North Sea flood]], which took the lives of 677 South Hollanders. After this, the Dutch government decided for the construction of the [[Delta Works]], which came to an end with the completion of the [[Maeslantkering]] in 1997.