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 Hamel, situated Nord - French; English: North, is a department in the far north of France. It was created from the western halves of the historical counties of Flanders and Hainaut (the eastern halves being in Belgium), and the Bishopric of Cambrai. The modern coat of arms was inherited from the County of Flanders. Nord is the only French département in which a Dutch dialect (French Flemish) is spoken along with French as a native language. It is the country's most populous department. Nord was one of the original 83 departments that were created during the French Revolution on March 4, 1790. It was made up of three regions: the Counties of Flanders and Hainaut, and the Bishopric of Cambrai, which were ceded to France in successive treaties (1659, 1668, and 1678).”

- So, Hendrik left the area a year or so after the area was ceded to France.

You can visit the official Hamel website here. (Use Google Translate if you don't understand French) It is a tiny village with 753 inhabitants, situated 166km from Paris. You can read more about the town Hamel here.

 Languages spoken in Hamel was (and is) West Flemish and French:
“West Flemish (West Flemish: Westvlams, Dutch: West-Vlaams, French: flamand occidental) is a group of Dutch dialects spoken in parts of the Netherlands, Belgium, and France.

West Flemish is spoken by around 1.05 million people in West Flanders (in Belgium), 90,000 in the neighbouring Dutch coastal district of Zeelandic Flanders, and approximately 20,000 in the northern part of the French département of Nord where it is classified, as a recognized dialect of Dutch, as one of the languages of France. Some of the main cities where West Flemish is widely spoken include Bruges, Kortrijk, Ostend, Roeselare and Ypres.

The dialects of the rest of the Dutch province of Zeeland, Zeelandic, are sometimes also included in West Flemish although this classification is controversial. The dialects of Zeelandic Flanders however do count as West and East Flemish variants. In fact, both dialects are linked by a dialect continuum which proceeds further north into Hollandic.”
 

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Last updated on Friday, 30 March 2018.
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