The northern border follows the Meuse westward to its mouth in the Hollands Diep strait, part of the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta.

Present-day North Brabant (Staats-Brabant) was adjudicated to the Generality Lands of the Dutch Republic according to the 1648 Peace of Westphalia, while the reduced duchy remained in existence with the Southern Netherlands until it was conquered by French Revolutionary forces in 1794.

After the Union of Utrecht was signed in 1579, Brabant became a battlefield between the Protestant Dutch Republic and Catholic Spain, which occupied the southern Netherlands.

Attempts to introduce Protestantism into the region were largely unsuccessful; North Brabant remained strongly Catholic.

This status ended with the reorganisation by the invading French, and the area was united into the département of Deux-Nèthes (present province of Antwerp).

In fact, the Dutch government generally used the pre-Napoleonic borders in 1815 to divide its provinces, in hommage to the principle of Restoration.

In World War II the area was liberated by the allies during Operation Pheasant between October 20 to November 4, 1944.

The period from 1900 until the late 1960s is called Het Rijke Roomse Leven (translated as 'the rich Roman life', with 'Roman' meaning 'Roman Catholic'), an era of strong religious belief.

The influence of Het Rijke Roomse Leven (The Rich Roman [Catholic] Life) remains in the form of education where some schools are still Roman Catholic (today run by professional teachers and not by nuns) and in North Brabant's culture, politics, mentality and customs, such as carnival.

[7] Only 1–2% of the total population of the Catholic area attend mass, and these churchgoers consist mostly of people over 65 years old.

National Parks in North Brabant are: The Biesbosch (from bies, "rushes", and bosch, "woodland") is an area southeast of Dordrecht formed when the dike on the Meuse burst and the St. Elizabeth's floods on 19 November 1421 engulfed great tracts of land in the southwestern Netherlands and altered the geography of the whole area, inundating over 40,000 hectares (100,000 acres) of land.

An area of 6,000 hectares (15,000 acres) was left as it was, and now forms the Biesbosch nature reserve and bird sanctuary.

The Biesbosch is crisscrossed by a network of footpaths and bike paths and by rivers and streams which offer facilities for water sports (sailing, surfing).

The southwest part of the area, with its three large reservoirs of drinking water, is closed to road traffic.

The historical region of Kempen occupies the southern part of the province of Noord-Brabant and extends south of Eindhoven far into northern Belgium.

The basement rocks are Cretaceous and Tertiary sediments, which are overlaid by Ice Age gravels and sands carried here by rivers of melt-water from the retreating glaciers.

The infertile soil is suitable only for undemanding crops such as rye, oats, potatoes and fodder plants; this limits the profitability of agriculture.

In recent years, however, the rapid advance of industry has brought about profound changes in this agricultural region.

The main concentrations of industry are along the southern frontier of the Netherlands, e.g., at Eindhoven, Helmond, Tilburg, Breda, 's-Hertogenbosch.

Southeast of Asten is a nature reserve (1,300 hectares (3,250 acres); visitor center at Ospeldijk) which has escaped destruction by peat cutting.

The Gross domestic product (GDP) of the province was 116.1 billion € in 2018, accounting for 15.0% of the Netherlands economic output.

The main agricultural products are sweetcorn, wheat and sugar beet, while cows and pigs are held as livestock.

[13] Other important industries are automobile production (e.g. General Motors in Breda, Tesla in Tilburg) and DAF in Eindhoven, textile and shoes.

[15] BrabantStad is a partnership between the municipalities of Breda, Eindhoven, Helmond, 's-Hertogenbosch and Tilburg and the province of North Brabant.

Both in Brabantian cities such as Breda and Eindhoven and in rural areas many people still speak the original dialect or colloquial Dutch with a typical "southern" tongue.

It is renowned for its many rich pastries, soups, stews, and vegetable dishes and is often called "Burgundian", which is a Dutch idiom invoking the rich Burgundian court which ruled the Low Countries in the Middle Ages and was renowned for its splendor and great feasts.

Two clubs (PSV and RKC Waalwijk) play in the Eredivisie, the highest professional football league in the Netherlands.

Whereas the provincial council (the States-Provincial - Provinciale Staten) is elected by the inhabitants, the Commissioner is appointed by the King and the cabinet of the Netherlands.

In western North Brabant (Diocese of Breda) the number of people associating themselves with Catholicism also strongly decreased; only 52 percent of the West Brabantians identify as Roman Catholic.

Residents may adhere to certain traditions as a base for their cultural identity, but the vast majority of the Catholic population is now largely irreligious in practice.