Mons, Belgium in the context of "Burgundian Low Countries"

Picard (/ˈpɪkɑːrd/ PIK-ard, also US: /pɪˈkɑːrd, ˈpɪkərd/ pih-KARD, PIK-ərd, French: [pikaʁ] ) is a langue d'oïl of the Romance language family spoken in the northernmost of France and parts of Hainaut province in Belgium. Administratively, this area is divided between the French Hauts-de-France region and the Belgian Wallonia along the border between both countries due to its traditional core being the districts of Tournai and Mons (Walloon Picardy).

The language or dialect is referred to by different names, as residents of Picardy call it simply Picard, but in the more populated region of Nord-Pas-de-Calais it is called Ch'ti or Ch'timi (sometimes written as Chti or Chtimi). This is the area that makes up Romance Flanders, around the metropolis of Lille and Douai, and northeast Artois around Béthune and Lens. Picard is also named Rouchi around Valenciennes, Roubaignot around Roubaix.

The Nervii or Nervians were one of the most powerful tribes of the Belgae in northern Gaul at the time of its conquest by Rome. Their core of their territory corresponded to the medieval County of Hainaut and contained a significant part of modern central Belgium, including Brussels and Mons, as well as stretching southwards to Cambrai in what is now France. During his first century BC Roman military campaign, Julius Caesar's contacts among the Remi reported that the Nervii were the most warlike of the Belgae, trekking long distances to take part in battles. Like the other tribes of northern Gaul, including the Menapii to the west, and the Eburones to the east, the Nervii were considered by Caesar to be relatively uncorrupted by civilization.

The County of Hainaut (/eɪˈnoʊ/ ay-NOH; French: Comté de Hainaut; Dutch: Graafschap Henegouwen; Latin: comitatus hanoniensis), sometimes spelled Hainault, was a territorial lordship within the medieval Holy Roman Empire that straddled the present-day border of Belgium and France. Its most important towns included Mons (Dutch: Bergen), now in Belgium, and Valenciennes, now in France.

The core of the county, named after the river Haine, stretched southeast to include the Avesnois region and southwest to the Selle (Scheldt tributary). In the Middle Ages, its Counts also gained control of part of the original pagus of Brabant to its north and the pagus of Oosterbant to the east, but they did not form part of the old pagus of Hainaut. In modern terms, the original core of Hainaut consisted of the central part of the Belgian province of Hainaut, and the eastern part of the French département of Nord (the arrondissements of Avesnes-sur-Helpe and Valenciennes).

An estate agent is a person or business in the United Kingdom that arranges the selling, renting, or managing of properties and other buildings. An agent that specialises in renting is often called a letting or management agent. Estate agents are mainly engaged in the marketing of property available for sale and contract reassignments, and a solicitor or licensed conveyancer is used to prepare the legal documents. In Scotland, however, many solicitors also act as estate agents, a practice that is rare in England and Wales. In the other countries such as the United States, estate agents are more commonly called real estate agents.

"Estate agent" also remains the current title for the person responsible for the management of one group of privately owned, all or mostly tenanted properties under one ownership. Alternative titles are factor, steward, or bailiff, depending on the era, region, and extent of the property concerned.

The Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe (SHAPE) is the military headquarters of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization's (NATO) Allied Command Operations (ACO) that commands all NATO operations worldwide. SHAPE is situated in the village of Casteau, near Mons, Belgium.

ACO's and SHAPE's commander is titled Supreme Allied Commander Europe (SACEUR), and is always a U.S. four-star general officer or flag officer who also serves as Commander, U.S. European Command.

The Sillon industriel (French: [sijɔ̃ ɛ̃dystʁijɛl], lit. 'industrial furrow') describes a coal-rich region running through Belgium which emerged as the core of the country's heavy industry during the Industrial Revolution.

The region itself runs across the region of Wallonia, passing from Dour, the region of Borinage, in the west, to Verviers in the east, passing along the way through Mons, La Louvière (the Centre), Charleroi (the Pays Noir), Namur, Huy, and Liège. It follows a continuous stretch of valleys of the rivers Haine, Sambre, Meuse and Vesdre, and has an area of roughly 1000 km.