Belsele is a village

Village

A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet with the population ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand , Though often located in rural areas, the term urban village is also applied to certain urban neighbourhoods, such as the West Village in Manhattan, New...

 and a deelgemeente

Deelgemeente

A deelgemeente is a subdivision of a gemeente in Belgium and the Netherlands.-Belgium:...

 of the municipality of Sint-Niklaas

Sint-Niklaas

Sint-Niklaas is a Belgian city and municipality located in the Flemish province of East Flanders. The municipality comprises the city of Sint-Niklaas proper and the towns of Belsele, Nieuwkerken-Waas, and Sinaai....

, which is situated in the Belgian

Belgium

Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...

 province of East Flanders

East Flanders

East Flanders is a province of Flanders, one of the three regions of Belgium. It borders on the Netherlands and in Belgium on the provinces of Antwerp, Flemish Brabant , of Hainaut and of West Flanders...

.

In 1217 Belsele became an autonomous parish. Also Belsele and Sinaai were united in rule in a tribunal (under the Keure van Waas). In 1795, Belsele became canton Capitol of the Scheldt department, with as subordinate municipalities Daknam, Eksaarde, Elversele, Kemzeke

Kemzeke

Kemzeke is a village in the Belgian municipality of Stekene in the province of East-Flanders. Until 1976 it was an independent municipality. It sits between the Dutch border and the limit with Sint-Niklaas.Eddy Merckx rode his last cycling race in Kemzeke....

, Sinaai, Sint-Pauwels, Tielrode and Waasmunster

Waasmunster

Waasmunster is a municipality located in the Flemish province of East Flanders, in Belgium. The municipality only comprises the town of Waasmunster proper. On January 1, 2010 Waasmunster had a total population of 10,412. The total area is 31.93 km² which gives a population density of 323...

.
This statute was in force till the Belgian Revolution

Belgian Revolution

The Belgian Revolution was the conflict which led to the secession of the Southern provinces from the United Kingdom of the Netherlands and established an independent Kingdom of Belgium....

 in 1830. Until the first half of the twentieth century, Belsele maintained its typical character of a farmers village in the Waas. Production aimed mainly flax and wheat till 1850. This was changed in the twentieth century, where the emphasis was put on food, building and textile. Since the second world war, Belsele evoluted to a green, residential area. The most of the people work in Sint-Niklaas

Sint-Niklaas

Sint-Niklaas is a Belgian city and municipality located in the Flemish province of East Flanders. The municipality comprises the city of Sint-Niklaas proper and the towns of Belsele, Nieuwkerken-Waas, and Sinaai....

 and Antwerp (less).
The hamlet Puivelde forms a separate entity.