Electorate of Hesse

"Kurhessen" redirects here. For the Prussian province, seeProvince of Kurhessen.

Electorate of Hesse Kurfürstentum Hessen(German)
1803–1807 1814–1866
Flag Coat of arms
Hesse-Kassel (red) in 1866, just before theAustro-Prussian War
Status	Stateof theHoly Roman Empire Stateof theGerman Confederation
Capital	Kassel
Common languages	German Northern Hessian dialect
Religion	Protestant(Calvinist),Catholicism(minority)
Government	Absolute monarchy
Elector of Hesse
• 1803–1821	William I
• 1821–1847	William II
• 1847–1866	Frederick William
History
• Established	1803
• Raised toElectorate	1803
•AnnexedbyKingdom of Westphalia	1807
• Reestablished	1814
• Annexed byKingdom of Prussia	1866
Currency	Hesse-Kassel thaler(to 1858) Hesse-Kassel vereinsthaler(1858–1873)
Preceded by Succeeded by Landgraviate of Hesse-Kassel Kingdom of Westphalia Kingdom of Westphalia Province of Hesse-Nassau
Today part of	Germany

TheElectorate of Hesse(German:Kurfürstentum Hessen), also known asHesse-KasselorKurhessen,was a state whose prince was given the right to elect the Emperor by the Imperial dietin 1803.When theHoly Roman Empirewas abolished in 1806, its prince,William I,chose to retain the title ofElector,even though there was no longer an Emperor to elect. In 1807, with theTreaties of Tilsit,the area was annexed to theKingdom of Westphalia,but in 1814, theCongress of Viennarestored the electorate.

The state was the only electorate within theGerman Confederation.It consisted of several detached territories to the north ofFrankfurt,which survived until the state was annexed byPrussiain 1866 following theAustro-Prussian War.

The Elector's formal titles included "Elector of Hesse, Prince ofFulda(Fürst von Fulda), Prince ofHersfeld,Hanau,FritzlarandIsenburg,Count ofKatzenelnbogen,Dietz,Ziegenhain,Nidda,andSchaumburg."

History

TheLandgraviate of Hesse-Kasseloriginated in 1567 with the division of theLandgraviate of Hessebetween the heirs ofPhilip I of Hesse( "the Magnanimous" ) after his death. Philip's eldest son,William IV,received Hesse-Kassel, which comprised about half the area of the Landgraviate of Hesse, including the capital, Kassel. William's brothers receivedHesse-MarburgandHesse-Rheinfels,but their lines died out within a generation, and the territories then reverted to Hesse-Kassel and to theLandgraviate of Hesse-Darmstadt.

The Reign of William I

The reign of theLandgraveWilliam IXwas an important epoch in the history of Hesse-Kassel. Ascending the throne in 1785, he took part in theWar of the First CoalitionagainstFrench First Republica few years later, but in 1795 thePeace of Baselwas signed. In 1801 he lost his possessions on the left bank of theRhine,but in 1803 he was compensated for these losses with some former French territory aroundMainz,and at the same time he was raised to the dignity ofPrince-elector(Kurfürst) William I, a title he retained even after the dissolution of theHoly Roman Empire.

In 1806, William I signed a treaty of neutrality withNapoleon Bonaparte,but after theBattle of Jena-Auerstedt,the latter, suspecting William's designs, occupied his country and expelled him. Hesse-Kassel was then incorporated to theKingdom of Westphaliaunder the rule ofJérôme Bonaparte.

After theBattle of Leipzigin 1813, the French were driven out of Hesse-Kassel, and on 21 November, the Elector returned in triumph to his capital,Kassel.A treaty concluded by him with the Coalition (2 December) stipulated that he was to receive back all his former territories, or their equivalent, and at the same time restored the ancient constitution of his country. This treaty, so far as the territories were concerned, was implemented by theGreat Powersat theCongress of Vienna.They refused, however, the Elector's request to be recognized as "King of theChatti"(König der Katten). At theCongress of Aix-la-Chapelle (1818),he was listed with thegrand dukesas a "Royal Highness."William chose to retain the now empty title of prince-elector, with the predicate of "Royal Highness".

William I had marked his restoration by abolishing with a stroke of the pen all the reforms introduced under the French regime, repudiating the Westphalian debt and declaring null and void the sale of the crown domains. Everything was set back to its condition on 1 November 1806; even the officials had to descend to their former rank, and the army to revert to the old uniforms and powdered pigtails.

The Estates (Parliament), indeed, were summoned in March 1815, but the attempt to devise a constitution broke down; their appeal to the Federal AssemblyBundesversammlungatFrankfurtto call the Elector to order in the matter of the debt and the domains came to nothing, owing to the intervention ofKlemens von Metternich;and in May 1816 the Estates were dissolved.

William I died on 27 February 1821 and was succeeded by his son,William II.Under him, the constitutional crisis in Kassel came to a head. He was arbitrary and avaricious, like his father, and moreover shocked public sentiment by his treatment of his wife, a popularPrussian princess,and his relations with his mistress, oneEmilie Ortlöpp,whom he created Countess of Reichenbach-Lessonitz and loaded with wealth.

The Revolution of 1830

TheJuly RevolutioninParisgave the signal for disturbances; William II was forced to summon the Estates, and on 6 January 1831, a constitution on the ordinary Liberal basiswas signed. The Elector now retired toHanau,appointed his sonFrederick Williamas regent, and took no further part in public affairs.

Frederick William, without his father's coarseness, had a full share of his arbitrary and avaricious temper. Constitutional restrictions were intolerable to him; and the consequent friction with theDiet(lower house) was aggravated when, in 1832,Hans Hassenpflugwas placed at the head of the administration. All the efforts of William II and his minister were directed to nullifying the constitutional controls vested in the Diet; and the Opposition was fought by manipulating the elections, packing the judicial bench, and a vexatious and petty persecution of political "suspects", and this policy continued after the retirement of Hassenpflug in 1837.

Coat of arms of Hesse-Kassel (1846)

The Revolution of 1848

The consequences emerged in therevolutionary year 1848in a general manifestation of public discontent; and Frederick William, who had become Elector on his father's death (20 November 1847), was forced to dismiss his reactionary ministry and to agree to a comprehensive programme of democratic reform. This, however, was short lived. After the breakdown of theFrankfurt Parliament,Frederick William joined the Prussian Northern Union, and deputies from Hesse-Kassel were sent to theErfurt Parliament.But asAustriarecovered strength, the Elector's policy changed.

The Hessian Crisis

On 23 February 1850, Hassenpflug was again placed at the head of the administration and threw himself with renewed zeal into the struggle against the constitution and into opposition to theKingdom of Prussia.On 2 September, the Diet was dissolved; the taxes were continued by Electoral ordinance; and the country was placed under martial law. It was at once clear, however, that the Elector could not depend on his officers or troops, who remained faithful to their oath to the constitution. Hassenpflug persuaded the Elector to leave Kassel secretly with him, and on 15 October, appealed for aid to the reconstituted federal diet, which willingly passed a decree of "intervention". On 1 November an Austrian andBavarianforce marched into the Electorate.

This was a direct challenge to Prussia, which under conventions with the Elector had the right to use the military roads through Hesse that were her sole means of communication with her exclaves in the Rhine provinces. War seemed imminent; Prussian troops also entered the country, and shots were exchanged between the outposts. But Prussia was in no condition to take up the challenge; and the diplomatic contest that followed resulted in the Austriantriumph at Olmütz(1851). Hesse was surrendered to the federal diet; the taxes were collected by the federal forces, and all officials who refused to recognize the new order were dismissed.

In March 1852, the federal diet abolished the constitution of 1831, together with the reforms of 1848, and in April issued a new provisional constitution, under which the new diet had very narrow powers; and the elector was free to carry out his policy of amassing money, forbidding the construction of railways and factories, and imposing strict orthodoxy on churches and schools. In 1855, however, Hassenpflug who had returned with the Elector was dismissed; and five years later, after a period of growing agitation, a new constitution was granted with the consent of the federal diet (30 May 1860).

The new chambers demanded the constitution of 1831; and, after several dissolutions which always resulted in the return of the same members, the federal diet decided to restore the constitution of 1831 (14 May 1862). This had been due to a threat of Prussian occupation; and it needed another such threat to persuade the Elector to reassemble the chambers, which he had dismissed at the first sign of opposition; and he avenged himself by refusing to transact any public business.

Annexation by Prussia

In 1866, the end came. The elector, Frederick William, full of grievances against Prussia, threw in his lot with Austria; the electorate was at once overrun with Prussian troops; Kassel was occupied (20 June); and the Elector was taken as a prisoner toStettin.By thePeace of Prague,Hesse-Kassel was annexed to Prussia. The elector Frederick William (d. 1875) had been, by the terms of the treaty of cession, guaranteed the entailed property of his house. This was, however, sequestered in 1868 owing to his intrigues against Prussia; part of the income was paid, however, to the eldest agnate, the landgrave Frederick (d. 1884), and part, together with certain castles and palaces, was assigned to the also dispossessedcadet linesofHesse-PhilippsthalandHesse-Philippsthal-Barchfeld.

References

Chisholm, Hugh,ed. (1911)."Hesse".Encyclopædia Britannica.Vol. 13 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. pp. 410–411.