Kingdom of Westphalia

Jérôme Bonaparte as a king of Westphalia

the Kingdom of Westphalia (way of writing at that time Westphalen) became after the peace of Tilsit (1807) of Napoléon Bonaparte for its brother Jérôme (Hieronymus) from the cure principality Hessen, the duchy Braunschweig and hannoverschen and Prussian parts of a territorycreated. Its capital was the old hessian capital Kassel. It was meant as napoleonischer “model state”, which should be characterised by a modern administration and law.

The Patrimonialgerichte and the body characteristic were actually abolished, the freedom of trade, the division of power and the code civil were introduced. Alsothe country, for the first time in a German surface state, received a written condition.

The reforms were only limited successful nevertheless, since the constant money and people need for the napoleonischen wars (the kingdom had the Rhine federation a contingent of 25.000 men to place) out-bleed the country economicallyleft. Spying on and police-national suppression should bring the citizens, who rejected the new rulers partially embittered, to the Raison. Into cure Hessen it came already since 1806/07 repeated to rebellions of the population and resistance actions in the most diverse places. These rebellions were directed urgently against the Konskripiton,that means against (before to a large extent unknown) the compulsory military service. The rebellion of 1809 under the guidance of William baron von Dörnberg was the most extensive of these collections.

The kingdom was divided according to French model in Départements, districts (Arrondissements) and cantons.

In the year 1807 consisted the kingdom of 8 Départements (list of the sections in the Kingdom of Westphalia), in the year 1810 came still the Départements of all (capital Hanover), north (capital Stade) as well as Niederelbe (capital Lueneburg) in addition.

In January 1810 the cure principality became Hanover (with exceptionof Lauenburg) integral part of Westphalia. In January 1811 the French empire the Netherlands and far areas of Northwest Germany (for instance a line from the lip delta to Luebeck following) were incorporated. At the 1. January 1811 the Départements north and Niederelbe became as consequence of the Annexion againdissolved (the southern parts of these Départements were attached to the all Département). This measure should the consequences of the continental barrier imposed by Great Britain lindern. Thus the Kingdom of Westphalia lost a majority of the Weser Départements (including the capital Osnabrück) at France. (The southern part of this Départements became the Fulda Départementsettled.)

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the end of Westphalia

after the people battle with Leipzig (1813) dissolved the Kingdom of Westphalia; the original territories were repaired. To 28. Septembers 1813 stood for Kosakentruppen before Kassel, those at the 1.Oktober under Czernitscheff the city conquered and thatKingdom for dissolved avowed. After the city became to leave after only four days of the Kosaken, again French troops advanced in the middle of the monthly and Jérôme returned for three days to Kassel. Not only the cure-hessian cure prince turned soon home, a Russian corps moved. Only to 21. November pulled cure prince William I. into jubilant Kassel and the old order was repaired.

s. also Westphalia

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literature

  • Helmut Berding, Napoleoni rule and social policy in the Kingdom of Westphalia 1807 - 1813, Goettingen 1973.
  • Artur Kleinschmidt, history of the Kingdom of Westphalia, Gotha 1893.
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