The
Landgraviate of Hessen-Kassel () or
Hesse-Cassel was a
reichsfreie principality of the
Holy Roman Empire that came into existence when the
Landgraviate of Hesse was divided in 1567 upon the death of
Philip I, Landgrave of Hesse. His eldest son
William IV inherited the northern half and the capital of
Kassel. The other sons received the
Landgraviate of Hesse-Marburg, the
Landgraviate of Hesse-Rheinfels and the
Landgraviate of Hesse-Darmstadt.
The Landgraviate of Hesse-Kassel was elevated to the
Electorate of Hesse (
Kurfürstentum Hessen, or
Kurhessen) in 1803. During the Napoleonic wars it was occupied by French troops and became part of the
Kingdom of Westphalia, which was a French satellite state. The Electorate of Hesse was reestablished in 1815 and became a member state of the
German Confederation. It was then annexed by the
Kingdom of Prussia in 1866 after the
Austro-Prussian War and subsequently became the
Province of Hesse-Nassau.
17th and 18th centuries
Since the early years of the Reformation the
House of Hesse was clearly
Protestant, with only a few exceptions. Landgraves
Philip I,
William V, and
Maurice married descendants of King
George of Bohemia. From
William VI onwards, mothers of the heads of Hesse-Kassel were always descended from
William the Silent, the leader of the
Dutch to independence on basis of
Calvinism.
The Landgraviate of Hesse-Kassel expanded in 1604 when
Maurice, Landgrave of Hesse-Kassel, inherited the
Landgraviate of Hesse-Marburg from his childless uncle,
Louis IV, Landgrave of Hesse-Marburg (1537–1604).
During the
Thirty Years' War, Calvinist Hesse-Kassel proved to be
Sweden's most loyal German ally. Landgrave
William V and, after his death in 1637, his widow
Amelia of Hanau, a granddaughter of
William the Silent, as
regent supported the Protestant cause and the
French and Swedes throughout the war and maintained an army, garrisoning many strongholds, while Hesse-Kassel itself was occupied by Imperial troops.
William V was succeeded by Landgraves William VI and
William VII. Under King
Frederick I of Sweden the Landgraviate of Hesse-Kassel was in
personal union with Sweden from 1730–51. But in fact the King's younger brother,
William VIII, reigned in Kassel until 1760.
Although it was a fairly widespread practice at the time to rent out troops to other princes, it was the Landgraves of Hesse-Kassel who became infamous for hiring out contingents of their army as mercenaries during the 17th and 18th centuries.
Frederick II, notably, hired out so many troops to his nephew King
George III of the United Kingdom for use in the
American Revolution, that "
Hessian" has become an American slang term for all
German soldiers in the Revolutionary War. Frederick used the revenue to finance his opulent lifestyle. One of these regiments that saw service in America was the
Musketeer Regiment Prinz Carl.
During the 17th century, the landgraviate was internally divided for dynastic purposes, without
allodial rights, into:
These were reunited with the Landgraviate of Hesse-Kassel when each particular branch died out without issue.
Hesse-Kassel maintained 7% of its entire population under arms throughout the eighteenth century. This force served as a source of mercenaries for other European states.
19th century
Following the reorganization of the German states during the
German mediatisation of 1803, the Landgraviate of Hesse-Kassel was raised to the Electorate of Hesse and Landgrave William IX was elevated to
Imperial Elector, taking the title
William I, Elector of Hesse. The principality thus became known as
Kurhessen, although still usually referred to as Hesse-Kassel.
In 1806, William I was dispossessed by
Napoleon Bonaparte for his support of the
Kingdom of Prussia, and Kassel became the capital of a new
Kingdom of Westphalia under Napoleon's brother
Jérôme Bonaparte as king. The elector was restored following Napoleon's defeat in 1813, and although the
Holy Roman Empire was now defunct, William retained his title of Elector, as it gave him pre-eminence over his cousin, the
Grand Duke of Hesse. From 1813 onwards, the Electorate of Hesse was an independent country and, after 1815, a member of the
German Confederation.
William's grandson, Elector
Frederick William, sided with the
Austrian Empire in the
Austro-Prussian War, and after the Prussian victory his lands were annexed by Prussia in 1866. Along with the annexed
Duchy of Nassau and
Free City of Frankfurt, Hesse-Kassel became part of the new
Province of Hesse-Nassau of the Kingdom of Prussia.
20th century
In 1918, Hesse-Nassau became part of the
Free State of Prussia until 1944. From 1944–45 as part of
Nazi Germany, it was divided into the Prussian provinces of
Kurhessen and
Nassau. From 1945–46, it was renamed
Greater Hesse (
Großhessen) and was part of the
US occupation zone in Germany. From 1946 onwards, it was reorganised into the state of
Hesse (
Bundesland Hesse), in the
Federal Republic of Germany'.
In 1918,
Prince Frederick Charles of Hesse, younger brother of the head of the house and a brother-in-law of Emperor
William II, was elected by the pro-German
Finnish government to be
King of Finland, but he never reigned.
In 1968, the head of the
House of Hesse-Kassel became the head of the entire
House of Hesse due to the extinction of the
House of Hesse-Darmstadt.
Other uses
The village of
Hessen Cassel, Indiana near
Fort Wayne, founded by German immigrants, is named for the Landgraviate of Hesse-Kassel.
See also
