HESSE-DARMSTADT 



3976 



HESSIAN BOOT 



time it has a history of its own. 

 He called himself landgrave, and 

 was made a prince of the empire. 



The rulers of Hesse lived and 

 fought very much as did the other 

 German princelings of the Middle 

 Ages. They divided their lands to 

 form principalities for their sons, 

 but such divisions were not always 

 permanent. The first Landtag ap- 

 peared about 1387, and gradually 

 the landgraves won their way to 

 the front rank of German princes. 

 The most notable of them was 

 Philip, who figured largely in the 

 events of the Reformation ; one of 

 his predecessors had been a candi- 

 date for the office of king. 



When Philip died in 1567, an 

 important division of Hesse took 

 place. To provide for his four sons 

 it was divided into Hesse-Kassel, 

 Hesse-Darmstadt, Hesse-Marburg, 

 and Hesse-Rheinfets. Hesse-Hom- 

 burg was founded in 1622, Hesse - 

 Philippsthal in 1685, and Hesse- 

 Barchfeld in 1721. Hesse-Marburg, 

 Hesse-Rheinfels, and Hesse-Hom- 

 burg, their ruling families having 

 died out, were soon united with 

 Hesse-Darmstadt or Hesse-Kassel. 

 Hesse-Kassel was seized by Prussia 

 after the war of 1866 ; the two other 

 principalities had lost their status 

 in the Napoleonic upheaval. 



Hesse-Darmstadt thus became 

 the only Hesse. Its connexion 

 with Prussia became closer, and in 

 the war of 1870-71 its troops fought 

 under Prussian generals. The 

 grand-duchy joined the new German 

 Empire in 1871, and as such took 

 part in the war of 1914-18. In 

 1918 the grand duke, Ernest Louis, 

 abdicated, and a republic was pro- 

 claimed. The old constitution of 

 two houses, one consisting of here- 

 ditary, ecclesiastical and nominated 

 members, and the other of 50 mem- 

 bers chosen by indirect election, 

 was abolished in 1919. See Germany. 



Hesse - Darmstadt. Name 

 borne until 1866 by the German 

 state which is now Hesse. It dated 

 from 1567, when on the death of 

 the landgrave, Philip of Hesse, his 

 lands were divided ; his son, George, 

 made Darmstadt the capital of the 

 share he received, his little state 

 being therefore known as Hesse- 

 Darmstadt. He and his successors 

 added to its area, especially when 

 other branches of the family died 

 out. In the 17th and 18th centuries 

 the landgraviate shared in the 

 general history of Germany, largely 

 a record of civil strife or of wars 

 against France. 



Louis, who became landgrave 

 in 1790, fought against France 

 until 1799, but was afterwards on 

 the side of Napoleon^ For this 

 Mainz, Worms, and other districts 

 were given to him in 1803, and the 



title of grand -duke in 1806. He de- 

 serted Napoleon in 1813, and at the 

 congress of Vienna Hesse became 

 the size it retained until 1866. This 

 state joined the Germanic Confed- 

 eration (1815-66), the Prussian 

 Zollverein, and received a consti- 

 tution in 1820. There were troubles 

 between ruler and ruled, especially 

 in 1848. In 1866 the grand-duke 

 took the side of Austria. Conse- 

 quently, after Prussia's victory, a 

 large indemnity was demanded 

 and paid, while Hesse-Homburg, 

 just added to the grand duchy, 

 was taken away. 



Hesse-Homburg. Formerly a 

 state of Germany, now part of 

 Prussia. It consisted of a district 

 round Homburg that was separated 

 from the present state of Hesse- 

 Darmstadt in 1622. It had its own 

 rulers or landgraves, but these did 

 not become independent of the 

 landgrave of Hesse -Darmstadt 

 until 1768. Hesse-Homburg was 

 included in Hesse-Darmstadt, 

 1806-15, when its independence 

 was restored, and Meisenheim, a 

 small district on the other side of 

 the Rhine, was added to it. In 

 March, 1866, the" landgrave Fer- 

 dinand died without sons and his 

 territory was divided. The ruler of 

 Hesse -Darmstadt secured Hesse- 

 Homburg proper, while Meisen- 

 heim became Prussian. A few 

 months later Prussia took Hesse- 

 Homburg also, this being part of 

 her acquisitions after the war of 

 1866. The landgraviate had an 

 area of about 100 sq. m. . 



Hesse-Kassel. State of Ger- 

 many that existed from 1567 to 

 1866. In 1567 the landgrave of 

 Hesse, Philip, died, and his land 

 was divided between his four sons. 

 The largest share, which was taken 

 by the eldest William, had Kassel 

 . for its capital, and was, therefore, 

 known as Hesse-Kassel. In 1848, 

 at the end of the Thirty Years' 

 War, the territory was enlarged, 

 and there were various later 

 alterations of its boundary. 



In the 18th century the rulers 

 obtained money by hiring their 

 soldiers to fight the battles of 

 others, and Hessians fought for 

 Britain in the war of American 

 Independence and elsewhere. In 

 1785 William became landgrave, 

 and in 1803 he was made an elector 

 by Napoleon. In 1807 Hesse- 

 Kassel was included in the king- 

 dom of Westphalia, but it was 

 restored to William in 1814 ; the 

 title of king was, however, refused 

 to him. Then, as elsewhere, fol- 

 lowed grave internal troubles due 

 to the desire of the people for a 

 share in the government and to the 

 refusal of the ruler to grant it. A 

 constitution was given in 1831, 



but everything possible was done 

 to nullify it, and there was again 

 serious trouble in 1848. After try- 

 ing to rule by force, the elector 

 Frederick William fled from the 

 country which was entered by 

 Austrian and Bavarian troops. 

 Prussian troops also invaded 

 Hesse, but the upshot was not war 

 between the two parties, but the 

 convention of Olmutz ; Hesse was 

 entrusted to the diet of the German 

 Confederation which gave to it a 

 new constitution. The elector, who 

 had returned, refused to adapt 

 his policy to the new conditions, 

 and there was friction for a further 

 decade. In 1 866 he took sides with 

 Austria against Prussia, and as a 

 result Hesse-Kassel was occupied 

 by troops of the latter power. By 

 the treaty of peace it was annexed 

 to Prussia. 



The electorate was not a single 

 district, but several detached 

 areas, this being due to the way 

 they were acquired. It had in 1866 

 an area of 3,700 sq. m. and a pop. 

 of about 750,000. 



Hesse-Nassau. Province of. 

 Prussia. It lies between the Rhine 

 and Thuringia, its other boun- 

 daries including Bavaria and West- 

 phalia, and is of very irregular 

 shape, while detached portions of 

 territory belong to it. Its area 

 is 6,060 sq. m., and its pop. 

 2,220,000. It is divided into the 

 governments of Kassel and Wies- 

 baden. In addition to these towns 

 it includes Frankfort, Fulda, Hom- 

 burg, and Marburg. The Lahn and 

 the Fulda flow through it, while 

 the Rhine and the Main are on its 

 borders. It is a hilly district, with 

 many forests and some mining, in 

 addition to agriculture. The pro- 

 vince consists of territories gained 

 by Prussia after the war of 1866. 

 These were Hesse-Kassel, much of 

 Frankfort, Hesse-Homburg, the 

 duchy of Nassau, and other spoils. 



Hesse-Rotenburg. German 

 state that existed from about 1700 

 to 1834. Ernest, a younger son of 

 the landgrave of Hesse-Kassel, re- 

 ceived a younger son's portion. 

 This he increased, and on his death 

 it was divided into two, one being 

 Hesse-Rotenburg, a small district 

 around Rotenburg, his capital. In 

 1801 part of the state was taken by 

 France, the landgrave being com- 

 pensated by other territory. In 

 1834 the ruling family became ex- 

 tinct, and Hesse-Rotenburg was 

 united with Hesse-Kassel. 



Hessian Boot. High boot worn 

 over tight pantaloons and bearing 

 a tassel in front. Named probably 

 from Hesse, in Germany, it was in- 

 troduced early in the 19th cen- 

 tury as a modification of the 18th 

 century top-boot, and worn with 



