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From: John Blankenbaker <>
Subject: [GERMANNA] (1560)Germanna Colonies, History of
Date: Sat, 04 Jan 2003 07:55:41 -0500

The fifteen hundred and sixtieth note in a series on the Germanna Colonies

Hesse in the Eighteenth Century

Hesse, as we know it today, runs south of Frankfurt and Wiesbaden, west of
the Rhine River, north toward Westphalia, east over to Bavaria and to
Thüringia. It was not a particularly powerful German state in the
eighteenth century. A part of Hesse known as Hesse-Kassel was especially
involved in providing mercenary troops to various European powers in
exchange for subsidies. One of their favorite partners was Prussia which
the emperor in Vienna opposed because he saw the Prussians as a competitive
force to himself. At the first part of the century, Hesse-Kassel controlled
Rheinfel Castle on the Rhine, the largest castle along the Rhine. The
emperor decided to take Rheinfel Castle away from Hesse-Kassel and to give
it Hesse-Rotenburg, a much weaker state. For years, the Landgrave Karl in
Hesse-Kassel refused to surrender the castle.

(As an aside, the Photographic Essay on the CD that I have done has a few
photos of Rheinfel Castle. It was an enormous place which covered hundreds
of acres. It withstood all assaults until the French gained control in 1797
and blew the place up.)

Not only did the German states forge alliances and oppose states inside the
empire, but they were in conflict with states outside the empire. Karl,
just mentioned, opposed the French and offered a refugee to the Huguenots
when they had to leave France. One of the side benefits of this policy was
that the Huguenots were extremely skilled workers. Their presence in Hesse
was an aid to the economy in the thirty settlements of Huguenots. Their
presence was beneficial to banking and finance institutions and to commerce
in general. (Not long ago I wrote about the Button family who generally
fell in the Huguenot category.)

The guilds had an ancient set of rules and rights and were a governing body
to a degree that was responsible to no one. Some of their practices were
anti competitive and restrictive. Karl, in 1693 and 1730, set aside some of
their regulations and opened up commerce up to a degree. Karl also tried to
establish a road system, canals, and a limited postal service. He also
undertook several cultural improvements which included new residences for
his family and seats of higher education.

Karl’s son Frederick I ascended in 1720 to the Swedish throne through a
fortunate marriage into the Swedish ruling line. Frederick gave up his
Hessian possessions to his brother William when their father died in 1730.
As we have seen in other contexts, the ruling houses of Europe were closely
intertwined.

The landgraves in Hesse-Kassel obtained Rheinfel Castle back and then they
controlled a major portion of the Rhine River.

John Blankenbaker
http://www.germanna.com/
http://homepages.rootsweb.com/~george/johnsgermnotes/germhis1.html
http://www.germanna.net/

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