1.
Imperial State
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An Imperial State or Imperial Estate was a part of the Holy Roman Empire with representation and the right to vote in the Imperial Diet. Rulers of these Estates were able to exercise significant rights and privileges and were immediate and they were thus able to rule their territories with a considerable degree of autonomy. The system of imperial states replaces the regular division of Germany into stem duchies in the early medieval period. From 1489, the imperial Estates represented in the Diet were divided into three chambers, the college of prince-electors, the college of imperial princes and the college of imperial cities. Counts and nobles were not directly represented in the Diet in spite of their immediate status, Imperial knights had immediate status but were unrepresented in the Diet. Imperial Estates could be either ecclesiastic or secular, the secular Estates, most notably, the four Prince-Electors of the County Palatine of the Rhine, Saxony, Brandenburg and Bohemia, later also Bavaria and Hanover. Imperial Princes including Grand Dukes, Dukes, Counts Palatine, Margraves and Landgraves, Reichsgrafen the Free, until 1582 the votes of the Free and Imperial Cities were only advisory. None of the rulers below the Holy Roman Emperor ranked as kings, the status of Estate was normally attached to a particular territory within the Empire, but there were some reichsständische Personalisten, or persons with imperial statehood. Originally, the Emperor alone could grant that status, but in 1653, the creation of a new Estate required the assent of the College of Electors and of the College of Princes. The ruler was required to agree to accept imperial taxation and military obligations, furthermore, the Estate was required to obtain admittance into one of the Imperial Circles. Theoretically, personalist Estates were forbidden after 1653, but exceptions were often made, once a territory attained the status of an Estate, it could lose that status under very few circumstances. A territory ceded to a foreign power ceased to be an Estate, from 1648 onwards, inheritance of the Estate was limited to one family, a territory inherited by a different family ceased to be an Estate unless the Emperor explicitly allowed otherwise. Finally, a territory could cease to be an imperial Estate by being subjected to the Imperial ban, in the German mediatization between 1803 and 1806, the vast majority of the Estates of the Holy Roman Empire were mediatised. They lost their imperial immediacy and became part of other Estates, the number of Estates was reduced from about three hundred to about thirty. Mediatisation went along with secularisation, the abolition of most of the ecclesiastical Estates and this dissolution of the constitution of the structure of the empire was soon followed by the dissolution of the empire itself, in 1806. Rulers of Imperial States enjoyed precedence over other subjects in the Empire, Electors were originally styled Durchlaucht, princes Hochgeboren and counts Hoch- und Wohlgeboren. In the eighteenth century, the electors were upgraded to Durchläuchtigste, princes to Durchlaucht, Imperial States enjoyed several rights and privileges. Rulers had autonomy inasmuch as their families were concerned, in particular and they were permitted to make treaties and enter into alliances with other Imperial States as well as with foreign nations
2.
Holy Roman Empire
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The Holy Roman Empire was a multi-ethnic complex of territories in central Europe that developed during the Early Middle Ages and continued until its dissolution in 1806. On 25 December 800, Pope Leo III crowned the Frankish king Charlemagne as Emperor, reviving the title in Western Europe, more than three centuries after the fall of the Western Roman Empire. The title was revived in 962 when Otto I was crowned emperor, fashioning himself as the successor of Charlemagne, some historians refer to the coronation of Charlemagne as the origin of the empire, while others prefer the coronation of Otto I as its beginning. Scholars generally concur, however, in relating an evolution of the institutions and principles constituting the empire, the office of Holy Roman Emperor was traditionally elective, although frequently controlled by dynasties. Emperor Francis II dissolved the empire on 6 August 1806, after the creation of the Confederation of the Rhine by Napoleon, before 1157, the realm was merely referred to as the Roman Empire. In a decree following the 1512 Diet of Cologne, the name was changed to Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation, by the end of the 18th century, the term Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation had fallen out of official use. As Roman power in Gaul declined during the 5th century, local Germanic tribes assumed control, by the middle of the 8th century, however, the Merovingians had been reduced to figureheads, and the Carolingians, led by Charles Martel, had become the de facto rulers. In 751, Martel’s son Pepin became King of the Franks, the Carolingians would maintain a close alliance with the Papacy. In 768 Pepin’s son Charlemagne became King of the Franks and began an expansion of the realm. He eventually incorporated the territories of present-day France, Germany, northern Italy, on Christmas Day of 800, Pope Leo III crowned Charlemagne emperor, restoring the title in the west for the first time in over three centuries. After the death of Charles the Fat in 888, however, the Carolingian Empire broke apart, according to Regino of Prüm, the parts of the realm spewed forth kinglets, and each part elected a kinglet from its own bowels. After the death of Charles the Fat, those crowned emperor by the pope controlled only territories in Italy, the last such emperor was Berengar I of Italy, who died in 924. Around 900, autonomous stem duchies reemerged in East Francia, on his deathbed, Conrad yielded the crown to his main rival, Henry the Fowler of Saxony, who was elected king at the Diet of Fritzlar in 919. Henry reached a truce with the raiding Magyars, and in 933 he won a first victory against them in the Battle of Riade, Henry died in 936, but his descendants, the Liudolfing dynasty, would continue to rule the Eastern kingdom for roughly a century. Upon Henry the Fowlers death, Otto, his son and designated successor, was elected King in Aachen in 936 and he overcame a series of revolts from an elder brother and from several dukes. After that, the managed to control the appointment of dukes. In 951, Otto came to the aid of Adelaide, the queen of Italy, defeating her enemies, marrying her. In 955, Otto won a victory over the Magyars in the Battle of Lechfeld
3.
Kingdom of Great Britain
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The Kingdom of Great Britain, officially Great Britain, was a sovereign state in western Europe from 1 May 1707 to 31 December 1800. It did not include Ireland, which remained a separate realm, the unitary state was governed by a single parliament and government that was based in Westminster. Also after the accession of George I to the throne of Great Britain in 1714, the early years of the unified kingdom were marked by Jacobite risings which ended in defeat for the Stuart cause at Culloden in 1746. On 1 January 1801, the kingdoms of Great Britain and Ireland were merged to form the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. In 1922, five-sixths of Ireland seceded from the United Kingdom, the name Britain descends from the Latin name for the island of Great Britain, Britannia or Brittānia, the land of the Britons via the Old French Bretaigne and Middle English Bretayne, Breteyne. The term Great Britain was first used officially in 1474, in the instrument drawing up the proposal for a marriage between Edward IV of Englands daughter Cecily and James III of Scotlands son James. The Treaty of Union and the subsequent Acts of Union state that England and Scotland were to be United into one Kingdom by the Name of Great Britain. However, both the Acts and the Treaty also refer numerous times to the United Kingdom and the longer form, other publications refer to the country as the United Kingdom after 1707 as well. The websites of the UK parliament, the Scottish Parliament, the BBC, additionally, the term United Kingdom was found in informal use during the 18th century to describe the state. The new state created in 1707 included the island of Great Britain, the kingdoms of England and Scotland, both in existence from the 9th century, were separate states until 1707. However, they had come into a union in 1603. Each of the three kingdoms maintained its own parliament and laws and this disposition changed dramatically when the Acts of Union 1707 came into force, with a single unified Crown of Great Britain and a single unified parliament. Ireland remained formally separate, with its own parliament, until the Acts of Union 1800, legislative power was vested in the Parliament of Great Britain, which replaced both the Parliament of England and the Parliament of Scotland. In practice it was a continuation of the English parliament, sitting at the location in Westminster. Newly created peers in the Peerage of Great Britain were given the right to sit in the Lords. Despite the end of a parliament for Scotland, it retained its own laws. As a result of Poynings Law of 1495, the Parliament of Ireland was subordinate to the Parliament of England, the Act was repealed by the Repeal of Act for Securing Dependence of Ireland Act 1782. The same year, the Irish constitution of 1782 produced a period of legislative freedom, the 18th century saw England, and after 1707 Great Britain, rise to become the worlds dominant colonial power, with France its main rival on the imperial stage
4.
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland
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The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland was established as a sovereign state on 1 January 1801 by the Acts of Union 1800, which merged the kingdoms of Great Britain and Ireland. The growing desire for an Irish Republic led to the Irish War of Independence, Northern Ireland remained part of the United Kingdom, and the state was consequently renamed the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. Britain financed the European coalition that defeated France in 1815 in the Napoleonic Wars, the British Empire thereby became the foremost world power for the next century. The Crimean War with Russia and the Boer wars were relatively small operations in a largely peaceful century, rapid industrialisation that began in the decades prior to the states formation continued up until the mid-19th century. A devastating famine, exacerbated by government inaction in the century, led to demographic collapse in much of Ireland. It was an era of economic modernization and growth of industry, trade and finance. Outward migration was heavy to the colonies and to the United States. Britain also built up a large British Empire in Africa and Asia, India, by far the most important possession, saw a short-lived revolt in 1857. In foreign policy Britain favoured free trade, which enabled its financiers and merchants to operate successfully in many otherwise independent countries, as in South America. Britain formed no permanent military alliances until the early 20th century, when it began to cooperate with Japan, France and Russia, and moved closer to the United States. A brief period of limited independence for Ireland came to an end following the Irish Rebellion of 1798, the British governments fear of an independent Ireland siding against them with the French resulted in the decision to unite the two countries. This was brought about by legislation in the parliaments of both kingdoms and came into effect on 1 January 1801, however, King George III was bitterly opposed to any such Emancipation and succeeded in defeating his governments attempts to introduce it. When the Treaty of Amiens ended the war, Britain agreed to return most of the territories it had seized, in May 1803, war was declared again. In 1806, Napoleon issued the series of Berlin Decrees, which brought into effect the Continental System and this policy aimed to eliminate the threat from the British by closing French-controlled territory to foreign trade. Frances population and agricultural capacity far outstripped that of the British Isles, Napoleon expected that cutting Britain off from the European mainland would end its economic hegemony. The Spanish uprising in 1808 at last permitted Britain to gain a foothold on the Continent, after Napoleons surrender and exile to the island of Elba, peace appeared to have returned. The Allies united and the armies of Wellington and Blucher defeated Napoleon once, simultaneous with the Napoleonic Wars, trade disputes, arming hostile Indians and British impressment of American sailors led to the War of 1812 with the United States. The war was little noticed in Britain, which could devote few resources to the conflict until the fall of Napoleon in 1814, American frigates inflicted a series of defeats on the Royal Navy, which was short on manpower due to the conflict in Europe
5.
Hanover
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At the end of the Napoleonic Wars, the Electorate was enlarged to become a Kingdom with Hanover as its capital. From 1868 to 1946 Hanover was the capital of the Prussian Province of Hanover and it is now the capital of the Land of Lower Saxony. Since 2001 it has been part of the Hanover district, which is a body made up from the former district. With a population of 518,000, Hanover is a centre of Northern Germany. Hanover also hosts annual commercial trade fairs such as the Hanover Fair, every year Hanover hosts the Schützenfest Hannover, the worlds largest marksmens festival, and the Oktoberfest Hannover, the second largest such festival in Germany. In 2000, Hanover hosted the world fair Expo 2000, the Hanover fairground, due to numerous extensions, especially for the Expo 2000, is the largest in the world. Hanover is of importance because of its universities and medical school, its international airport. The city is also a crossing point of railway lines and highways. Hanover is the traditional English spelling, the German spelling is becoming more popular in English, recent editions of encyclopaedias prefer the German spelling, and the local government uses the German spelling on English websites. The traditional English spelling is used in historical contexts, especially when referring to the British House of Hanover. Hanover was founded in times on the east bank of the River Leine. Its original name Honovere may mean high bank, though this is debated, Hanover was a small village of ferrymen and fishermen that became a comparatively large town in the 13th century due to its position at a natural crossroads. As overland travel was difficult, its position on the upper navigable reaches of the river helped it to grow by increasing trade. In the 14th century the churches of Hanover were built. The beginning of industrialization in Germany led to trade in iron and silver from the northern Harz Mountains, in 1636 George, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg, ruler of the Brunswick-Lüneburg principality of Calenberg, moved his residence to Hanover. The Dukes of Brunswick-Lüneburg were elevated by the Holy Roman Emperor to the rank of Prince-Elector in 1692, thus the principality was upgraded to the Electorate of Brunswick-Lüneburg, colloquially known as the Electorate of Hanover after Calenbergs capital. Its electors would later become monarchs of Great Britain, the first of these was George I Louis, who acceded to the British throne in 1714. The last British monarch who ruled in Hanover was William IV, semi-Salic law, which required succession by the male line if possible, forbade the accession of Queen Victoria in Hanover
6.
Princes of the Holy Roman Empire
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Prince of the Holy Roman Empire was a title attributed to a hereditary ruler, nobleman or prelate recognised as such by the Holy Roman Emperor. Originally, possessors of the title bore it as immediate vassals of the Empire, secular or ecclesiastical. However, by the time the Holy Roman Empire was abolished in 1806, the first came to be reckoned as royalty in the sense of being treated as sovereigns, entitled to inter-marry with reigning dynasties. The second tier consisted of high-ranking nobles whose princely title did not, however, the actual titles used by Imperial princes varied considerably for historical reasons, and included archdukes, dukes, margraves, landgraves, counts palatine, princely counts, as well as princes. The estate of princes or Reichsfürstenstand was first established in a legal sense in the Late Middle Ages. Not all states met all three requirements, so one may distinguish between effective and honorary princes of the Holy Roman Empire, from the 13th century onwards, further estates were formally raised to the princely status by the emperor. The resolutions of the Diet of Augsburg in 1582 explicitly stated that the status was linked with the possession of a particular Imperial territory. Most of the Counts who ruled territories were raised to Princely rank in the decades before the end of the Empire in 1806, ecclesiastical Princes were the Prince-Bishops as well as the actual Prince-abbots. They comprised a number of entities which were secularized and mediatized after the 1648 Peace of Westphalia. The honorary status of prince of the Holy Roman Empire might be granted to certain individuals, sovereigns outside the Empire, such as the Sovereign Military Order of Malta. The Prince of Piombino was another example, nobles allowed to bear the princely title, but who had neither a vote nor a seat in the Imperial Diet, individual or shared, such as the House of Kinsky. This included nobles who lacked immediacy, but who were allowed, motu proprio, by the Emperor to enjoy the title, although this courtesy tended to become hereditary for families, the right to princely status was called Personalist and could be revoked by the Emperor. List of states in the Holy Roman Empire List of Imperial Diet participants German mediatization Structure of Princes of The Holy Roman Empire
7.
Prince-elector
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The prince-electors of the Holy Roman Empire were the members of the electoral college of the Holy Roman Empire. From the 13th century onwards, the Prince-Electors had the privilege of electing the King of the Romans, Charles V was the last to be a crowned Emperor, his successors were elected Emperors directly by the electoral college, each being titled Elected Emperor of the Romans. In practice, all but one Emperor from 1440 onwards came from the Austrian House of Habsburg, the dignity of Elector carried great prestige and was considered to be second only to that of King or Emperor. The Electors had exclusive privileges that were not shared with the princes of the Empire. The heir apparent to a secular prince-elector was known as an electoral prince, the German practice of electing monarchs began when ancient Germanic tribes formed ad hoc coalitions and elected the leaders thereof. Elections were irregularly held by the Franks, whose successor states include France, the French monarchy eventually became hereditary, but the Holy Roman Emperors remained elective, at least in theory, although the Habsburgs provided most of the later monarchs. While all free men originally exercised the right to vote in such elections, in the election of Lothar II in 1125, a small number of eminent nobles chose the monarch and then submitted him to the remaining magnates for their approbation. Soon, the right to choose the monarch was settled on a group of princes. The college of electors was mentioned in 1152 and again in 1198, a letter of Pope Urban IV suggests that by immemorial custom, seven princes had the right to elect the King and future Emperor. The seven have been mentioned as the vote-casters in the election of 1257 that resulted in two kings becoming elected, the Count Palatine of the Rhine held most of the former Duchy of Franconia after the last Duke died in 1039. The Margrave of Brandenburg became an Elector when the Duchy of Swabia was dissolved after the last Duke of Swabia was beheaded in 1268, Saxony, even with diminished territory, retained its eminent position. The Palatinate and Bavaria were originally held by the same individual, meanwhile, the King of Bohemia, who held the ancient imperial office of Arch-Cupbearer, asserted his right to participate in elections. Sometimes he was challenged on the grounds that his kingdom was not German, though usually he was recognized, instead of Bavaria which after all was just a younger line of Wittelsbachs. The Declaration of Rhense issued in 1338 had the effect that election by the majority of the electors automatically conferred the title and rule over the empire. The Golden Bull of 1356 finally resolved the disputes among the electors, in 1621, the Elector Palatine, Frederick V, came under the imperial ban after participating in the Bohemian Revolt. The Elector Palatines seat was conferred on the Duke of Bavaria, originally, the Duke held the electorate personally, but it was later made hereditary along with the duchy. When the Thirty Years War concluded with the Peace of Westphalia in 1648, since the Elector of Bavaria retained his seat, the number of electors increased to eight, the two Wittelsbach lines now sufficiently estranged so as not to pose a combined potential threat. In 1685, the composition of the College of Electors was disrupted when a Catholic branch of the Wittelsbach family inherited the Palatinate
8.
George I of Great Britain
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George I was King of Great Britain and Ireland from 1 August 1714 until his death, and ruler of the Duchy and Electorate of Brunswick-Lüneburg in the Holy Roman Empire from 1698. George was born in Hanover and inherited the titles and lands of the Duchy of Brunswick-Lüneburg from his father, a succession of European wars expanded his German domains during his lifetime, and in 1708 he was ratified as prince-elector of Hanover. At the age of 54, after the death of his second cousin Queen Anne of Great Britain, in reaction, Jacobites attempted to depose George and replace him with Annes Catholic half-brother, James Francis Edward Stuart, but their attempts failed. During Georges reign, the powers of the monarchy diminished and Britain began a transition to the system of cabinet government led by a prime minister. Towards the end of his reign, actual power was held by Sir Robert Walpole. George died of a stroke on a trip to his native Hanover, George was born on 28 May 1660 in Hanover in the Holy Roman Empire. He was the eldest son of Ernest Augustus, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg, Sophia was the granddaughter of King James I of England through her mother, Elizabeth of Bohemia. For the first year of his life, George was the heir to the German territories of his father. In 1661 Georges brother, Frederick Augustus, was born and the two boys were brought up together, after Sophias tour she bore Ernest Augustus another four sons and a daughter. In her letters, Sophia describes George as a responsible, conscientious child who set an example to his brothers and sisters. In 1679 another uncle died unexpectedly without sons and Ernest Augustus became reigning Duke of Calenberg-Göttingen, Georges surviving uncle, George William of Celle, had married his mistress in order to legitimise his only daughter, Sophia Dorothea of Celle, but looked unlikely to have any further children. Under Salic law, where inheritance of territory was restricted to the male line, in 1682, the family agreed to adopt the principle of primogeniture, meaning George would inherit all the territory and not have to share it with his brothers. The same year, George married his first cousin, Sophia Dorothea of Celle, the marriage of state was arranged primarily as it ensured a healthy annual income and assisted the eventual unification of Hanover and Celle. His mother was at first against the marriage because she looked down on Sophia Dorotheas mother and she was eventually won over by the advantages inherent in the marriage. In 1683, George and his brother, Frederick Augustus, served in the Great Turkish War at the Battle of Vienna, and Sophia Dorothea bore George a son, George Augustus. The following year, Frederick Augustus was informed of the adoption of primogeniture and it led to a breach between father and son, and between the brothers, that lasted until Frederick Augustuss death in battle in 1690. With the imminent formation of a single Hanoverian state, and the Hanoverians continuing contributions to the Empires wars, Georges prospects were now better than ever as the sole heir to his fathers electorate and his uncles duchy. Sophia Dorothea had a child, a daughter named after her, in 1687
9.
George II of Great Britain
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George II was King of Great Britain and Ireland, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg and Prince-elector of the Holy Roman Empire from 11 June 1727 until his death. George was the last British monarch born outside Great Britain, he was born, after the deaths of Sophia and Anne, Queen of Great Britain, in 1714, his father George I, Elector of Hanover, inherited the British throne. In the first years of his fathers reign as king, George was associated with opposition politicians, as king from 1727, George exercised little control over British domestic policy, which was largely controlled by the Parliament of Great Britain. As elector, he spent twelve summers in Hanover, where he had direct control over government policy. He had a relationship with his eldest son, Frederick. During the War of the Austrian Succession, George participated at the Battle of Dettingen in 1743, Frederick died unexpectedly in 1751, nine years before his father, and so George II was ultimately succeeded by his grandson, George III. For two centuries after George IIs death, history tended to him with disdain, concentrating on his mistresses, short temper. Since then, most scholars have reassessed his legacy and conclude that he held and exercised influence in foreign policy and military appointments. George was born in the city of Hanover in Germany, and was the son of George Louis, Hereditary Prince of Brunswick-Lüneburg, both of Georges parents committed adultery, and in 1694 their marriage was dissolved on the pretext that Sophia had abandoned her husband. She was confined to Ahlden House and denied access to her two children, George and his sister Sophia Dorothea of Hanover, who never saw their mother again. George spoke only French, the language of diplomacy and the court, until the age of four, after which he was taught German by one of his tutors, Johann Hilmar Holstein. In addition to French and German, he was schooled in English and Italian. Georges second cousin once removed, Queen Anne, ascended the thrones of England, Scotland and Ireland in 1702, consequently, after his grandmother and father, George was third in line to succeed Anne in two of her three realms. England and Scotland united in 1707 to form the Kingdom of Great Britain, Georges father did not want his son to enter into a loveless arranged marriage as he had, and wanted him to have the opportunity of meeting his bride before any formal arrangements were made. Negotiations from 1702 for the hand of Princess Hedvig Sophia of Sweden, Dowager Duchess and regent of Holstein-Gottorp, the English envoy to Hanover, Edmund Poley, reported that George was so taken by the good character he had of her that he would not think of anybody else. A marriage contract was concluded by the end of July, on 22 August /2 September 1705O. S. /N. S. Caroline arrived in Hanover for her wedding, which was held the evening in the chapel at Herrenhausen. George was keen to participate in the war against France in Flanders, in early 1707, Georges hopes were fulfilled when Caroline gave birth to a son, Frederick
10.
George III of the United Kingdom
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He was concurrently Duke and prince-elector of Brunswick-Lüneburg in the Holy Roman Empire until his promotion to King of Hanover on 12 October 1814. He was the third British monarch of the House of Hanover, early in his reign, Great Britain defeated France in the Seven Years War, becoming the dominant European power in North America and India. However, many of Britains American colonies were soon lost in the American War of Independence, further wars against revolutionary and Napoleonic France from 1793 concluded in the defeat of Napoleon at the Battle of Waterloo in 1815. In the later part of his life, George III had recurrent, although it has since been suggested that he had the blood disease porphyria, the cause of his illness remains unknown. After a final relapse in 1810, a regency was established, on George IIIs death, the Prince Regent succeeded his father as George IV. Historical analysis of George IIIs life has gone through a kaleidoscope of changing views that have depended heavily on the prejudices of his biographers and the sources available to them. Until it was reassessed in the half of the 20th century, his reputation in the United States was one of a tyrant. George was born in London at Norfolk House and he was the grandson of King George II, and the eldest son of Frederick, Prince of Wales, and Augusta of Saxe-Gotha. As Prince George was born two months prematurely and he was unlikely to survive, he was baptised the same day by Thomas Secker. One month later, he was baptised at Norfolk House. His godparents were the King of Sweden, his uncle the Duke of Saxe-Gotha, George grew into a healthy but reserved and shy child. The family moved to Leicester Square, where George and his younger brother Prince Edward, Duke of York, Family letters show that he could read and write in both English and German, as well as comment on political events of the time, by the age of eight. He was the first British monarch to study science systematically and his religious education was wholly Anglican. At age 10 George took part in a production of Joseph Addisons play Cato and said in the new prologue, What. It may with truth be said, A boy in England born, historian Romney Sedgwick argued that these lines appear to be the source of the only historical phrase with which he is associated. Georges grandfather, King George II, disliked the Prince of Wales, however, in 1751 the Prince of Wales died unexpectedly from a lung injury, and George became heir apparent to the throne. He inherited one of his fathers titles and became the Duke of Edinburgh, now more interested in his grandson, three weeks later the King created George Prince of Wales. Georges mother, now the Dowager Princess of Wales, preferred to keep George at home where she could imbue him with her moral values
11.
Saxe-Lauenburg
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The Duchy of Saxe-Lauenburg, was a reichsfrei duchy that existed 1296–1803 and 1814–1876 in the extreme southeast region of what is now Schleswig-Holstein. Its territorial center was in the district of Herzogtum Lauenburg and originally its eponymous capital was Lauenburg upon Elbe. This land was ceded to the Kingdom of Hanover in 1814 and it is now part of the Lower Saxon Harburg. The Amt Neuhaus proper, then including areas on both sides of the Elbe, which was ceded to the Kingdom of Hanover in 1814, today, this is all part of Lower Saxon Lüneburg. Now it is part of todays Lower Saxon Cuxhaven, in 1203, King Valdemar II of Denmark conquered the area later comprising Saxe-Lauenburg, but it reverted to Albert I, Duke of Saxony in 1227. In 1260, Albert Is sons Albert II and John I succeeded their father, in 1269,1272 and 1282, the brothers gradually divided their governing competences within the three territorially unconnected Saxon areas along the Elbe river, thus preparing a partition. The last document, mentioning the brothers and their uncle Albert II as Saxon fellow dukes dates back to 1295. A deed of 20 September 1296, mentions the Vierlande, Sadelbande, the Land of Ratzeburg, the Land of Darzing, John II, the eldest brother, wielded the electoral privilege for the Lauenburg Ascanians, however, rivalled by their cousin Rudolph I of Saxe-Wittenberg. In 1314, the dispute escalated into the election of two hostile German kings, the Habsburg Frederick III, the Fair, and his Wittelsbach cousin Louis IV, however, only Louis the Bavarian finally asserted himself as emperor of the Holy Roman Empire. The Golden Bull of 1356, however, conclusively named the dukes of Saxe-Wittenberg as electors and this acquisition included much of the trade route between Hamburg and Lübeck, thus providing a safe passage for freight between the cities. Eric III only retained a life tenancy, in 1401, Eric III died without issue. The Lauenburg Elder Line was thus extinct in the male line, in the same year, Eric IV, supported by his sons Eric and John, forcefully captured the pawned areas without making any repayment, before Lübeck could take possession of them. Lübeck acquiesced for the time being, in 1420, Eric V attacked Prince-Elector Frederick I of Brandenburg and Lübeck allied with Hamburg in support of Brandenburg. Armies of both opened a second front and conquered Bergedorf, Riepenburg castle and the Esslingen river toll station. From the 14th century, Saxe-Lauenburg termed itself as Lower Saxony, however, Saxony as a naming for the area comprising the older Duchy of Saxony in its borders before 1180 still prevailed. The naming of Lower Saxony became more colloquial and the Saxon Circle was later renamed into Lower Saxon Circle, in 1659, Duke Julius Henry decreed in his general disposition to also esteem the woodlands as heart and dwell of the Principality of Lower Saxony. Magnus did not promote the spreading of Lutheranism in the rest of his duchy, in 1566, Francis I appointed the Superintendent Franciscus Baringius as the first spiritual leader of the church in the duchy, not including Hadeln. Francis I conducted a thrifty reign and resigned in favour of his eldest son Magnus II once having exploited all his means in 1571
12.
Bremen-Verden
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Bremen-Verden, formally the Duchies of Bremen and Verden, were two territories and immediate fiefs of the Holy Roman Empire, which emerged and gained Imperial immediacy in 1180. By their original constitution they were prince-bishoprics of the Archdiocese of Bremen and Bishopric of Verden. This area included most of the counties of Cuxhaven, Osterholz, Rotenburg upon Wümme, Stade and Verden, now in Lower Saxony. The city of Bremen and Cuxhaven did not belong to Bremen-Verden, the Land of Hadeln, then an exclave of Saxe-Lauenburg exclave around Otterndorf, was not part of Bremen-Verden until 1731. In 1623 Verdens cathedral chapter, consisting mainly of Lutheran capitulars, elected Frederick II, since he was Lutheran, the Holy See denied him the title of bishop. Nevertheless, he and later administrators were often referred to as prince-bishops, Frederick II was a son of King Christian IV of Denmark and Norway. In 1626, Tilly and his Catholic League troops occupied Verden, meanwhile, Christian IV arranged for Dutch, English and French troops to land in Bremen. The Chapters pleas for a reduction of the contributions, Christian IV commented by arguing once the Leaguists would take over, in 1627, Christian IV withdrew from the Prince-Archbishopric of Bremen, in order to fight Wallensteins invasion of his Duchy of Holstein. Tilly then invaded Bremen and captured its southern parts, the city of Bremen shut its city gates and entrenched behind its improved fortifications. In 1628, Tilly besieged Stade with its garrison of 3,500 Danish and English soldiers. On May 5,1628 Tilly granted them safe-conduct to England and Denmark-Norway, now Tilly turned to the city of Bremen, which paid him a ransom of 10,000 rixdollars in order to save itself from a siege. The populations in both prince-bishoprics were subjected to measures of re-Catholicisation within the scope the Counter-Reformation, with Lutheran services suppressed and he had been won by French diplomacy to join a new anti-imperial coalition, soon also joined by the United Netherlands. John Frederick speculated to regain the Prince-Archbishopric of Bremen and therefore in June/July 1631 officially allied himself with Sweden, for the war being John Frederick accepted Swedish supremacy, while Gustavus Adolphus promised to restitute the Prince-Archbishopric of Bremen to its exiled elected Administrator. The Prince-Bishopric of Verden was then subjected to Swedish military administration, the reconquest of the Prince-Archbishopric of Bremen, helped by forces from Sweden and from the city of Bremen, was completed by May 10,1632. John Frederick was back in his office, only to realise what Swedish supremacy meant, the Prince-Archbishopric of Bremen continuously suffered from billeting and alimenting soldiers. The relation between the Estates, who had to maintain administration under Catholic occupation, and the returned Administrator were difficult, the Estates preferred to directly negotiate with the occupants, this time the Swedes. But the Swedish occupants had to be persuaded first, to accept Prince Fredericks succession, so Chapter and Estates ruled the Prince-Archbishopric until the conclusion of the negotiations with Sweden. In 1635, he succeeded as Lutheran Administrator Frederick II in the sees of Bremen, but he had to render homage to the minor Queen Christina of Sweden
13.
Kingdom of Westphalia
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The Kingdom of Westphalia was a kingdom in Germany, with a population of 2.6 million, that existed from 1807 to 1813. It included territory in Hesse and other parts of present-day Germany, while formally independent, it was a vassal state of the First French Empire and was ruled by Napoleons brother Jérôme Bonaparte. It was named after Westphalia, but this was a misnomer since the kingdom had little territory in common with that area, Napoleon imposed the first written modern constitution in Germany, a French-style central administration, and agricultural reform. The Kingdom liberated the serfs and gave equal rights and the right to a jury trial. In 1808 the Kingdom passed Germanys first laws granting Jews equal rights, Westphalia seemed to be progressive in immediately enacting and enforcing the new reforms. The country was poor but Napoleon demanded heavy taxes and payments. Few of the men who marched into Russia with Napoleon in 1812 ever returned, the Kingdom was bankrupt by 1812. When Napoleon was retreating in the face of Allied advances in 1813, most of the reforms, however, remained in place. Hesses capital Cassel then fulfilled the function for Westphalia. The state was a member of the Confederation of the Rhine, the constitution made all male residents citizens with equal rights. Thus serfs were liberated and Jews emancipated, and soccage was abolished, the Napoleonic code was enacted, doing away with guilds and providing for the right of capitalism. A metric system of weights and measures was introduced, the organisers used French terms to designate the regional territories within the kingdom, departments received names based on watercourses and mountains, regardless of their traditional names. These departments were generally composed of territories taken from a number of petty states, compared to the departments of France itself the Westphalian departments were relatively small and sparsely populated. While administrative divisions were certainly less unequal than the territorial divisions. The desire to break from the past, and not just from the territorial divisions of the former manorial justices. Just as before the conquest, freedom of expression remained curtailed, in 1810 the coastal and northern départements North and Lower Elbe had to be ceded to the French Empire. Following the French example, Jewish congregations were reorganised and a Consistory supervising them was established, the former Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel merchant and man of letters, Israel Jacobson, became its consistorial president, assisted by a board of officers. Jacobson did his best to exercise an influence upon the various congregations of the country
14.
Kingdom of Hanover
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The Kingdom of Hanover was established in October 1814 by the Congress of Vienna, with the restoration of George III to his Hanoverian territories after the Napoleonic era. It succeeded the former Electorate of Brunswick-Lüneburg, and joined with 38 other sovereign states in the German Confederation in June 1815, along with the rest of Prussia, Hanover became part of the German Empire upon unification in January 1871. Briefly revived as the State of Hanover in 1946, the state was merged with some smaller states to form the current state of Lower Saxony in West Germany. After his accession in 1714, George Louis of the House of Hanover ascended the throne of Great Britain as George I, descendants of Hanoverians who fought alongside the British in the War of 1812 remain in Canada. In 1803, however, it fell to French and Prussian armies during the Napoleonic Wars, the Treaties of Tilsit in 1807 joined it to territories from Prussia and created the Kingdom of Westphalia, rule of which was allocated to Napoleons youngest brother Jérôme Bonaparte. French control lasted until October 1813 when the territory was overrun by Russian Cossack troops, the terms of the Congress of Vienna in 1814 not only restored Hanover, but elevated it to an independent kingdom with its Prince-Elector, George III of Great Britain, as King of Hanover. The new kingdom was also expanded, becoming the fourth-largest state in the German Confederation. During the British Regency and the reigns of kings George IV and William IV from 1816 to 1837, their younger brother Adolph Frederick officiated as Viceroy of Hanover, when Queen Victoria succeeded to the British throne in 1837, the 123-year personal union of Great Britain and Hanover ended. During the Austro-Prussian War, Hanover attempted to maintain a neutral position, hanovers vote in favor of the mobilisation of Confederation troops against Prussia on 14 June 1866 prompted Prussia to declare war. The outcome of the war led to the dissolution of Hanover as an independent kingdom and it was annexed by the Kingdom of Prussia, along with the rest of Prussia, it became part of the German Empire in 1871. After George V fled Hanover in 1866, he raised forces loyal to him in the Netherlands and they were eventually disbanded in 1870. Nevertheless, George refused to accept the Prussian takeover of his realm and his only son, Prince Ernest Augustus, 3rd Duke of Cumberland and Teviotdale, inherited this claim upon Georges death in 1878. Ernest Augustus was also first in line to the throne of the Duchy of Brunswick, in 1884, that branch became extinct with the death of William, a distant cousin of Ernest Augustus. The Duke then renounced his claim to Brunswick in favor of his son, the German-Hanoverian Party, which at times supported secession from the Reich, demanded a separate status for the province in the Reichstag. The party existed until banned by the Nazi government, the state saw itself in the tradition of the kingdom. The former territory of Hanover makes up 85 percent of Lower Saxonys territory, the Lutheran church was the state church of the Kingdom of Hanover with the King being summus episcopus. Regional consistories supervised church and clergy and these were in Aurich, a simultaneously Lutheran and Calvinist consistory dominated by Lutherans and the Lutheran consistories in Hanover, in Ilfeld, in Osnabrück, in Otterndorf as well as in Stade. A general superintendent chaired each consistory and this introduction of presbyteries was somewhat revolutionary in the rather hierarchically structured Lutheran church
15.
Principality of Calenberg
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When Duke Eric I of Brunswick-Lüneburg chose the Principality of Calenberg as his part of the inheritance in 1495, he described it as the land between the River Leine and the Deister. This geographical description, however, was never totally correct, in fact, the Principality extended west of the Leine from Schulenburg as far as Neustadt am Rübenberge in the north and thus much further north than the foothills of the Deister. To the south-west the territory stretched as far as Hamelin on the Weser, the city of Hanover was largely independent of Welf territorial lordship, even though it was not formally a free imperial city. Not until George of Calenberg, who had been a general in the Thirty Years War. Because of the link that had existed since 1463 between the principalities of Calenberg and Göttingen, the latter was sometimes referred to as Calenberg. Today the term Calenberg Land is usually used for the region between Hanover and the Deister. Originally the territory belonged to the Duchy of Saxony but in 1180, after the ban had been imposed on the Welf prince, Henry the Lion, he lost his ducal lands in Saxony. In the region west of Hanover, the Welfs had but few allodial possessions and it was largely ruled by comital dynasties, such as the counts of Wölpe in the northwest, the counts of Hallermund in the southwest and the counts of Rhoden in the west and in Hanover. In 1292 Duke Otto the Strict from the Lüneburg line of the Welfs subjugated the region, earlier, he had yielded to the Bishop of Hildesheim and accepted the city of Hanover as his fief. Administratively, this area was still called the Vogtei of Lauenrode, after Lauenrode Castle on the outskirts of Hanover, from where. With the extinction of the Lüneburg line of the Welfs, the Lüneburg War of Succession, broke out during which Lauenrode Castle was stormed by the citizens of Hanover, the Vogtei was then moved to Calenberg Castle. The Welf dukes did not inherit their land by primogeniture and this resulted in the late Middle Ages in numerous Welf estates, in 1400 the Vogtei of Calenberg went to the Wolfenbüttel line of the Welfs. In 1408 and 1409 they were able to purchase the county of Everstein and these were added to the Vogtei of Calenberg. While Henry was given the territory of Lüneburg, William was compensated with the newly created Principality of Calenberg, at that time, the lordship given to William had no name. William spent most of his time at Calenberg Castle from where he administered the territory, as a result, it is probable that the name of the Principality of Calenberg emerged during this time. William succeeded in 1442 and finally in 1463 in taking over the Principality of Göttingen, although unification with Calenberg initially came about purely by chance, it lasted nonetheless. After the death of William I in 1482 both sons shared the regency, in an agreement dated 1 August 1483, however, they split the rights of use. The younger son, Frederick the Restless, was awarded the rights of use over Calenberg and Göttingen, William deposed his brother Frederick in 1484/85 and declared him insane
16.
German language
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German is a West Germanic language that is mainly spoken in Central Europe. It is the most widely spoken and official language in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, South Tyrol, the German-speaking Community of Belgium and it is also one of the three official languages of Luxembourg. Major languages which are most similar to German include other members of the West Germanic language branch, such as Afrikaans, Dutch, English, Luxembourgish and it is the second most widely spoken Germanic language, after English. One of the languages of the world, German is the first language of about 95 million people worldwide. The German speaking countries are ranked fifth in terms of publication of new books. German derives most of its vocabulary from the Germanic branch of the Indo-European language family, a portion of German words are derived from Latin and Greek, and fewer are borrowed from French and English. With slightly different standardized variants, German is a pluricentric language, like English, German is also notable for its broad spectrum of dialects, with many unique varieties existing in Europe and also other parts of the world. The history of the German language begins with the High German consonant shift during the migration period, when Martin Luther translated the Bible, he based his translation primarily on the standard bureaucratic language used in Saxony, also known as Meißner Deutsch. Copies of Luthers Bible featured a long list of glosses for each region that translated words which were unknown in the region into the regional dialect. Roman Catholics initially rejected Luthers translation, and tried to create their own Catholic standard of the German language – the difference in relation to Protestant German was minimal. It was not until the middle of the 18th century that a widely accepted standard was created, until about 1800, standard German was mainly a written language, in urban northern Germany, the local Low German dialects were spoken. Standard German, which was different, was often learned as a foreign language with uncertain pronunciation. Northern German pronunciation was considered the standard in prescriptive pronunciation guides though, however, German was the language of commerce and government in the Habsburg Empire, which encompassed a large area of Central and Eastern Europe. Until the mid-19th century, it was essentially the language of townspeople throughout most of the Empire and its use indicated that the speaker was a merchant or someone from an urban area, regardless of nationality. Some cities, such as Prague and Budapest, were gradually Germanized in the years after their incorporation into the Habsburg domain, others, such as Pozsony, were originally settled during the Habsburg period, and were primarily German at that time. Prague, Budapest and Bratislava as well as cities like Zagreb, the most comprehensive guide to the vocabulary of the German language is found within the Deutsches Wörterbuch. This dictionary was created by the Brothers Grimm and is composed of 16 parts which were issued between 1852 and 1860, in 1872, grammatical and orthographic rules first appeared in the Duden Handbook. In 1901, the 2nd Orthographical Conference ended with a standardization of the German language in its written form
17.
House of Hanover
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Upon Victorias death, the British throne passed to her eldest son Edward VII, a member of the House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha through his father. The House of Hanover was formally named the House of Brunswick-Lüneburg, Hanover line, the senior branch became extinct in 1884, and the House of Hanover is now the only surviving branch of the House of Welf, which is the senior branch of the House of Este. The current head of the House of Hanover is Ernst August, George, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg, is considered the first member of the House of Hanover. When the Duchy of Brunswick-Lüneburg was divided in 1635, George inherited the Principality of Calenberg and his son, Christian Louis inherited the Principality of Lüneburg from Georges brother. Calenberg and Lüneburg were then shared between Georges sons until united in 1705 under his grandson, also called George, who subsequently became George I of Great Britain, all held the title Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg. George died in 1641 and was succeeded by, Christian Louis, 1st son of Duke George, Prince of Calenberg and he relinquished Calenburg when he became Prince of Lüneburg. George William, 2nd son of Duke George, Prince of Calenberg and he relinquished Calenburg when he became Prince of Lüneburg on the death of his brother, Christian Louis. John Frederick, 3rd son of Duke George, Prince of Calenberg, Ernest Augustus, 4th son of Duke George, Prince of Calenberg. He became Prince of Calenberg on the death of his brother John Frederick and he was elevated to prince-elector of the Holy Roman Empire in 1692. Ernest Augustuss wife, Sophia of the Palatinate, was declared heiress of the throne of England by the Act of Settlement of 1701, Sophia was at that time the senior eligible Protestant descendant of James I of England. George Louis, son of Duke Ernest Augustus and Sophia, became Elector and Prince of Calenberg in 1698 and he inherited his mothers claim to the throne of Great Britain when she died in 1714. George Louis became the first British monarch of the House of Hanover as George I in 1714, George I, George II, and George III also served as electors and dukes of Brunswick-Lüneburg, informally, Electors of Hanover. From 1814, when Hanover became a kingdom, the British monarch was also King of Hanover, in 1837, however, the personal union of the thrones of the United Kingdom and Hanover ended. After the death of William IV in 1837, the kings of Hanover continued the dynasty. The 1866 rift between the House of Hanover and the House of Hohenzollern was settled only by the 1913 marriage of Princess Viktoria Luise of Prussia to Ernest Augustus, Duke of Brunswick. At the end of the Thirty Years War, the Peace of Westphalia awarded the Prince-Bishopric of Osnabrück alternately to a Catholic bishop, since the treaty gave cadets priority over heirs and reigning princes, Osnabrück became a form of appanage of the House of Hanover. In 1884, the branch of the House of Welf became extinct. By a law of 1879, the Duchy of Brunswick established a council of regency to take over at the Dukes death
18.
House of Welf
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The House of Welf was a European dynasty that has included many German and British monarchs from the 11th to 20th century and Emperor Ivan VI of Russia in the 18th century. The House of Welf is the branch of the House of Este. The first member was Welf IV, he inherited the property of the Elder House of Welf when his maternal uncle Welf III, Duke of Carinthia and Verona, the last male Welf of the Elder House, died in 1055. Welf IV was the son of Welf IIIs sister Kunigunde of Altdorf and her husband Albert Azzo II of Este, in 1070, Welf IV became duke of Bavaria. Since the Welf dynasty sided with the Pope in this controversy, Henry the Black, duke of Bavaria from 1120–1126, was the first of the three dukes of the Welf dynasty called Henry. His wife Wulfhild was the heiress of the house of Billung, possessing the territory around Lüneburg in Lower Saxony and their son, Henry the Proud was the son-in-law and heir of Emperor Lothair of Supplinburg and became also duke of Saxony on Lothairs death. Lothair left his territory around Brunswick, inherited from his mother of the Brunonen family and her husband Henry the Proud became then the favoured candidate in the imperial election against Conrad III of the Hohenstaufen. But Henry lost the election, as the other princes feared his power and temperament, Henry the Lion recovered his fathers two duchies, Saxony in 1142, Bavaria in 1156 and thus ruled vast parts of Germany. In 1168 he married Matilda, the daughter of Henry II of England and Eleanor of Aquitaine, and sister of Richard Lionheart, gaining ever more influence. His first cousin, Emperor Frederick I of the Hohenstaufen dynasty, tried to get along with him, Henry made his peace with the Hohenstaufen Emperor in 1185, and returned to his much diminished lands around Brunswick without recovering his two duchies. Bavaria had been given to Otto I Wittelsbach, Duke of Bavaria, Henry died at Brunswick in 1195. Henrys son Otto of Brunswick was elected King of the Romans and he incurred the wrath of Pope Innocent III and was excommunicated in 1215. Otto was forced to abdicate the throne by the Hohenstaufen Frederick II. He was the only Welf to become emperor of the Holy Roman Empire, Henry the Lions grandson Otto the Child became duke of a part of Saxony in 1235, the new Duchy of Brunswick-Lüneburg, and died there in 1252. The subsequent history of the dukedom and its subordinate principalities was characterized by divisions and reunifications. The subordinate states that were created, and which had the legal status of principalities within the duchy were generally named after the residences of their rulers. The estates of the different dynastic lines could be inherited by a line when a family died out. The individual subordinate principalities continued to exist until the end of the Holy Roman Empire in 1806, following the Congress of Vienna in 1814/15, the territories became part of the Kingdom of Hanover and the Duchy of Brunswick
19.
Duchy of Brunswick
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The Duchy of Brunswick was a historical German state. Its capital was the city of Brunswick and it was established as the successor state of the Principality of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel by the Congress of Vienna in 1815. In the course of the 19th-century history of Germany, the duchy was part of the German Confederation and it was disestablished after the end of World War I, its territory incorporated into the Weimar Republic as the Free State of Brunswick. The title Duke of Brunswick and Lüneburg was held, from 1235 on and these holdings did not have all of the formal characteristics of a modern unitary state, being neither compact nor indivisible. The unifying element of all territories was that they were ruled by male-line descendants of Duke Otto I. After several early divisions, Brunswick-Lüneburg re-unified under Duke Magnus II, following his death, his three sons jointly ruled the Duchy. After the murder of their brother Frederick I, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg, brothers Bernard and Henry redivided the land, received the southern half of Brunswick-Lüneburg as Prince of Wolfenbüttel while his brother John became Prince of Lüneburg. Wolfenbüttel fell to his brother Albert II, Otto the Mild 1318–1344, son of Albert II, was Prince of Wolfenbüttel and Prince of Göttingen. After his death his son Ernest became Prince of Göttingen 1344–1367, Magnus the Pious became Prince of Wolfenbüttel 1344–1369. Magnus son Magnus II with the Necklace, Prince of Wolfenbüttel 1369–1373, the War of the Lüneburg Succession continued until 1388. Frederick 1373–1400, son of Magnus II, conquered Lüneburg in 1388, succeeded by his brothers, Henry the Mild, 1400–1408 Bernard, 1409–1428. Returned control of Wolfenbüttel to his nephew, Henrys son, was deprived by his brother, Henry the Peaceful 1432–1473, moved the residence to Wolfenbüttel. William regained control of Wolfenbüttel after his brothers death, and left the Principality to his two sons, Frederick III 1482–1484, imprisoned and deprived of power by his younger brother, William IV 1484–1491. Took control of all of Wolfenbüttel, then ceded Wolfenbüttel to his sons, co-rulers, sons of William IV, Eric I 1491–1494. Divided the territory in 1494, taking Calenberg, sole ruler in Wolfenbüttel from 1494. Acquired Calenberg in 1584 on the death of his cousin Eric II, last of the male descendants of Albert the Tall. On Frederick Ulrichs death, his complex of territories passed to a line of distant cousins ruling in Lüneburg, Wolfenbüttel was eventually awarded to Augustus, son of Henry of Dannenberg. Augustus 1635–1666 Augustuss sons succeeded him, sometimes ruling together, Rudolph Augustus 1666–1704 Anthony Ulrich 1685–1702, deposed 1702–1704 for allying with France in the War of the Spanish Succession
20.
King of Great Britain
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There have been 12 monarchs of the Kingdom of Great Britain and the United Kingdom since the merger of the Kingdom of England and the Kingdom of Scotland on 1 May 1707. England and Scotland had been in personal union under the House of Stuart since 24 March 1603, on 1 January 1801, Great Britain merged with the Kingdom of Ireland to form the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. After most of Ireland left the union on 6 December 1922, its name was amended on 12 April 1927 to the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. Queen Anne had been queen of England, Scotland and Ireland since 8 March 1702, the Hanoverian succession came about as a result of the Act of Settlement 1701, passed by the Parliament of England, which excluded Papists from the succession. In return for access to the English plantations in North America and the West Indies, the Hanoverian succession, due to his patrilineal descent, Edward VII inaugurated a new royal house. George V changed its name in 1917, during World War I, the house name Windsor has since been used
21.
Leopold I, Holy Roman Emperor
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Leopold I was Holy Roman Emperor, King of Hungary and Croatia, King of Bohemia and King of Serbia. The second son of Ferdinand III, Holy Roman Emperor, by his first wife, Maria Anna of Spain, elected Holy Roman Emperor in 1658, Leopold would rule as such until his death in 1705. Leopolds reign is known for the conflicts with the Ottoman Empire in the east, and the rivalry with Louis XIV, after more than a decade of warfare, Leopold emerged victorious from the Great Turkish War thanks to military talents of Prince Eugene of Savoy. By the Treaty of Karlowitz, Leopold recovered almost all of the Kingdom of Hungary which had fallen under the Turkish yoke in the years after the 1526 Battle of Mohács. Leopold fought three wars against France including the Dutch War, the Nine Years War, and the War of the Spanish Succession, in this last, Leopold sought to give his younger son the entire Spanish inheritance, disregarding the late Spanish kings will. To this end, he started a war which soon engulfed much of Europe, when peace returned at the end of it all, Austria could not be said to have emerged as triumphant as it did from the war against the Turks. Born on 9 June 1640 in Vienna, Leopold received an education by excellent teachers. From an early age Leopold showed an inclination toward learning and he became fluent in several languages, Latin, Italian, German, French, and Spanish. In addition to German, Italian would be the most favored language at his court, Leopold was schooled in the classics, history, literature, natural science and astronomy, and was particularly interested in music, having inherited his fathers musical talents. Originally intended for the Church, Leopold had received an ecclesiastical education. But fate put in motion a different plan for him when smallpox took his elder brother Ferdinand on 9 July 1654, nonetheless, Leopolds church education had clearly marked him. Leopold remained influenced by the Jesuits and his education throughout his life, and was uncommonly knowledgeable for a monarch about theology, metaphysics, jurisprudence and he also retained his interest in astrology and alchemy which he had developed under Jesuit tutors. A deeply religious and devoted person, Leopold personified the pietas Austriaca, Leopold was said to have typically Habsburg physical attributes. Short, thin, and of sickly constitution, Leopold was cold and reserved in public, however, he is also said to have been open with close associates. Coxe described Leopold in the manner, His gait was stately, slow and deliberate, his air pensive, his address awkward, his manner uncouth, his disposition cold. He grew to manhood without the military ambition that characterized most of his fellow monarchs, from the beginning, his reign was defensive and profoundly conservative. Hungary elected Leopold as its king in 1655, with Bohemia and Croatia following suit in 1656 and 1657 respectively. To conciliate France, which had influence in German affairs thanks to the League of the Rhine
22.
Nine Years' War
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It was fought on the European continent and the surrounding seas, Ireland, and in North America. Louis XIV of France had emerged from the Franco-Dutch War in 1678 as the most powerful monarch in Europe, Louis XIVs decision to cross the Rhine in September 1688 was designed to extend his influence and pressure the Holy Roman Empire into accepting his territorial and dynastic claims. The main fighting took place around Frances borders, in the Spanish Netherlands, the Rhineland, Duchy of Savoy, the fighting generally favoured Louis XIVs armies, but by 1696 his country was in the grip of an economic crisis. The Maritime Powers were also exhausted, and when Savoy defected from the Alliance all parties were keen for a negotiated settlement. By the terms of the Treaty of Ryswick Louis XIV retained the whole of Alsace, Louis XIV also accepted William III as the rightful King of England, while the Dutch acquired their Barrier fortress system in the Spanish Netherlands to help secure their own borders. In the years following the Franco-Dutch War Louis XIV of France – now at the height of his powers – sought to impose religious unity in France, and to solidify and expand his frontiers. Louis XIV, along with his chief advisor Louvois, his foreign minister Colbert de Croissy, Vauban had advocated a system of impregnable fortresses along the frontier that would keep Frances enemies out. To construct a system, however, the King needed to acquire more land from his neighbours to form a solid forward line. The King grabbed the necessary territory through what is known as the Réunions, a strategy that combined legalism, arrogance, the Treaty of Nijmegen and the earlier Treaty of Westphalia provided Louis XIV with the justification for the Reunions. These treaties had awarded France territorial gains, but because of the vagaries of the language they were notoriously imprecise and self-contradictory, unsurprisingly, these courts usually found in Louis XIVs favour. By 1680 the disputed County of Montbéliard had been separated from the Duchy of Württemberg, the Chamber of Reunion of Metz soon laid claims to land around the Three Bishoprics of Metz, Toul, and Verdun, and most of the Spanish Duchy of Luxembourg. The fortress of Luxembourg itself was blockaded with the intention of it becoming part of Louis XIVs defensible frontier. By forcibly taking the Imperial city the French now controlled two of the three bridgeheads over the Rhine, on the same day that Strasbourg fell French forces marched into Casale in northern Italy. Thus, the Reunions were carving territory from the frontiers of Germany, since Leopold Is intervention in the Franco-Dutch War Louis XIV had considered the Emperor his most dangerous enemy, yet the French king had little reason to fear him. Leopold I was weak in Germany, and was in danger along his Hungarian borders where the Ottoman Turks were threatening to overrun all central Europe from the south. Louis had encouraged and assisted the Ottoman drive against Leopold Is Habsburg lands, when the Turks besieged Vienna in the spring of 1683 Louis did nothing to help the defenders. Taking advantage of the Ottoman threat in the east Louis XIV invaded the Spanish Netherlands on 1 September 1683 and renewed the siege of Luxembourg, spains military options were highly limited, yet the Ottoman defeat before Vienna on 12 September had emboldened them. In the hope that Leopold I would now make peace in the east and come to their assistance, however, the Emperor had decided to continue the Turkish war in the Balkans and, for the time being, compromise in the west
23.
Imperial Diet (Holy Roman Empire)
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The Imperial Diet was the deliberative and legislative body of the Holy Roman Empire. Its members were the Imperial Estates, divided into three colleges, the diet as a permanent, regularized institution evolved from the Hoftage of the Middle Ages. From 1663 until the end of the empire in 1806, it was in permanent session at Regensburg, the Imperial Estates had, according to feudal law, no authority above them besides the Holy Roman Emperor himself. The holding of an Imperial Estate entitled one to a vote in the diet, thus, an individual member might have multiple votes and votes in different colleges. In general, members did not attend the permanent diet at Regensburg, the late imperial diet was in effect a permanent meeting of ambassadors between the Estates. Initially, there was neither a fixed time nor location for the Diet, the Golden Bull of 1356 cemented the concept of territorial rule, the largely independent rule of the dukes over their respective territories, and also limited the number of electors to seven. The Pope, contrary to myth, was never involved in the electoral process. However, until the late 15th century, the Diet was not actually formalized as an institution, instead, the dukes and other princes would irregularly convene at the court of the Emperor, these assemblies were usually referred to as Hoftage. Only beginning in 1489 was the Diet called the Reichstag, initially, the two colleges were that of the prince-electors and that of the other dukes and princes. Several attempts to reform the Empire and end its slow disintegration, notably starting with the Diet of 1495, from then to its end in 1806, the Empire was not much more than a collection of largely independent states. Only with the introduction of the Perpetual Diet of Regensburg in 1663 did the Diet permanently convene in a fixed location. The Imperial Diet of Constance opened on 27 April 1507, it recognized the unity of the Holy Roman Empire and founded the Imperial Chamber, the empire’s supreme court. Since 1489, the Diet comprised three colleges, The Electoral college, led by the Prince-Archbishop of Mainz in his capacity as Archchancellor of Germany, in 1692 the Elector of Brunswick-Lüneburg became the ninth Prince-elector as Archbannerbearer during the Nine Years War. In the War of the Bavarian Succession, the dignities of the Palatinate. The college of Imperial Princes incorporated the Imperial Counts as well as lords, Prince-Bishops. Strong in members, though often discordant, the second college tried to preserve its interests against the dominance of the Prince-electors, the House of Princes was again subdivided into an ecclesiastical and a secular bench. Remarkably, the bench was headed by the—secular—Archduke of Austria. As the Austrian House of Habsburg had failed to assume the leadership of the secular bench, the ecclesiastical bench also comprised the Grand Master and Deutschmeister of the Teutonic Knights, as well as the Grand Prior of the Monastic State of the Knights Hospitaller at Heitersheim
24.
Land Hadeln
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Together with Land Wursten and their common hinterland they form, even today, a typical, relatively closed, cultural region. The name goes back to the Old Saxon Gau of Haduloha, today the name Land Hadeln is mainly restricted to the dyked marshes in the lowland bay south of the Elbe estuary. It was surrounding by sandy meltwater depositions and moraines of the Saale glaciation, such as the geest ridges of the Hohe Lieth to the west, the Westerberg, and the Wingst to the east. To the south, between the islands of geest, sprawl extensive areas of fen and raised bog, that have been cultivated however, apart from a small terrain remnant in Ahlenmoor. The marshland itself, forming part of the Elbe Marshes, is divided in turn into the sea marsh, the so-called Hochland. Drainage is difficult and is handled mainly by the station in Otterndorf as well as by the small lock near Altenbruch. At Otterndorf the waters of the Medem and its tributaries, and the water of the Hadeln Canal. Hitherto the area, particularly the lower-lying Sietland which lies about 0.8 m below NN, had been endangered by flooding. The Land Hadeln lies in the Lower Elbe region, traditionally the land was used for agriculture, with pastureland and cattle farming on the geest and in the Sietland, and arable and fruit farming in the Hochland. Following the closure of the cement works in Hemmoor the relatively small number of industrial workers reduced further, many workers therefore commute to the ports of Cuxhaven, Bremerhaven and Stade. The economic importance of tourism, especially in the resorts of Otterndorf. Quellenbuch zur Geschichte des Landes Hadeln, norbert Fischer, Im Antlitz der Nordsee – Zur Geschichte der Deiche in Hadeln, Stade 2007, ISBN 978-3-931879-34-1 http, //www. otterndorf. de/
25.
Lower Saxony
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Lower Saxony is a German state situated in northwestern Germany and is second in area, with 47,624 square kilometres, and fourth in population among the sixteen Länder of Germany. In rural areas Northern Low Saxon, a dialect of Low German, and Saterland Frisian, a variety of Frisian, are still spoken, but the number of speakers is declining. Lower Saxony borders on the North Sea, the states of Schleswig-Holstein, Hamburg, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Brandenburg, Saxony-Anhalt, Thuringia, Hesse and North Rhine-Westphalia, and the Netherlands. Furthermore, the state of Bremen forms two enclaves within Lower Saxony, one being the city of Bremen, the other, its city of Bremerhaven. In fact, Lower Saxony borders more neighbours than any other single Bundesland, the states principal cities include the state capital Hanover, Braunschweig, Lüneburg, Osnabrück, Oldenburg, Hildesheim, Wolfenbüttel, Wolfsburg and Göttingen. The northwestern area of Lower Saxony, which lies on the coast of the North Sea, is called East Frisia, in the extreme west of Lower Saxony is the Emsland, a traditionally poor and sparsely populated area, once dominated by inaccessible swamps. The northern half of Lower Saxony, also known as the North German Plains, is almost invariably flat except for the hills around the Bremen geestland. Towards the south and southwest lie the northern parts of the German Central Uplands, the Weser Uplands, between these two lie the Lower Saxon Hills, a range of low ridges. Thus, Lower Saxony is the only Bundesland that encompasses both maritime and mountainous areas, Lower Saxonys major cities and economic centres are mainly situated in its central and southern parts, namely Hanover, Braunschweig, Osnabrück, Wolfsburg, Salzgitter, Hildesheim and Göttingen. Oldenburg, near the coastline, is another economic centre. To the north, the Elbe river separates Lower Saxony from Hamburg, Schleswig-Holstein, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, the banks just south of the Elbe are known as Altes Land. Due to its local climate and fertile soil, it is the states largest area of fruit farming. Most of the territory was part of the historic Kingdom of Hanover. It was created by the merger of the State of Hanover with several states in 1946. Lower Saxony has a boundary in the north in the North Sea. The state and city of Bremen is an enclave surrounded by Lower Saxony. The Bremen/Oldenburg Metropolitan Region is a body for the enclave area. To the southeast the state border runs through the Harz, low mountains that are part of the German Central Uplands, in northeast Lower Saxony is Lüneburg Heath
26.
Northern Germany
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Northern Germany is the region in the north of Germany. Its exact area is not precisely or consistently defined but varies depending on one is taking a linguistic, geographic. Northern Germany generally refers to the Sprachraum area north of the Uerdingen and Benrath line isoglosses, however, since World War II and the immigration of expellees from the former eastern territories of Germany, its prevalence has steadily reduced. Besides which, Frisian is spoken in East and North Frisia, from a linguistic and cultural perspective, Northern Germany is linked to the Netherlands, Scandinavia and England. Additionally, Jansen/Janssen, Hansen, and Petersen are the most common surnames in the far north of Germany, which are also some of the most common surnames in Denmark. The key terrain feature of Northern Germany is the North German Plain including the marshes along the coastline of the North and Baltic Seas, as well as the geest and heaths inland. Also prominent are the low hills of the Baltic Uplands, the moraines, end moraines, sandur, glacial valleys, bogs. Likewise the Altmark in Saxony-Anhalt, the Prignitz and Uckermark areas of northern Brandenburg, culturally and socially, Northern Germany is characterized by higher levels of income equality and gender equality, relative to southern and south-western Germany. The traditional Northern German daily diet is centered around boiled potatoes, rye bread, dairy products, cabbages, cucumbers, berries, jams, fish, and pork and beef. A breakfast specialty is the Crispbread or Knäcke, eaten with a variety of such as ham, cheese, fruits. Lentil stews and soups are popular as a working lunch. Regional specialties in Schleswig-Holstein, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern and Lower Saxony include Blutwurst or Blood sausage, another Northern German regional specialty are Hackbraten, meatloaves, made from a mixture of ground pork and beef and served with mashed potatoes, brown sauce and lingonberry jam. Many traditional meat-based lunch dishes are served boiled or mashed potatoes. Eating brunch is popular during weekends in the larger towns. In regions nearer to the coast, fish is popular, with Pickled herring. Coffee drinking is strongly rooted in Northern Germany and the Northern provinces on average consume around 8 kilograms of coffee per capita annually and this is fairly more than the 6 kilograms of coffee per capita consumed in the south. Coffee is frequently drunk four times a day, with breakfast, after lunch, in the evening at around 4, and after dinner. Many working people also drink a coffee at the workstation with the start of the days work, besides, there is a strong tradition of taking coffee breaks and visits to the café with friends and acquaintances
27.
Principality of Grubenhagen
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The Principality of Grubenhagen was a subdivision of the Duchy of Brunswick-Lüneburg, ruled by the Grubenhagen line of the House of Welf from 1291. It is also known as Brunswick-Grubenhagen, the principality fell to the Brunswick Principality of Lüneburg in 1617, from 1665 the territory was ruled by the Calenberg branch of the Welf dynasty. The principality was located on the edge of the Harz mountain range in present-day South Lower Saxony. The dominion also comprised the eastern exclave of Elbingerode, today part of Saxony-Anhalt, Grubenhagen was split off from the Brunswick Principality of Wolfenbüttel in 1291, when the sons of late Duke Albert the Tall finally divided their heritage. Its first ruler was Duke Henry the Admirable, the ongoing fragmentation weakened the position of the Grubenhagen branch regarding estate distributions involving their Wolfenbüttel, Lüneburg and Calenberg cousins. The Principality of Grubenhagen was finally reunited in 1526 under the rule of the Brunswick duke Philip I, however, in 1596 the Grubenhagen branch became extinct upon the death of his son Philip II. With the Principality of Lüneburg, the Grubenhagen territory was inherited by Duke Christian Louis, Prince of Calenberg. After his death in 1665 Grubenhagen ceased to exist as an independent principality, formally, it remained a state of the Holy Roman Empire until its dissolution in 1806. A Calenberg-Grubenhagen Landschaft still exists today, Henry IV, son of Henry III 1479-1526 Philip I, son of Albert II 1486-1551 Grubenhagen re-united in 1526. Ernest III, son of Philip I 1551-1567 Wolfgang, brother 1567-1595 Philip II, brother 1595-1596 Map of Lower Saxony 1789
28.
County of Hoya
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The County of Hoya was a state of the Holy Roman Empire, located in the present German state of Lower Saxony. It was centered on the town of Hoya on the middle Weser river, the largest city of the county was Nienburg. A first Count Henry at Hoya in Saxony appeared as a liensman of Archbishop Hartwig II of Bremen in 1202 and he rivaled with the local Hodenberg noble family at Hodenhagen Castle, their estates on the Weser were gradually acquired by Count Henry and his descendants until 1313. The acquisition of Nienburg led to a conflict with the Bishops of Minden. In 1450 the family became embroiled in the Münster Diocesan Feud, in the 16th century, the counts came under pressure of the mighty Dukes of Brunswick-Lüneburg, who in 1512 occupied their estates. The county was partitioned after Otto VIII, Count of Hoya died without sons in 1582, the majority of the territory was received by the Calenberg line with the remainder to the Lüneburg line of the Duchy of Brunswick-Lüneburg and the Landgraviate of Hesse-Cassel. The Counts of Hoya already had to recognize the Welf dukes of Brunswick-Lüneburg as liege lords in 1512, after the Austro-Prussian War of 1866, the area together with the Kingdom of Hanover was annexed by Prussia
29.
Frederick IV of Denmark
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Frederick IV was the king of Denmark and Norway from 1699 until his death. Frederick was the son of King Christian V of Denmark-Norway and his consort Charlotte Amalie of Hesse-Kassel, as crown prince, Frederick broadened his education by travelling in Europe, led by his chamberlain Ditlev Wibe. The one-story building, probably designed by Ernst Brandenburger, was completed in 1703, Frederick was allowed to choose his future wife from a number of Protestant royal daughters in northern Germany. In 1695, he visited the court of Gustav-Adolph in Güstrow, but his visit there was cut short by a message telling of his brother Christians serious illness. Frederick later returned to Güstrow, where he was forced to choose the eldest of the unmarried princesses, on 5 December 1695 at Copenhagen Castle, he married Louise of Mecklenburg-Güstrow, herself a great-great-granddaughter of Frederick II of Denmark. The couple were crowned King and Queen of Denmark-Norway on 25 August 1699 in the Frederiksborg Chapel, Fredericks most important domestic reform was the abolition in 1702 of the so-called vornedskab, a kind of serfdom which had fallen on the peasants of Zealand in the Late Middle Ages. His efforts were largely in vain because of the introduction of adscription in 1733, after the war, trade and culture flowered. The first Danish theatre, Lille Grönnegade, was created and the great dramatist Ludvig Holberg began his career, also, a colonisation of Greenland was started by the missionary Hans Egede. Politically this period was marked by the connection to the Reventlows, the Holsteiner relatives of his last queen. During Fredericks rule Copenhagen was struck by two disasters, the plague of 1711, and the fire of October 1728, which destroyed most of the medieval capital. And Fredensborg Palace, both considered monuments to the conclusion of the Great Northern War and he maintained weekly audiences where anyone could attend and deliver letters with complaints or projects. While the nine weeks stay lasted, the king was a frequent guest on operas and comedies, during the visit to the state armory, he received the republics upscale gift, two large ore guns and an ore mortar. A regatta on the Grand Canal was held in his honour and is imortalized in a painting by Luca Carlevarijs. The winter that season was particularly cold, so cold that the lagoon of Venice froze over, and it was joked that the king of Denmark had brought the cold weather with him. On his return he led negotiations with the Elector Augustus of Saxony. For much of Frederick IVs reign Denmark was engaged in the Great Northern War against Sweden, in spite of the conclusion of the Peace of Travendal in 1700, there was soon a Swedish invasion and threats from Europes western naval powers. In 1709 Denmark again entered the war encouraged by the Swedish defeat at Poltava, Frederick IV commanded the Danish troops at the battle of Gadebusch in 1712. Although Denmark emerged on the side, she failed to reconquer lost possessions in southern Sweden
30.
North Sea
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The North Sea is a marginal sea of the Atlantic Ocean located between Great Britain, Scandinavia, Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, and France. An epeiric sea on the European continental shelf, it connects to the ocean through the English Channel in the south and it is more than 970 kilometres long and 580 kilometres wide, with an area of around 570,000 square kilometres. The North Sea has long been the site of important European shipping lanes as well as a major fishery, the North Sea was the centre of the Vikings rise. Subsequently, the Hanseatic League, the Netherlands, and the British each sought to dominate the North Sea and thus the access to the markets, as Germanys only outlet to the ocean, the North Sea continued to be strategically important through both World Wars. The coast of the North Sea presents a diversity of geological and geographical features, in the north, deep fjords and sheer cliffs mark the Norwegian and Scottish coastlines, whereas in the south it consists primarily of sandy beaches and wide mudflats. Due to the population, heavy industrialization, and intense use of the sea and area surrounding it. In the southwest, beyond the Straits of Dover, the North Sea becomes the English Channel connecting to the Atlantic Ocean, in the east, it connects to the Baltic Sea via the Skagerrak and Kattegat, narrow straits that separate Denmark from Norway and Sweden respectively. In the north it is bordered by the Shetland Islands, and connects with the Norwegian Sea, the North Sea is more than 970 kilometres long and 580 kilometres wide, with an area of 570,000 square kilometres and a volume of 54,000 cubic kilometres. Around the edges of the North Sea are sizeable islands and archipelagos, including Shetland, Orkney, the North Sea receives freshwater from a number of European continental watersheds, as well as the British Isles. A large part of the European drainage basin empties into the North Sea including water from the Baltic Sea, the largest and most important rivers flowing into the North Sea are the Elbe and the Rhine – Meuse watershed. Around 185 million people live in the catchment area of the rivers discharging into the North Sea encompassing some highly industrialized areas, for the most part, the sea lies on the European continental shelf with a mean depth of 90 metres. The only exception is the Norwegian trench, which extends parallel to the Norwegian shoreline from Oslo to a north of Bergen. It is between 20 and 30 kilometres wide and has a depth of 725 metres. The Dogger Bank, a vast moraine, or accumulation of unconsolidated glacial debris and this feature has produced the finest fishing location of the North Sea. The Long Forties and the Broad Fourteens are large areas with uniform depth in fathoms. These great banks and others make the North Sea particularly hazardous to navigate, the Devils Hole lies 200 miles east of Dundee, Scotland. The feature is a series of trenches between 20 and 30 kilometres long,1 and 2 kilometres wide and up to 230 metres deep. Other areas which are less deep are Cleaver Bank, Fisher Bank, the International Hydrographic Organization defines the limits of the North Sea as follows, On the Southwest
31.
Imperial immediacy
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As confirmed by the Peace of Westphalia, the possession of imperial immediacy came with a particular form of territorial authority known as territorial superiority. In todays terms, it would be understood as a form of sovereignty. They formed the Imperial Estates, together with roughly 100 immediate counts,40 Imperial prelates and 50 Imperial Cities who only enjoyed a collective vote. Additional advantages might include the rights to collect taxes and tolls, to hold a market, to mint coins, to bear arms, the last of these might include the so-called Blutgericht through which capital punishment could be administered. These rights varied according to the patents granted by the emperor. Immediate rights might be lost if the Emperor and/or the Imperial Diet could not defend them against external aggression, as occurred in the French Revolutionary wars and the Napoleonic Wars. The Treaty of Lunéville in 1801 required the emperor to renounce all claims to the portions of the Holy Roman Empire west of the Rhine. The practical application of the rights of immediacy was complex, this makes the history of the Holy Roman Empire particularly difficult to understand, even such contemporaries as Goethe and Fichte called the Empire a monstrosity. Prussian historian Heinrich von Treitschke described it in the 19th century as having become a mess of rotted imperial forms. Pointing out that people like Goethe meant monster as a compliment in modern understanding, free Imperial City German mediatization Imperial Abbey Imperial Estate Imperial Village List of states of the Holy Roman Empire Braun, B. Reichsunmittelbarkeit in German, French and Italian in the online Historical Dictionary of Switzerland, 2005-05-03
32.
Gregorian Calendar
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The Gregorian calendar is internationally the most widely used civil calendar. It is named after Pope Gregory XIII, who introduced it in October 1582, the calendar was a refinement to the Julian calendar involving a 0. 002% correction in the length of the year. The motivation for the reform was to stop the drift of the calendar with respect to the equinoxes and solstices—particularly the northern vernal equinox, transition to the Gregorian calendar would restore the holiday to the time of the year in which it was celebrated when introduced by the early Church. The reform was adopted initially by the Catholic countries of Europe, the last European country to adopt the reform was Greece, in 1923. Many countries that have used the Islamic and other religious calendars have come to adopt this calendar for civil purposes. The reform was a modification of a made by Aloysius Lilius. His proposal included reducing the number of years in four centuries from 100 to 97. Lilius also produced an original and practical scheme for adjusting the epacts of the moon when calculating the date of Easter. For example, the years 1700,1800, and 1900 are not leap years, but the years 1600 and 2000 are. The canonical Easter tables were devised at the end of the third century, when the vernal equinox fell either on 20 March or 21 March depending on the years position in the leap year cycle. As the rule was that the full moon preceding Easter was not to precede the equinox, the date was fixed at 21 March for computational purposes, the Gregorian calendar reproduced these conditions by removing ten days. To unambiguously specify a date, dual dating or Old Style, dual dating gives two consecutive years for a given date, because of differences in the starting date of the year, and/or to give both the Julian and the Gregorian dates. The Gregorian calendar continued to use the calendar era, which counts years from the traditional date of the nativity. This year-numbering system, also known as Dionysian era or Common Era, is the predominant international standard today, the Gregorian calendar is a solar calendar. A regular Gregorian year consists of 365 days, but as in the Julian calendar, in a leap year, in the Julian calendar a leap year occurs every 4 years, but the Gregorian calendar omits 3 leap days every 400 years. In the Julian calendar, this day was inserted by doubling 24 February. In the modern period, it has become customary to number the days from the beginning of the month, some churches, notably the Roman Catholic Church, delay February festivals after the 23rd by one day in leap years. Gregorian years are identified by consecutive year numbers, the cycles repeat completely every 146,097 days, which equals 400 years
33.
Pope Gregory XIII
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Pope Gregory XIII, born Ugo Boncompagni, was Pope of the Catholic Church from 13 May 1572 to his death in 1585. He is best known for commissioning and being the namesake for the Gregorian calendar, during his pontificate, Gregory fostered cultural patronages associated with his papacy. He strengthened many ecclesiastical and diplomatic envoys to Asia, namely the islands of Japan and he was also the first Pope to bestow the Immaculate Conception as Patroness to the Philippine Islands on 9 February 1579 through the Papal Bull Ilius Fulti Præsido. Ugo Boncompagni was born the son of Cristoforo Boncompagni and of his wife Angela Marescalchi in Bologna and he later taught jurisprudence for some years, and his students included notable figures such as Cardinals Alexander Farnese, Reginald Pole and Charles Borromeo. He had a son after an affair with Maddalena Fulchini, Giacomo Boncompagni. At the age of thirty-six he was summoned to Rome by Pope Paul III, under whom he held appointments as first judge of the capital, abbreviator. Pope Paul IV attached him as datarius to the suite of Cardinal Carlo Carafa, Pope Pius IV made him Cardinal-Priest of San Sisto Vecchio and he also served as a legate to Philip II of Spain, being sent by the Pope to investigate the Cardinal of Toledo. It was there that he formed a lasting and close relationship with the Spanish King, upon the death of Pope Pius V, the conclave chose Cardinal Boncompagni, who assumed the name of Gregory XIII in homage to the great reforming Pope, Gregory I, surnamed the Great. It was a very brief conclave, lasting less than 24 hours, many historians have attributed this to the influence and backing of the Spanish King. Gregory XIIIs character seemed to be perfect for the needs of the church at the time, unlike some of his predecessors, he was to lead a faultless personal life, becoming a model for his simplicity of life. Additionally, his brilliance and management abilities meant that he was able to respond and deal with major problems quickly and decisively. Once in the chair of Saint Peter, Gregory XIIIs rather worldly concerns became secondary and he committed himself to putting into practice the recommendations of the Council of Trent. He allowed no exceptions for cardinals to the rule that bishops must take up residence in their sees and he was the patron of a new and greatly improved edition of the Corpus juris canonici. In a time of considerable centralisation of power, Gregory XIII abolished the Cardinals Consistories, replacing them with Colleges and he was renowned for having a fierce independence, some confidants noted that he neither welcomed interventions nor sought advice. The power of the papacy increased under him, whereas the influence, a central part of the strategy of Gregory XIIIs reform was to apply the recommendations of Trent. He was a patron of the recently formed Society of Jesus throughout Europe. The Roman College of the Jesuits grew substantially under his patronage and it is now named the Pontifical Gregorian University. Pope Gregory XIII also founded numerous seminaries for training priests, beginning with the German College at Rome, in 1575 he gave official status to the Congregation of the Oratory, a community of priests without vows, dedicated to prayer and preaching
34.
New Style
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Closely related is the custom of dual dating, where writers gave two consecutive years because of differences in the starting date of the year, or included both the Julian and Gregorian dates. Beginning in 1582, the Gregorian calendar replaced the Julian in Roman Catholic countries and this change was implemented subsequently in Protestant and Orthodox countries, usually at much later dates. In England and Wales, Ireland, and the British colonies, the change of the start of the year, in Scotland, the legal start of the year had already been moved to 1 January, but Scotland otherwise continued to use the Julian calendar until 1752. When recording British history it is usual to use the dates recorded at the time of the event, but the start of the Julian year was not always 1 January, and was altered at different times in different countries. From 1155 to 1752, the civil or legal year in England began on 25 March so for example the execution of Charles I was recorded at the time in Parliament as happening on 30 January 1648. In modern English language texts this date is shown as 30 January 1649. The corresponding date in the Gregorian calendar is 9 February 1649, designation is particularly relevant for dates which fall between the start of the historical year and the official start date, where different. This was 25 March in England, Wales and the Colonies until 1752, during the years between the first introduction of the Gregorian calendar in continental Europe and its introduction in Britain, contemporary usage in England started to change. In Britain 1 January was celebrated as the New Year festival, some more modern sources, often more academic ones, also use the 1661/62 style for the period between 1 January and 25 March for years before the introduction of the Gregorian calendar in England. Through enactment of the Calendar Act 1750, Britain and the British Empire adopted the Gregorian calendar in 1752, wednesday,2 September 1752, was followed by Thursday,14 September 1752. Claims that rioters demanded Give us our eleven days out of a misinterpretation of a painting by William Hogarth. The British tax year began on Lady Day on the Julian calendar and thus became 5 April. A 12th skipped Julian leap day in 1800 changed its start to 6 April and it was not changed when a 13th Julian leap day was skipped in 1900, so the tax year in the United Kingdom still begins on 6 April. The European colonies of the Americas adopted the change when their mother countries did, in Alaska, the change took place after the United States purchased Alaska from Russia. Friday,6 October 1867 was followed by Friday,18 October, usually, the mapping of new dates onto old dates with a start of year adjustment works well with little confusion for events which happened before the introduction of the Gregorian calendar. For example, the Battle of Agincourt is universally known to have fought on 25 October 1415. Events in continental western Europe are usually reported in English language histories as happening under the Gregorian calendar, for example, the Battle of Blenheim is always given as 13 August 1704. However confusion occurs when an event involves both, for example, William III of England arrived at Brixham in England on 5 November, after setting sail from the Netherlands on 11 November, in 1688
35.
History of Hanover
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The territory was named after its capital, the city of Hanover, which was the principal town of the region from 1636. In contemporary usage, the name is used for the city, most of the historical territory of Hanover forms the greater part of the German Land of Lower Saxony. Hanover was formed by the union of several divisions of the Duchy of Brunswick-Lüneburg. The title Duke of Brunswick and Lüneburg was held, from 1235 and these holdings did not have all of the formal characteristics of a state, being neither compact nor indivisible. The territories were named after towns where the dukes had their residences, e. g. Calenberg, Göttingen, Grubenhagen, Lüneburg. The unifying element of all territories was that they were ruled by male-line descendants of Duke Otto I, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg. Bernard received the territory of Lüneburg, whose town was Celle. From 1527 until 1642 the Principality of Harburg, seated in Harburg, was partitioned from Lüneburg, in 1569, Lüneburg was divided between Henry III and William VI, the sons of Ernest the Confessor, Bernards great-great-grandson. A distant cousin of the line of Lüneburg, Frederick Ulrich, after some dispute, his territories were divided in 1635 between the Dannenberg and Celle branches of the Lüneburg line. Henry IIIs son Augustus became Duke of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel and his descendants ruled the Duchy of Brunswick. Williams first four sons ruled Lüneburg in sequence from their fathers death in 1592 to 1648, the fifth son, George received the territories of Calenberg and Göttingen in 1635. In 1636 he moved the seat of the Dukes of Calenberg from Pattensen to the town of Hannover in the Calenberg territory and this was the nucleus of the state of Hanover, though the territory would have to wait until 1814 before receiving Hanover as its official name. In 1648, the Duke of Calenberg inherited Lüneburg from his uncle Frederick, from 1648 to 1705, Lüneburg was held by the senior of the Lüneburg line, and Calenberg by the next junior. In 1692, the Emperor promised to raise the Duke of Calenberg, Ernest Augustus and this promotion did not become effective until it was recognized by the Imperial Diet in 1708, ten years after Ernest Augustus death. In the meantime, his son, George Louis, inherited Lüneburg from his uncle in 1705, doubling Hanovers size. In 1692, the Holy Roman Emperor, Leopold I, elevated Georges son, there were protests against the addition of a new Elector, and the elevation did not become official until 1708, in the person of Ernest Augustus son, George Louis. Though the Electors titles were properly Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg and Elector of the Holy Roman Empire, he is commonly referred to as the Elector of Hanover after his residence. The Electorate was legally bound to be indivisible, it could add to its territory, but not alienate territory or be split up among several heirs, and its succession was to follow male primogeniture
36.
Swedish Empire
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The Swedish Empire refers to the Kingdom of Swedens territorial control of much of the Baltic region during the 17th and early 18th centuries, a time when Sweden was one of the great European powers. The beginning of the Empire is usually taken as the reign of Gustavus Adolphus, who ascended the throne in 1611, in Swedish history, the period is referred to as stormaktstiden, literally meaning the Great Power era. The interests of the high nobility contrasted with the uniformity policy, in territories acquired during the periods of de facto noble rule, serfdom was not abolished, and there was also a trend to set up respective estates in Sweden proper. The Great Reduction of 1680 put an end to efforts of the nobility. However, in the course of this war as well as in the subsequent Scanian War, Sweden was able to maintain her empire only with support of her closest ally. Charles XI of Sweden consolidated the empire and ensured a period of peace, before Russia, Saxony and Denmark started an attack on his successor. Sweden emerged as a great European power under Axel Oxenstierna and King Gustavus Adolphus, during the Thirty Years War, Sweden managed to conquer approximately half of the member states of the Holy Roman Empire. After France had intervened on the side as Sweden, the fortunes would shift again. As the war continued, it turned more and more grim, although exact population estimates do not exist, historians estimate that as many as one-third of the people in the Holy Roman Empire may have died as a result of the war. At the same time, Sweden joined the other important northern European nations in founding overseas colonies, New Sweden was founded in the valley of the Delaware River in 1638, and Sweden later laid claim to a number of Caribbean islands. A string of Swedish forts and trading posts was constructed along the coast of West Africa as well, at the conclusion of the Thirty Years War, the Peace of Westphalia in 1648 granted Sweden territories as war reparations. Sweden demanded Silesia, Pomerania pay a sum of 200,000 Riksdaler out of the lands they would receive, or 2) surrender a fourth of the property itself. Against this, the over-taxed lower estates protested, and the Diet had to be suspended, the king intervened, not to quell the commons, as the senate insisted, but to compel the nobility to give way. He proposed a committee to investigate the matter before the meeting of the next Riksdag. Charles X Gustav had done his best to recover from the extravagance of Christina. However, his own desire for military glory may have caused problems for his country, in three days, he persuaded the Swedish estates of the potential of his attack on the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. However, when he left Stockholm for Warsaw on July 10,1654, the Polish-Swedish War expanded into a general European war. He achieved passage over the Belts and emerged triumphant, only to die of sheer exhaustion, immediately after his death, a regency was appointed to govern Sweden during the minority of his only son and successor, Charles XI of Sweden, who was four years old
37.
Duchy of Bremen
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Bremen-Verden, formally the Duchies of Bremen and Verden, were two territories and immediate fiefs of the Holy Roman Empire, which emerged and gained Imperial immediacy in 1180. By their original constitution they were prince-bishoprics of the Archdiocese of Bremen and Bishopric of Verden. This area included most of the counties of Cuxhaven, Osterholz, Rotenburg upon Wümme, Stade and Verden, now in Lower Saxony. The city of Bremen and Cuxhaven did not belong to Bremen-Verden, the Land of Hadeln, then an exclave of Saxe-Lauenburg exclave around Otterndorf, was not part of Bremen-Verden until 1731. In 1623 Verdens cathedral chapter, consisting mainly of Lutheran capitulars, elected Frederick II, since he was Lutheran, the Holy See denied him the title of bishop. Nevertheless, he and later administrators were often referred to as prince-bishops, Frederick II was a son of King Christian IV of Denmark and Norway. In 1626, Tilly and his Catholic League troops occupied Verden, meanwhile, Christian IV arranged for Dutch, English and French troops to land in Bremen. The Chapters pleas for a reduction of the contributions, Christian IV commented by arguing once the Leaguists would take over, in 1627, Christian IV withdrew from the Prince-Archbishopric of Bremen, in order to fight Wallensteins invasion of his Duchy of Holstein. Tilly then invaded Bremen and captured its southern parts, the city of Bremen shut its city gates and entrenched behind its improved fortifications. In 1628, Tilly besieged Stade with its garrison of 3,500 Danish and English soldiers. On May 5,1628 Tilly granted them safe-conduct to England and Denmark-Norway, now Tilly turned to the city of Bremen, which paid him a ransom of 10,000 rixdollars in order to save itself from a siege. The populations in both prince-bishoprics were subjected to measures of re-Catholicisation within the scope the Counter-Reformation, with Lutheran services suppressed and he had been won by French diplomacy to join a new anti-imperial coalition, soon also joined by the United Netherlands. John Frederick speculated to regain the Prince-Archbishopric of Bremen and therefore in June/July 1631 officially allied himself with Sweden, for the war being John Frederick accepted Swedish supremacy, while Gustavus Adolphus promised to restitute the Prince-Archbishopric of Bremen to its exiled elected Administrator. The Prince-Bishopric of Verden was then subjected to Swedish military administration, the reconquest of the Prince-Archbishopric of Bremen, helped by forces from Sweden and from the city of Bremen, was completed by May 10,1632. John Frederick was back in his office, only to realise what Swedish supremacy meant, the Prince-Archbishopric of Bremen continuously suffered from billeting and alimenting soldiers. The relation between the Estates, who had to maintain administration under Catholic occupation, and the returned Administrator were difficult, the Estates preferred to directly negotiate with the occupants, this time the Swedes. But the Swedish occupants had to be persuaded first, to accept Prince Fredericks succession, so Chapter and Estates ruled the Prince-Archbishopric until the conclusion of the negotiations with Sweden. In 1635, he succeeded as Lutheran Administrator Frederick II in the sees of Bremen, but he had to render homage to the minor Queen Christina of Sweden
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Principality of Verden
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The historic territory of Verden emerged from the Monarchs of the Frankish Diocese of Verden in the area of present-day central and northeastern Lower Saxony and existed as such until 1648. The territory managed by secular lords for the bishops was not identical with that of the bishopric, the territory was referred to at the time as Stift Verden or Hochstift Verden, roughly equating to Prince-Bishopric of Verden. This territory described in local sources today incorrectly as Bistum Verden and, in 1648, was given the title Principality of Verden, sometimes referred to as the Duchy of Verden. The territory of Verden covered the part of the present district of Verden, the southern part of the district of Rotenburg and parts of the districts of Harburg. The Diocese of Verden was founded around 800 in Verden upon Aller as an episcopal see, originally held in personal union with Amorbach Abbey in the Odenwald, by the 9th century the bishopric had become a political football for the regional nobility. For example, the Amelungs promoted their favourite monks from Corvey Abbey to the episcopal throne and these privileges formed the basis of a future prince-bishopric, which materialised with the carve-up of the old Duchy of Saxony in 1180. In 1195 Prince-Bishop Rudolph I founded the castle of Rotenburg upon Wümme as a stronghold against the neighbouring Bremen prince-archbishops, later the castle took on the function of a prince-episcopal Residenz. Since the Investiture Controversy in the 11th and 12th century the cathedral used to elect the Catholic bishops in the Holy Roman Empire. Papally confirmed bishops were invested by the emperor with the princely regalia. In the early 13th century the Pope was increasingly involved by the local prince-bishops in regional affairs, from the early 16th century the prince-bishopric belonged to the Lower Rhenish–Westphalian Circle, a fiscal and military subsection of the empire. Verden sent its representatives to the diets of the empire and the Imperial Circle, at times the prince-bishops ruled in personal union the Prince-Archbishopric of Bremen. In order to maintain the two seats in the diets the sees of Bremen and Verden were never united in a real union. The same is true for the collectively governed Duchies of Bremen and Verden which emerged in 1648 from the secularised two prince-bishoprics, around 890 AD the cathedral chapter was able to effect a separation of their estate from that of the bishop, under the law of property. The provost of St. Johns in Lüneburg was the 16th member and, several of the eight archdeacons were incorporated into the cathedral chapter. Verdens secualar territory in those days roughly covered what is now the part of the county of Verden. From 1558, a change of confession to Lutheranism took place across the Verden diocesan area at different speeds depending on whether its secular rulers promoted or inhibited the Reformation. Within Verdens secular territory, the actual Hochstift, the Reformation was concluded with the enactment of an ordinance by Administrator Eberhard von Holle. In 1630, during the Thirty Years War, a Roman Catholic bishop, Francis of Wartenberg, took over again as a consequence of the Edict of Restitution, thereafter, the Roman Catholic church was only represented there by the Apostolic Vicariate of Northern Missions
39.
Charles VI (Holy Roman Empire)
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Charles VI succeeded his elder brother, Joseph I, as Holy Roman Emperor, King of Bohemia, King of Hungary and Croatia, and King of Serbia, Archduke of Austria, etc. in 1711. He unsuccessfully claimed the throne of Spain as Charles III following the death of its ruler, four years before the birth of Maria Theresa, faced with his lack of male heirs, Charles provided for a male-line succession failure with the Pragmatic Sanction of 1713. The Emperor favoured his own daughters over those of his brother and predecessor, Joseph I, in the succession, ignoring the decree he had signed during the reign of his father. Charles sought the other European powers approval and they exacted harsh terms, Britain demanded that Austria abolish its overseas trading company. France, Spain, Saxony-Poland, Bavaria and Prussia later reneged, Charles died in 1740, sparking the War of the Austrian Succession, which plagued his successor, Maria Theresa, for eight years. Archduke Charles, the son of the Emperor Leopold I and of his third wife. His tutor was Anton Florian, Prince of Liechtenstein, following the death of Charles II of Spain, in 1700, without any direct heir, Charles declared himself King of Spain—both were members of the House of Habsburg. The ensuing War of the Spanish Succession, which pitted Frances candidate, Philip, Duke of Anjou, Louis XIV of Frances grandson, against Austrias Charles, lasted for almost 14 years. The Kingdom of Portugal, Kingdom of England, Scotland, Ireland, to prevent a union of Spain and France, Philip was forced to renounce his right to succeed his grandfathers throne. Charless father and his advisors went about arranging a marriage for him and their eyes fell upon Elisabeth Christine of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel, the eldest child of Louis Rudolph, Duke of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel. She was held to be beautiful by her contemporaries. On 1 August 1708, in Barcelona, Charles married her by proxy and she gave him two daughters that survived to adulthood, Maria Theresa and Maria Anna. Lack of sons irked Charles and eventually led to the promulgation of the Pragmatic Sanction of 1713, for the next twenty years, Charles sought approval of the Sanction from the other European powers. They exacted harsh terms, for instance, Britain demanded that Austria abolish the Ostend Company, France, Spain, Saxony-Poland, Bavaria and Prussia later reneged. For a short time, however, it seemed that the Pragmatic Sanction was gratuitous, a year later, Maria Theresa, his elder surviving child, was born. Contemporaries wrote that at her ceremony, Charles, despite his best efforts. The next year saw the arrival of another girl, Maria Anna, Charles was successful in the Austro-Turkish War of 1716–18, adding Banat to Hungary, and establishing direct Austrian rule over Serbia and Oltenia. This extended Austrian rule to the lower Danube, the War of the Quadruple Alliance followed
40.
Enfeoffment
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In the Middle Ages, especially under the European feudal system, feoffment or enfeoffment was the deed by which a person was given land in exchange for a pledge of service. This mechanism was used to avoid restrictions on the passage of title in land by a system in which a landowner would give land to one person for the use of another. The common law of estates in land grew from this concept, in English law, feoffment was a transfer of land or property that gave the new holder the right to sell it as well as the right to pass it on to his heirs as an inheritance. It was total relinquishment and transfer of all rights of ownership of an estate in land from one individual to another, enfeoffment could be made of fees of various feudal tenures, such as fee-tail or fee-simple. Written conveyances were customary and mandatory after 1677, the feoffee was thenceforward said to hold his property of or from the feoffor, in return for a specified service depending on the exact form of feudal land tenure involved in the feoffment. The establishment of a national Land Registry has obviated the need for recitals of descent, feoffee Fief Fiefdom Subinfeudation Chestofbooks Chisholm, Hugh, ed. Feoffment
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Land of Hadeln
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Together with Land Wursten and their common hinterland they form, even today, a typical, relatively closed, cultural region. The name goes back to the Old Saxon Gau of Haduloha, today the name Land Hadeln is mainly restricted to the dyked marshes in the lowland bay south of the Elbe estuary. It was surrounding by sandy meltwater depositions and moraines of the Saale glaciation, such as the geest ridges of the Hohe Lieth to the west, the Westerberg, and the Wingst to the east. To the south, between the islands of geest, sprawl extensive areas of fen and raised bog, that have been cultivated however, apart from a small terrain remnant in Ahlenmoor. The marshland itself, forming part of the Elbe Marshes, is divided in turn into the sea marsh, the so-called Hochland. Drainage is difficult and is handled mainly by the station in Otterndorf as well as by the small lock near Altenbruch. At Otterndorf the waters of the Medem and its tributaries, and the water of the Hadeln Canal. Hitherto the area, particularly the lower-lying Sietland which lies about 0.8 m below NN, had been endangered by flooding. The Land Hadeln lies in the Lower Elbe region, traditionally the land was used for agriculture, with pastureland and cattle farming on the geest and in the Sietland, and arable and fruit farming in the Hochland. Following the closure of the cement works in Hemmoor the relatively small number of industrial workers reduced further, many workers therefore commute to the ports of Cuxhaven, Bremerhaven and Stade. The economic importance of tourism, especially in the resorts of Otterndorf. Quellenbuch zur Geschichte des Landes Hadeln, norbert Fischer, Im Antlitz der Nordsee – Zur Geschichte der Deiche in Hadeln, Stade 2007, ISBN 978-3-931879-34-1 http, //www. otterndorf. de/
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Exclave
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An enclave is a territory, or a part of a territory, that is entirely surrounded by the territory of one other state. Territorial waters have the same attributes as land, and enclaves may therefore exist within territorial waters. An exclave is a portion of a state or territory geographically separated from the part by surrounding alien territory. Enclave is sometimes used improperly to denote a territory that is partly surrounded by another state. Vatican City and San Marino, enclaved by Italy, and Lesotho, unlike an enclave, an exclave can be surrounded by several states. The Azeri exclave of Naxçıvan is an example of an exclave. Semi-enclaves and semi-exclaves are areas that, except for possessing an unsurrounded sea border, Enclaves and semi-enclaves can exist as independent states, while exclaves always constitute just a part of a sovereign state. A pene-enclave is a part of the territory of one country that can be approached conveniently — in particular by wheeled traffic — only through the territory of another country, pene-enclaves are also called functional enclaves or practical enclaves. Many pene-exclaves partially border their own territorial waters, a pene-enclave can also exist entirely on land, such as when intervening mountains render a territory inaccessible from other parts of a country except through alien territory. A commonly cited example is the Kleinwalsertal, a part of Vorarlberg, Austria. The word enclave is French and first appeared in the century as a derivative of the verb enclaver. In law, this created a servitude of passage for the benefit of the owner of the surrounded land, the first diplomatic document to contain the word enclave was the Treaty of Madrid, signed in 1526. Later, the term began to be used also to refer to parcels of countries, counties, fiefs, communes, towns, parishes. This French word eventually entered the English and other languages to denote the same concept although local terms have continued to be used, in India, the word pocket is often used as a synonym for enclave. In British administrative history, subnational enclaves were usually called detachments or detached parts, in English ecclesiastic history, subnational enclaves were known as peculiars. The word exclave, modeled on enclave, is a extension of the concept of enclave. Enclaves exist for a variety of historical, political and geographical reasons, in particular, this state of affairs persisted into the 19th century in the Holy Roman Empire, and these domains exhibited many of the characteristics of sovereign states. Prior to 1866 Prussia alone consisted of more than 270 discontiguous pieces of territory, thus, over time enclaves have tended to be eliminated. This exchange thus effectively de-enclaved another two dozen second-order enclaves and one third-order enclave, eliminating 197 of the Indo-Bangladesh enclaves in all, the residents in these enclaves had complained of being effectively stateless
43.
Estates of the Realm
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The estates of the realm were the broad orders of social hierarchy used in Christendom from the medieval period to early modern Europe. Different systems for dividing society members into estates developed and evolved over time, the best known system is the French Ancien Régime, a three-estate system used until the French Revolution. Monarchy was for the king and the queen and this system was made up of clergy, nobles, furthermore, the non-landowning poor could be left outside the estates, leaving them without political rights. In England, a system evolved that combined nobility and bishops into one lordly estate with commons as the second estate. This system produced the two houses of parliament, the House of Commons and the House of Lords, in southern Germany, a three-estate system of nobility, ritters, and burghers was used. Today the term Fourth Estate usually refers to forces outside the power structure. Historically, in Northern and Eastern Europe, the Fourth Estate meant rural commoners, during the Middle Ages individuals were born into their class and change in social position was difficult. The medieval Church was the institution where social mobility was most likely up to a certain level, typically, however, only nobility were appointed to the highest church positions, although low nobility could aspire to the highest church positions. Another possible way to rise in position was due to exceptional military or commercial success. Such families were rare and their rise to nobility required royal patronage at some point, medieval political speculation is imbued to the marrow with the idea of a structure of society based upon distinct orders, Johan Huizinga observes. There are, first of all, the estates of the realm, but there are also the trades, the state of matrimony and that of virginity, at court there are the four estates of the body and mouth, bread-masters, cup-bearers, carvers, and cooks. In the Church there are orders and monastic orders. Finally there are the different orders of chivalry and this static view of society was predicated on inherited positions. Commoners were universally considered the lowest order, a persons estate and position within it were usually inherited from the father and his occupation, similar to a caste within that system. In many regions and realms there also existed population groups born outside these specifically defined resident estates, legislative bodies or advisory bodies to a monarch were traditionally grouped along lines of these estates, with the monarch above all three estates. Meetings of the estates of the realm became early legislative and judicial parliaments, monarchs often sought to legitimize their power by requiring oaths of fealty from the estates. Today, in most countries, the estates have lost all their legal privileges, one of the earliest political pamphlets to address these ideas was called What Is the Third Estate. It was written by Abbé Emmanuel Joseph Sieyès in January 1789, the struggle over investiture and the reform movement also legitimized all secular authorities, partly on the grounds of their obligation to enforce discipline
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Imperial Estate
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An Imperial State or Imperial Estate was a part of the Holy Roman Empire with representation and the right to vote in the Imperial Diet. Rulers of these Estates were able to exercise significant rights and privileges and were immediate and they were thus able to rule their territories with a considerable degree of autonomy. The system of imperial states replaces the regular division of Germany into stem duchies in the early medieval period. From 1489, the imperial Estates represented in the Diet were divided into three chambers, the college of prince-electors, the college of imperial princes and the college of imperial cities. Counts and nobles were not directly represented in the Diet in spite of their immediate status, Imperial knights had immediate status but were unrepresented in the Diet. Imperial Estates could be either ecclesiastic or secular, the secular Estates, most notably, the four Prince-Electors of the County Palatine of the Rhine, Saxony, Brandenburg and Bohemia, later also Bavaria and Hanover. Imperial Princes including Grand Dukes, Dukes, Counts Palatine, Margraves and Landgraves, Reichsgrafen the Free, until 1582 the votes of the Free and Imperial Cities were only advisory. None of the rulers below the Holy Roman Emperor ranked as kings, the status of Estate was normally attached to a particular territory within the Empire, but there were some reichsständische Personalisten, or persons with imperial statehood. Originally, the Emperor alone could grant that status, but in 1653, the creation of a new Estate required the assent of the College of Electors and of the College of Princes. The ruler was required to agree to accept imperial taxation and military obligations, furthermore, the Estate was required to obtain admittance into one of the Imperial Circles. Theoretically, personalist Estates were forbidden after 1653, but exceptions were often made, once a territory attained the status of an Estate, it could lose that status under very few circumstances. A territory ceded to a foreign power ceased to be an Estate, from 1648 onwards, inheritance of the Estate was limited to one family, a territory inherited by a different family ceased to be an Estate unless the Emperor explicitly allowed otherwise. Finally, a territory could cease to be an imperial Estate by being subjected to the Imperial ban, in the German mediatization between 1803 and 1806, the vast majority of the Estates of the Holy Roman Empire were mediatised. They lost their imperial immediacy and became part of other Estates, the number of Estates was reduced from about three hundred to about thirty. Mediatisation went along with secularisation, the abolition of most of the ecclesiastical Estates and this dissolution of the constitution of the structure of the empire was soon followed by the dissolution of the empire itself, in 1806. Rulers of Imperial States enjoyed precedence over other subjects in the Empire, Electors were originally styled Durchlaucht, princes Hochgeboren and counts Hoch- und Wohlgeboren. In the eighteenth century, the electors were upgraded to Durchläuchtigste, princes to Durchlaucht, Imperial States enjoyed several rights and privileges. Rulers had autonomy inasmuch as their families were concerned, in particular and they were permitted to make treaties and enter into alliances with other Imperial States as well as with foreign nations
45.
County of Bentheim
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The County of Bentheim was a state of the Holy Roman Empire, located in the south-west corner of todays Lower Saxony, Germany. The countys borders corresponded largely to those of the administrative district of Grafschaft Bentheim. Geographically, Bentheim is composed largely of fenland, and early settlement was concentrated along the banks of the rivers pass through the county. Deposits of Bentheim sandstone formed the basis of an export trade to other parts of present-day Germany. The county of Bentheim was in existence by c.1050 AD, in that year, the county passed to Count Otto, of the House of Salm. His heir and daughter, Countess Sophia, married Dirk VI, Count of Holland, Sophia died in 1176, and the title of count passed to her son Otto I. In 1263, Bentheim annexed the County of Tecklenburg, and over various branches of the counts of Bentheim would annex and purchase various territories in Rheda, Steinfurt. In 1277, the County of Bentheim was partitioned into Bentheim-Bentheim, the first County of Bentheim-Bentheim endured until 1530, when its line of counts had become extinct and Bentheim was granted to Arnold II of Bentheim-Steinfurt. In 1544, Arnold officially converted to Lutheranism, beginning a process of introducing the Reformation in Bentheim. Protestant preachers were introduced into Bentheim during the autumn of 1587, the following year Bentheim officially gained a new Church constitution, which was later introduced in Tecklenburg and Steinfurt. When Arnold Jobst died in 1643, the County of Bentheim-Steinfurt was partitioned into Bentheim-Steinfurt and Bentheim-Bentheim, in 1753, the County of Bentheim was seized by the elector of Hanover. In 1753, trouble within made them out a mortgage to the King of Hanover. For almost 700 years prior to this, Grafshaft Bentheim was independently ruled by the Counts of Bentheim and that they might have continued thus had it not been for the circumstances of 1753. At the end of the Holy Roman Empire, the Count of Bentheim-Steinfurt, as members of the College of the Counts of Westphalia, they were represented in the Council of Princes of the Imperial Diet. These representation made the House of Bentheim a member of the German High Nobility, in 1803 the Bentheim-Bentheim branch became extinct. In 1804 the Count of Bentheim-Steinfurt made a bargain with the Government of France and he paid a fraction of the old debt of the Count of Bentheim-Bentheim to Hanover and obtained the possession of the County of Bentheim despite the protest of the Elector of Hanover. In 1808, the Grand Duchy of Berg mediatised the Lordship of Rheda and the County of Hohenlimburg, Bentheim was annexed by France in 1810 with the Kingdom of Holland and many northwest German regions. The Congress of Vienna put Steinfurt and Rheda under overlordship of Prussia, in 1817, the King of Prussia granted the Counts of Bentheim-Steinfurt and Bentheim-Tecklenburg the title of Prince
46.
German Chancery
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The office ceased upon the accession of Queen Victoria in the United Kingdom and King Ernest Augustus in Hanover in 1837. The primary duty of the Hanoverian minister in London was to transmit memoranda between the Privy Council of Hanover and the Elector of Hanover, who was the king of Great Britain. During the reigns of George I, George II, and most of the reign of George III. Politically, the ministers held little power in Hanover or in Great Britain throughout the eighteenth century and he was rewarded with the expansion of Hanovers borders and the elevation of the electorate to a kingdom during the Congress of Vienna in 1814. While the final minister achieved little recognition in comparison, the post had become all, the last minister returned to Hanover in 1837 with Ernest Augustus, the new Hanoverian king, and the post was thereafter unnecessary. The records of the chancery are now located in the archives of Hanover. The position survived until the death of Bothmer in 1732, although most of the functions of the office had been assumed by the Chancery and it is certain that after the retirement of Bernstorff in 1720, there were multiple heads of the Chancery. This practice ended after Bothmers death in 1732, the probable succession of ministers in London is as follows, Niedersächsisches Landesarchiv
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Electors of the Holy Roman Empire from 1356 to 1806 
