Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 10.djvu/50

* HESSE-CASSEL. 36 HESSE-HOMBURG. William (lC27-.'i7) fought on the side of Sweden during the Thirty Venrs" War, for which he was put under the ban of the Empire. His two brothers, Hermann and Krne.st, founded the lines of HesseKothentiurg and HcsseKlieinfeU. In 1637, on the death of William V., Amelia Elizabeth, hi>s widow, as.sumed the regency for their young son, William 'l., and ruled with vigor and ability. In the Pcaee of Westpha- lia (lf)48) the greater part of Siljauiiiburg and the Principality of Ilersfeld were aciiuircd. Wil- liam VI. died in 1G03, and was succeeded 1)V his sons, William VII. (1003-70) and Charles I. (1070-1730). The latter inaugurated the prac- tice, continued by his succes.sors, of hiring out Hessian soldiers to fight in the service of foreign princes, by which the finances of the State were considerably augmented at the expense of the welfare of the people. On the death of Charles, his son Frederick I., who in 17'20 had become King of .Sweden, in right of his wife, the Princess ITrike Eleonore. sister of Charles XII., resigned the government of liis Hessian territories to his brother William Vlll.. who succeeded him as Landgrave in 17.51. and riled until 1700. He fought under the Hritish and Hanoverian flag in the Seven Years' War. and gained considerable militarj- renown for himself and his troops. Fred- erick II. ( 1700-S:>) ke|>t >ip a splendid court on the subsidies received from the Uritish (iovernnient for the services of the Hessians who fought against the Americans in the War of Independence, and expended much of his treasures in the i)alronage of art and in the erection of public edifices. Frederick, who had l>ecnme a convert to the Roman Church, was succeeded by William IX. (178.5-1821). who reigned as William I. after his elevation to the rank of Elector in 1803. This prince frequently shifted sides (hiring the French wars. In 1800. at the time of Prussia's struggle against Napoleon, he remained neutral, but Na- poleon, nevertheless, seized his electorate, which was incorporated in the newlv formed Kingdom of Westphalia (1807). In 18'l3. after the defeat of Napoleon at Ix'ipzig. William returned to his dominions and began to restore the old order of things as far as he could, while he sought to re- cover the State lands that had been sold during his exile, and appealed so strongly for indemni- fication that he obtained various important eon- cessions at the Congress of Vienna, although he failed to secure the title of King. In accordance with a promise which he had made on his restora- tion, he summoned a body of jurists to construct a constitution: hut no .sooner was the draft com- j'leted than he refused to abide by it. His death, in 1821, was regarded as a fortunate event. But his son and successor. William II. (1821-47), by his narrow policy, increased the rapidly grow- ing disorders of the State, while his prodigality toward his mistress, the Countess of Reichen- hach. rendered him peculiarly unpopular with his subjects. In 1831 William was compelled to promulgate a constitution. At, the same time his son, Frederick William, was appointed co-regent. The history of the sixteen years' regency of Prince Frederick William exhibited a retrogres- sive policy, pursued at first under the guidance of Hassenpflug (q.v.l. which left Hesse far behind other German States in material prosperity. The death of the old ruler occurred at Frankfort in 1847. The revolutionarv movement of 1848 ex- torted from Frederick " William I. (1847-66) many liberal promises of reform, some of which were redeemed; but in ISoO, after revoking many uf his pledges, he summoned again the obnuxiouii reactionist lla.ssenpllug to govern the country. The Elector and his iMinistcr resorted to the most arbitrary measures to force the excited people to submission, and lla.ssenpllug persuaded the sovereign llial his personal safety would be endangered if he remained longer among his sub- jects, anil Prince and .Minister lied from Cassel to Williclmsliad. lla-NMiipllug appealed for federal intervention, and Austrian and Bavarian troops entered the country. The friends of liberal gov- ernment looked to Prussia for .support. On No- vember 2, 1850, a Prussian army entered Hcsse- Casscl ; but the Prussian King was timid, and the war was principally limited to angry proto- cols. External force was now applied to quell all ojiposition to the tlespotic sway of Frederick William, who in 1852 rcturiicil to Casstd. A new constitution was promulgated, which in no way satisfied the |wople. whose conduct throughout the trying crisis had been marked by forbearance and moderation. But the jiolicy of the Govern- ment remained unchanged. Not until 1802, after much agitation and powerful pressure from Prus- sia, was the Prince forced to accede to the Con- stitution of 1831. After this concession, how- ever, he still ruled in such a way as to paralyze the political activities of the country. In the Seven Weeks' War of 1800 Hesse-Cassel sided with .ustria. A Prussian army entered the prin- cipality. .Iiine 10, 1800, and Frederick William was taken i)risoiier and conveyed to Stettin, where he remained till September 17th. Tlirec days later Hesse-Cassel was incorporated with Prussia. 'Hie deposed Prince died .January 6, 1875, leaving no direct heir. BiBLioGH.xdiY. Rommel, (Icschichte von Ues- fcii (10 vols., Cassel, 1820-58): Wippermann, h'lirhessen scit dem Freiheilskriege (lb., 1850) ; Roth, Ge.ichichle von Ile»sen-Kassel (ib., 1883- SO) : Griife, Der Verfas.iunfiskampf in Kurhess&n (Leipzig, 1851); Syl)el, Die Ucgriindimg drs drulxchen Reichs durch ^Vilhe^m I. (Munich, 1889-04; trans., New York, 1889-04). See Ger-
 * .r.NY.

HESSE-DARMSTADT. Sec Hesse. HESSE-HOMBURG, liftmlioorK (Gcr. Hes- sc.n-Uoinhiirii). Formerly a landgraviate, con- taining about 100 square miles, composed of the District of Iloniburg vor der HOhe on the right of the Rhine, and that of Meisenheini on the left. It has belonged to Prussia since ISOO. and is now a part of Hesse-Nassau and of the Rhine Province. The landgraviate was an integral part of Hesse- Darmstadt till it was transferred in accordance with the disposition made by the Landgrave George I. (died 1596) to that Prince's youngest son, Frederick I., in 1622. It constituted a p.art of Hesse-Darmstadt from 1800 till the Con- gress of Vienna (1815), when its independence was restoped and its territory augmented by the addition of Meisenheini. The opening of the springs and baths at Hnmburg in 1833 proved an unexpected source of wealth to the State, and after the addition of gambling saloons, the estab- lishment constituted a very important branch of the revenue. .^ttempts were more than once made by the Diet to put down the gambling- tables: but whenever the pressure of Federal in- tervention was removed, gambling was always