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{{short description|Former German state}}
The '''Kingdom of Westphalia''' is a historical state in present-day [[Germany]] that existed from [[1807]]-[[1813]]. While formally independent, it was a [[vassal]] state of [[France]], ruled by [[Napoleon I of France|Napoleon]]'s brother [[Jérôme Bonaparte]]. It was named after [[Westphalia]], but had little territory in common with that area.
{{more citations needed|date=November 2011}}
{{Infobox country
|native_name = {{native name|fr|Royaume de Ouestphalie}}<br/>{{native name|de|Königreich Westphalen}}
|conventional_long_name = Kingdom of Westphalian
|common_name = Westphalia
|image_flag = Flag of the Kingdom of Westphalia.svg
|image_coat = Grandes Armes Jérôme Bonaparte (1784-1860) 2.svg
|image_map = Kingdom of Westphalia (1812).svg
|image_map_caption = The Kingdom of Westphalia in 1812
|common_languages = {{ubl|[[German language|German]]|[[French language|French]] <small>(official)</small>}}
|regional_languages = [[Low German language|Low German]]
|religion = {{ubl|[[Catholic Church|Roman Catholicism]]|[[Lutheranism]]|[[Calvinism]]|[[Judaism]] (minority)}}
|national_motto = {{langnf|de|Character und Aufrichtigkeit|Character and Honesty|break=yes}}
|era = [[Napoleonic Wars]]
|status_text = [[Client state]] of the [[First French Empire|French Empire]]
|status = Client
|empire = France
|year_start = 1807
|year_end = 1813
|event_start = [[Treaty of Tilsit]]
|date_start = 7 July
|event1 = [[Constitution of the Kingdom of Westphalia|Constitution adopted]]
|date_event1 = 7 December 1807
|event_end = [[Battle of Leipzig]]
|date_end = 19 October
|p1 = Electorate of Hanover
|flag_p1 = Flag of Hanover (1692).svg
|p2 = Electorate of Hesse
|flag_p2 = Flag of Hesse.svg
|p3 = Principality of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel
|flag_p3 = Coat of arms of the House of Welf-Brunswick (Braunschweig).svg
|border_p3 = no
|s1 = Kingdom of Hanover
|flag_s1 = Flag of Hanover 1837-1866.svg
|s2 = Electorate of Hesse
|flag_s2 = Flag of Hesse.svg
|s3 = Kingdom of Prussia
|flag_s3 = Flag of the Kingdom of Prussia (1803-1892).svg
|s4 = Principality of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel
|flag_s4 = Coat of arms of the House of Welf-Brunswick (Braunschweig).svg
|border_s4 = no
|capital = [[Kassel]]
|government_type = [[Constitutional monarchy]]
|legislature = [[Imperial Estate]]
|title_leader = [[King]]
|leader1 = [[Jérôme Bonaparte]]
|year_leader1 = 1807–1813
|title_deputy = [[Prime minister]]
|deputy1 = [[Joseph Jérôme, Comte Siméon]]
|year_deputy1 = 1807–1813
|currency = [[Westphalian frank]]
|stat_year1 = 1809
|stat_year2 = 1810
|stat_year3 = 1812
|stat_pop1 = 1,950,724
|stat_pop2 = 2,600,000
|stat_pop3 = 2,065,970
|stat_area1 = 37,883
|stat_area2 = 63,652
|stat_area3 = 45,427
|today = [[Germany]]
}}


The '''Kingdom of Westphalia''' was a [[client state]] of [[First French Empire|France]] in present-day Germany that existed from 1807 to 1813. While formally independent, it was ruled by [[Napoleon]]'s brother [[Jérôme Bonaparte]]. It was named after [[Westphalia]], but this was a misnomer since the kingdom had little territory in common with that area. The region mostly covered territory formerly known as [[Eastphalia]].
The Kingdom of Westphalia was created in [[1807]] by merging territories ceded by [[Prussia]] in the [[Peace of Tilsit]], among them the former Electorate of [[Hanover (state)|Hanover]], with the Duchy of [[Brunswick-Lüneburg]] and the Electorate of [[Hesse-Kassel|Hesse]]. Its capital was [[Kassel|Cassel]]. A number of social reforms were implemented in the kingdom, such as the abolishment of [[serf|servitude]], the right of [[free enterprise]], and the [[Napoleonic code]]. The kingdom was dissolved after the [[Battle of Leipzig]] in [[1813]] and its predecessor states were reestablished.


Napoleon imposed the [[Constitution of the Kingdom of Westphalia|first written modern constitution in Germany]], a French-style central administration, and agricultural reform. The kingdom liberated the [[Serfdom|serfs]] and gave everyone equal rights and the right to a jury trial. In 1808 the kingdom passed Germany's first laws granting Jews equal rights, thereby providing a model for reform in the other German states. Westphalia seemed to be progressive in immediately enacting and enforcing the new reforms.
[[de:Königreich Westfalen]]

The country was relatively poor but Napoleon demanded heavy taxes and payments and conscripted soldiers. Few of the men who [[French invasion of Russia|marched into Russia with Napoleon in 1812]] returned. The kingdom was bankrupt by 1812. When Napoleon was [[German campaign of 1813|retreating in the face of Allied advances]] in 1813, the kingdom was overrun by the [[Sixth Coalition|Allies]] and (in 1815) most of its territories became [[Prussia]]n. Most of the reforms, however, remained in place.<ref>{{cite book |last=Connelly |first=Owen |title=Napoleon's satellite kingdoms |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zzMJAQAAIAAJ |year=1966 |publisher=Free Press |isbn=9780029066003}}</ref>

==Formation==
[[File:Rheinbund 1808, political map.png|thumb|left|Location of the Kingdom of Westphalia within the Confederation of the Rhine in 1808]]
The Kingdom of Westphalia was created by Napoleon in 1807 by merging territories ceded by the [[Kingdom of Prussia]] in the [[Peace of Tilsit]], among them the region of the [[Duchy of Magdeburg]] west of the [[Elbe]] river, the [[Duchy of Brunswick-Lüneburg|Brunswick-Lüneburg]] territories of [[Electorate of Hanover|Hanover]] and [[Principality of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel|Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel]], and the [[Electorate of Hesse]]. Hesse's capital [[Kassel|Cassel]] (modern spelling ''Kassel'') then fulfilled the same function for Westphalia, and the king kept the court at the palace of [[Schloss Wilhelmshöhe|Wilhelmshöhe]], renamed Napoleonshöhe. The state was a member of the [[Confederation of the Rhine]].

Since it was intended as a Napoleonic "[[model state]]", [[Constitution of the Kingdom of Westphalia|a constitution]] was promulgated on 15 November and enacted by King Jérôme on 7 December 1807, the day after he had arrived in Cassel, making Westphalia the first monarchy in Germany with a modern-style constitution. The constitution made all male residents citizens with equal rights. Thus [[serfs]] were liberated, [[Jewish emancipation|Jews emancipated]], and [[socage]] abolished. The [[Napoleonic code]] was enacted, doing away with [[guild]]s 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 (Elbe, Saale, Weser, Fulda, Leine, Oker) and mountains (Harz), 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.<ref name=todorov2012>{{cite book |last=Todorov |first=N. P. |chapter=The Napoleonic Administrative System in the Kingdom of Westphalia |title=The Napoleonic Empire and the New European Political Culture |editor1-last=Broers |editor1-first=Michael |editor2-last=Hicks |editor2-first=Peter |editor3-last=Guimera |editor3-first=Agustin |page=175 |date=2012 |publisher=Palgrave Macmillan |isbn=978-0-230-24131-2}}</ref>

While administrative divisions (departments, districts and cantons) were certainly less unequal than the previous territorial divisions, uniformity does not appear to have been a determining factor in their creation. The desire to break from the past, and not just from the random territorial divisions of the former manorial justices, especially influenced the cantonal distribution.<ref name=todorov2012 /> Just as before the conquest, freedom of expression remained curtailed and [[censorship]] was instituted. In December 1810 the coastal and northern départements ''North'' (capital: [[Stade]]) and ''Lower Elbe'' (capital: [[Lüneburg|Lunenburg]]) were ceded to the French Empire.

==Jews==
Following the French example, Jewish congregations were reorganised and a [[Consistory (Judaism)|Consistory]] ({{Interlanguage link multi|Royal Westphalian Consistory of the Israelites|he|3=הקונסיסטוריה היהודית של וסטפליה}}) 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 a reforming influence upon the various congregations of the country. He opened a house of prayer in Cassel, with a ritual similar to that introduced in [[Seesen]]. Napoléon's infamous ''[[décret infâme]]'', again restricting the rights of many French Jews, did not apply in Westphalia.

==Russian conquest==
A significant burden on the kingdom was the requirement to supply troops and financial support for the [[Napoleonic wars]]. Large numbers of Westphalian troops fought in the [[Napoleon's invasion of Russia|Russian campaign of 1812]]; the Westphalian Guards heroically but unsuccessfully charged the Raevski Redoubt during the [[Battle of Borodino]].

In September 1813, [[Imperial Russian Army|Russian troops]] surrounded Cassel, defeated the French completely, and took the city. By October 1 they had conquered the whole kingdom, but three days later Jérôme returned with French soldiers and managed to recapture Cassel. The [[prince-elector|Elector]] of [[Electorate of Hesse|Hesse-Kassel]] arrived soon after and the Russians besieged the city again. After France lost the [[Battle of Leipzig]] on 19 October 1813, the Russians dissolved the kingdom and restored the status quo of 1806 except for [[County of Rietberg|Rietberg]] and [[Stolberg-Wernigerode]], which went to Prussia.

==Coat of arms==
[[File:Grandes Armes Jérôme Bonaparte (1784-1860).svg|left|100px]]
The arms reflect the incorporated territories. The first quarter shows the silver horse of [[Westphalia]]; the second the lion of [[Hesse]] over the counties of [[Diez (Verbandsgemeinde)|Dietz]], [[Nidda, Hesse|Nidda]], [[Ziegenhain]] and [[County of Katzenelnbogen|Katzenelnbogen]]; the third was newly designed for non-specified territories around [[Magdeburg]]; and the fourth combined [[Braunschweig|Brunswick]], [[Diepholz]], [[Lüneburg-Celle|Lüneburg]] and [[Lauterburg]]. Around the shield are the [[Order of the Crown of Westphalia]] and the French ''Grand Aigle'' of the [[Légion d'honneur]]. Above is Napoleon's star. Typical of Napoleonic heraldry are the crossed sceptres.
{{clear}}

==See also==
*[[Duchy of Westphalia]]
*[[Province of Westphalia]]
*[[Karl Keller]], prominent court musician of the Kingdom of Westphalia

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
{{commons category}}
*[http://www.zum.de/whkmla/region/germany/kgdwestph.html KMLA (in English)]
*[http://www.lwl.org/westfaelische-geschichte/portal/Internet/ku.php?tab=pro&ID=38 Corpus juris of the Kingdom of Westphalia (constitution etc.)]

{{Client states of the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars|state=collapsed}}
{{States of the Confederation of the Rhine}}

{{Coord|51|18|36|N|09|30|00|E|region:DE-NW|display=title}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Westphalia, Kingdom of}}
[[Category:1807 establishments in Europe]]
[[Category:1813 disestablishments in Europe]]
[[Category:1800s in Germany]]
[[Category:1810s in Germany]]
[[Category:States of the Confederation of the Rhine]]
[[Category:Former states and territories of Saxony-Anhalt]]
[[Category:Former states and territories of Lower Saxony]]
[[Category:Former states and territories of Hesse]]
[[Category:Former states and territories of North Rhine-Westphalia]]
[[Category:Client states of the Napoleonic Wars]]
[[Category:States and territories established in 1807]]
[[Category:States and territories disestablished in 1813]]
[[Category:Former monarchies of Europe]]

Latest revision as of 09:34, 3 September 2024

Kingdom of Westphalian
Royaume de Ouestphalie (French)
Königreich Westphalen (German)
1807–1813
Flag of Westphalia
Flag
Coat of arms of Westphalia
Coat of arms
Motto: Character und Aufrichtigkeit
(German for 'Character and Honesty')
The Kingdom of Westphalia in 1812
The Kingdom of Westphalia in 1812
StatusClient state of the French Empire
CapitalKassel
Recognised regional languagesLow German
Common languages
Religion
RegierungConstitutional monarchy
King 
• 1807–1813
Jérôme Bonaparte
Prime minister 
• 1807–1813
Joseph Jérôme, Comte Siméon
LegislatureImperial Estate
Historical eraNapoleonic Wars
7 July 1807
7 December 1807
19 October 1813
Area
180937,883 km2 (14,627 sq mi)
181063,652 km2 (24,576 sq mi)
181245,427 km2 (17,539 sq mi)
Population
• 1809
1,950,724
• 1810
2,600,000
• 1812
2,065,970
CurrencyWestphalian frank
Preceded by		 Succeeded by
Electorate of Hanover
Electorate of Hesse
Principality of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel
Kingdom of Hanover
Electorate of Hesse
Kingdom of Prussia
Principality of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel
Today part ofDeutschland

The Kingdom of Westphalia was a client state of France in present-day Germany that existed from 1807 to 1813. While formally independent, it was ruled by Napoleon's brother Jérôme Bonaparte. It was named after Westphalia, but this was a misnomer since the kingdom had little territory in common with that area. The region mostly covered territory formerly known as Eastphalia.

Napoleon imposed the first written modern constitution in Germany, a French-style central administration, and agricultural reform. The kingdom liberated the serfs and gave everyone equal rights and the right to a jury trial. In 1808 the kingdom passed Germany's first laws granting Jews equal rights, thereby providing a model for reform in the other German states. Westphalia seemed to be progressive in immediately enacting and enforcing the new reforms.

The country was relatively poor but Napoleon demanded heavy taxes and payments and conscripted soldiers. Few of the men who marched into Russia with Napoleon in 1812 returned. The kingdom was bankrupt by 1812. When Napoleon was retreating in the face of Allied advances in 1813, the kingdom was overrun by the Allies and (in 1815) most of its territories became Prussian. Most of the reforms, however, remained in place.[1]

Formation

[edit]
Location of the Kingdom of Westphalia within the Confederation of the Rhine in 1808

The Kingdom of Westphalia was created by Napoleon in 1807 by merging territories ceded by the Kingdom of Prussia in the Peace of Tilsit, among them the region of the Duchy of Magdeburg west of the Elbe river, the Brunswick-Lüneburg territories of Hanover and Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel, and the Electorate of Hesse. Hesse's capital Cassel (modern spelling Kassel) then fulfilled the same function for Westphalia, and the king kept the court at the palace of Wilhelmshöhe, renamed Napoleonshöhe. The state was a member of the Confederation of the Rhine.

Since it was intended as a Napoleonic "model state", a constitution was promulgated on 15 November and enacted by King Jérôme on 7 December 1807, the day after he had arrived in Cassel, making Westphalia the first monarchy in Germany with a modern-style constitution. The constitution made all male residents citizens with equal rights. Thus serfs were liberated, Jews emancipated, and socage 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 (Elbe, Saale, Weser, Fulda, Leine, Oker) and mountains (Harz), 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.[2]

While administrative divisions (departments, districts and cantons) were certainly less unequal than the previous territorial divisions, uniformity does not appear to have been a determining factor in their creation. The desire to break from the past, and not just from the random territorial divisions of the former manorial justices, especially influenced the cantonal distribution.[2] Just as before the conquest, freedom of expression remained curtailed and censorship was instituted. In December 1810 the coastal and northern départements North (capital: Stade) and Lower Elbe (capital: Lunenburg) were ceded to the French Empire.

Jews

[edit]

Following the French example, Jewish congregations were reorganised and a Consistory (Royal Westphalian Consistory of the Israelites [he]) 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 a reforming influence upon the various congregations of the country. He opened a house of prayer in Cassel, with a ritual similar to that introduced in Seesen. Napoléon's infamous décret infâme, again restricting the rights of many French Jews, did not apply in Westphalia.

Russian conquest

[edit]

A significant burden on the kingdom was the requirement to supply troops and financial support for the Napoleonic wars. Large numbers of Westphalian troops fought in the Russian campaign of 1812; the Westphalian Guards heroically but unsuccessfully charged the Raevski Redoubt during the Battle of Borodino.

In September 1813, Russian troops surrounded Cassel, defeated the French completely, and took the city. By October 1 they had conquered the whole kingdom, but three days later Jérôme returned with French soldiers and managed to recapture Cassel. The Elector of Hesse-Kassel arrived soon after and the Russians besieged the city again. After France lost the Battle of Leipzig on 19 October 1813, the Russians dissolved the kingdom and restored the status quo of 1806 except for Rietberg and Stolberg-Wernigerode, which went to Prussia.

Coat of arms

[edit]

The arms reflect the incorporated territories. The first quarter shows the silver horse of Westphalia; the second the lion of Hesse over the counties of Dietz, Nidda, Ziegenhain and Katzenelnbogen; the third was newly designed for non-specified territories around Magdeburg; and the fourth combined Brunswick, Diepholz, Lüneburg and Lauterburg. Around the shield are the Order of the Crown of Westphalia and the French Grand Aigle of the Légion d'honneur. Above is Napoleon's star. Typical of Napoleonic heraldry are the crossed sceptres.

See also

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ Connelly, Owen (1966). Napoleon's satellite kingdoms. Free Press. ISBN 9780029066003.
  2. ^ a b Todorov, N. P. (2012). "The Napoleonic Administrative System in the Kingdom of Westphalia". In Broers, Michael; Hicks, Peter; Guimera, Agustin (eds.). The Napoleonic Empire and the New European Political Culture. Palgrave Macmillan. p. 175. ISBN 978-0-230-24131-2.
[edit]
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