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HANOVER (Ger. Hannover)
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See also:HANOVER (Ger. Hannover) , formerly an See also:independent See also:kingdom of See also:Germany, but since 1866 a See also:province of See also:Prussia. It is bounded on the N. by the See also:North See also:Sea, See also:Holstein, See also:Hamburg and See also:Mecklenburg-See also:Schwerin, E. and S.E. by Prussian See also:Saxony and the duchy of See also:Brunswick, S.W. by the Prussian provinces of See also:Hesse-See also:Nassau and See also:Westphalia, and W. by See also: The eastern portion of the northern plain is covered with forests of fir. The whole of Hanover dips from the Harz Mountains to the north, and the See also:rivers consequently flow in that direction. The three See also:chief rivers of the province HANOVER 923 are the Elbe in the north-See also:east, where it mainly forms the boundary and receives the navigable tributaries Jeetze, See also:Ilmenau, Seve, See also:Este, Luhe, Schwinge and Medem; the See also:Weser in the centre, with its important tributary the Aller (navigable from See also:Celle downwards) ; and in the west the See also:Ems, with its tributaries the Aa and the See also:Leda. Still farther west is the Vecht, which, rising in Westphalia, flows to the Zuider Zee. Canals are numerous and connect the various See also:river systems. The See also:principal lakes are the Steinhuder See also:Meer, about 4 m. See also:long and 2 m. broad, and 20 fathoms deep, on the See also:borders of Schaumburg-See also:Lippe; the Dummersee, on the borders of Oldenburg, about 12 m. in See also:circuit; the lakes of Bederkesa and some others in the moorlands of the north; the Seeburger See, near See also:Duderstadt; and the Oderteich, in the Harz, 2100 ft. above the level of the sea. See also:Climate.—The climate in the low-lying districts near the See also:coast is moist and foggy, in the plains mild, on the Harz mountains severe and variable. In See also:spring the prevailing winds See also:blow from the N.E. and E., in summer from the S.W. The mean See also:annual temperature is about 46° Fahr.; in the See also:town of Hanover it is higher. The See also:average annual rainfall is about 23.5 in.; but this varies greatly in different districts. In the west the Herauch, a thick See also:fog arising from the burning of the See also:moors, is a See also:plague of frequent occurrence. See also:Population; Divisions.—The province contains an area of 14,869 sq. m., and the See also:total population, according to the See also:census of 1905, was 2,759,699 (1,384,161 See also:males and 1,375,538 See also:females). In this connexion it is noticeable that in Hanover, almost alone among See also:German states and provinces, there is a considerable proportion of male births over See also:female. The See also:density of the population is 175 to the sq. m. (See also:English), and the proportion of See also:urban to rural population, roughly, as I to 3 of the inhabitants. The province is divided into the six Regierungsbezirke (or departments) of Hanover, See also:Hildesheim, See also:Luneburg, See also:Stade, See also:Osnabruck and See also:Aurich, and these again into Kreise (circles, or See also:local See also:government districts)—76 in all. The chief towns—containing more than 10,000 inhabitants—are Hanover, See also:Linden, Osnabruck, Hildesheim, Geestemunde, Wilhelmshaven, Harburg, Luneburg, Celle, See also:Gottingen and See also:Emden. Religious See also:statistics show that 84% of the inhabitants belong to the Evangelical-Lutheran See also: See also:Agriculture.—Though agriculture constitutes the most important See also:branch of See also:industry in the province, it is still in a very backward state. The greater part of the See also:soil is of inferior quality, and much that is susceptible of cultivation is still lying See also:waste. Of the entire area of the See also:country 28.6 % is arable, 16.2 in meadow or pasture See also:land, 14% in forests, 37.2 % in uncultivated moors, heaths, &c.; from 17 to 18 % is in See also:possession of the state. The best agriculture is to be found in the districts of Hildesheim, See also:Calenberg, Gottingen and Grubenhagen, on the banks of the Weser and Elbe, and in East See also:Friesland. See also:Rye is generally grown for See also:bread. See also:Flax, for which much of the soil is admirably adapted, is extensively cultivated, and forms an important See also:article of export, chiefly, however, in the See also:form of See also:yarn. Potatoes, See also:hemp, turnips, hops, See also:tobacco and See also:beet are also extensively grown, the latter, in connexion with the See also:sugar industry, showing each See also:year a larger return. Apples, See also:pears, plums and cherries are the principal kinds of See also:fruit cultivated, while the See also:wild red cranberries from the Harz and the See also:black bilberries from the Luneburger Heide form an important article of export. Live Stock.—Hanover is renowned for its See also:cattle and live stock generally. Of these there were counted in 1900 1,115,022 See also:head of horned cattle, 824,000 See also:sheep, 1,556,000 pigs, and 230,000 goats. The Luneburger Heide yields an excellent breed of sheep, the Heidschnucken, which equal the Southdowns of See also:England in delicacy of flavour. Horses famous for their See also:size and quality are reared in the marshes of Aurich and Stade, in Hildesheim and Hanover; and, for breeding purposes, in the See also:stud See also:farm of Celle. Bees are principally kept on the Liineburger Heide, and the annual yield of See also:honey is very considerable. Large flocks of geese are kept in the moist lowlands; their flesh is salted for domestic See also:consumption during the See also:winter, and their feathers are prepared for See also:sale. The rivers yield See also:trout, See also:salmon (in the Weser) and See also:crayfish. The sea See also:fisheries are important and have their chief centre at Geestemunde. Mining.—Minerals occur in great variety and abundance. The Harz Mountains are rich in See also:silver, See also:lead, See also:iron and See also:copper; See also:coal is found around Osnabruck, on the See also:Deister, at Osterwald, &c., See also:lignite in various places; See also:salt-springs of great richness exist at Egestorfshall 924 and Neuhall near Hanover, and at Luneburg; and See also:petroleum may be obtained south of Celle. In the See also:cold regions of the northern low-lands See also:peat occurs in beds of immense thickness. Manufactures.—See also:Works for the manufacture of iron, copper, silver, lead, See also:vitriol and See also:sulphur are carried on to a large extent. The iron works are very important: smelting is carried on in the Harz and near Osnabrck; there are extensive foundries and See also:machine factories at Hanover, Linden, Osnabruck, See also:Hameln, Geestemunde, Harburg, See also:Osterode, &c., and manufactories of arms at See also:Herzberg, and of See also:cutlery in the towns of the Harz and in the Sollinger See also:Forest. The textile See also:industries are prosecuted chiefly in the towns. See also:Linen yarn and See also:cloth are largely manufactured, especially in the south about Osnabruck and Hildesheim, and See also:bleaching is engaged in extensively ; woollen cloths are made to a considerable extent in the south about See also:Einbeck, Gottingen and Hameln; See also:cotton-See also:spinning and See also:weaving have their principal seats at Hanover and Linden. See also:Glass houses, See also:paper-See also:mills, See also:potteries, See also:tile works and tobacco-See also:pipe works are numerous. See also:Wax is bleached to a considerable extent, and there are numerous tobacco factories, tanneries, breweries, See also:vinegar works and See also:brandy distilleries. See also:Shipbuilding is an important industry, especially at Wilhelmshaven, See also:Papenburg, See also:Leer, Stade and Harburg; and at Miinden river-See also:barges are built.
See also:Commerce.—Although the carrying See also:trade of Hanover is to a great extent absorbed by Hamburg and Bremen, the See also:shipping of the province counted, in 1903, 750 sailing vessels and 86 steamers of, together, 55,498 registered tons. The natural See also:port is Bremen-Geestemunde and to it is directed the river See also:traffic down the Weser, which practically forms the chief commercial artery of the province.
Communications.—The roads throughout are, on the whole, well laid, and those connecting the principal towns macadamized. Hanover is intersected by important See also:trunk lines of railway; notably the lines from See also:Berlin to See also:Cologne, from Hamburg to See also:Frankfort-on-Main, from Hamburg to Bremen and Cologne, and from Berlin to See also:Amsterdam.
See also:History.—The name Hanover (Hohenufer = high See also:bank), originally confined to the town which became the See also:capital of the duchy of Luneburg-Calenberg, came gradually into use to designate, first, the duchy itself, and secondly, the electorate of Brunswick-Luneburg; and it was officially recognized as the name of the, state when in 1814 the electorate was raised to the See also:rank of a kingdom.
The See also:early history of Hanover is merged in that of the duchy of Brunswick (q.v.), from which the duchy of Brunswick-Luneburg and its offshoots, the duchies of Luneburg-Celle and Luneburg-Calenberg have sprung. Ernest I. (1497-1546), See also:duke of Brunswick-Luneburg, who introduced the reformed doctrines into Luneburg, obtained the whole of this duchy in 1539; and in 1569 his two surviving sons made an arrangement which was afterwards responsible for the See also:birth of the kingdom of Hanover. By this agreement the greater part of the duchy, with its capital at Celle, came to See also: 1636) and See also:Frederick (d. 1648). - In addition to these four princes Duke William See also:left three other sons, and in 1610 the seven brothers entered into a compact that the duchy should not be divided, and that only one of them should marry and continue the See also:family. Casting lots to determine this question, the See also:lot See also:fell upon the See also:sixth See also:brother, See also:George (1582-1641), who was a prominent soldier during the See also:period of the See also:Thirty Years' See also:War and saw service in almost all parts of See also:Europe, fighting successively for Christian IV. of Den-See also:mark, the See also:emperor See also: Having introduced the principle of See also:primogeniture into Calenberg in 1682, Ernest determined to secure for himself the position of an elector, and the See also:condition of Europe and the exigencies of the emperor favoured his pre-tensions. He made skilful use of Leopold's difficulties; and in 1692, in return for lavish promises of assistance to the See also:Empire and the Habsburgs, the emperor granted him the rank and See also:title of elector of Brunswick-Luneburg with the See also:office of See also:standard-See also:bearer in the See also:Holy Roman Empire. Indignant protests followed this proceeding. A See also:league was formed to prevent any addition to the electoral college; France and See also:Sweden were called upon for assistance; and the constitution of the Empire was reduced to a state of See also:chaos. This agitation, however, soon died away; and in 1708 George Louis, the son and successor of Ernest Augustus, was recognized as an elector by the imperial diet. George Louis married his See also:cousin See also:Sophia Dorothea, the only See also:child of George William of Luneburg-Celle; and on his See also:uncle's death in 1705 he See also:united this duchy, together with Saxe-Lauenburg, with his paternal See also:inheritance of Calenberg or Hanover. His father, Ernest Augustus, had taken a step of great importance in the history of Hanover when he married Sophia, daughter of the elector See also:palatine, Frederick V., and grand-daughter of See also: Induced by See also:political exigencies George allied himself with Frederick the Great when the Seven Years' War See also:broke out in 1756; but in See also:September 1757 his son William Augustus, duke of See also:Cumberland, was compelled after his defeat at Hastenbeck to sign the convention of Klosterzeven and to abandon Hanover to the French. English See also:money, however, came to the See also:rescue; in 1758 Ferdinand, duke of Brunswick, cleared the electorate of the invader; and Hanover suffered no loss of territory at the peace of 1763. Both George I. and George II. preferred Hanover to England as a See also:place of See also:residence, and it was a frequent and perhaps justifiable cause of complaint that the interests of Great Britain were sacrificed to those of the smaller country. But George III. was more See also:British than either his grandfather or his great-grandfather, and owing to a variety of causes the See also:foreign policies of the two countries began to diverge in the later years of his reign. Two Britain. These liberal arrangements, however, did not entirely allay the discontent. A strong and energetic party endeavoured to thwart the working of the new See also:order, and matters came to a See also:climax on the death of William IV. in 1837. By the law of Hanover a woman could not ascend the See also:throne, and accordingly Ernest Augustus, duke of Cumberland, the fifth son of George III., and not See also:Victoria, succeeded William as sovereign in 1837, thus separating the crowns of Great Britain and Hanover after a union of 123 years. Ernest, a prince with very autocratic ideas, had disapproved of the constitution of 1833, and his first important act as king was to declare it invalid. He appears to have been especially chagrined because the See also:crown lands were not his personal See also:property, but the whole of the new arrangements were repugnant to him. Seven Gottingen professors who protested against this proceeding were deprived of their chairs; and some of them, including F. C. See also:Dahlmann and See also:Jakob See also:Grimm, were banished from the country for See also:publishing their protest. To See also:save the constitution an appeal was made to the German See also:Confederation, which Hanover had joined in 1815; but the federal diet declined to interfere, and in 184o Ernest altered the constitution to suit his own illiberal views. Recovering the crown lands, he abolished the principle of ministerial responsibility, the legislative See also:power of the two See also:chambers, and other reforms, virtually restoring affairs to their condition before 1833. The inevitable crisis was delayed until the stormy year 1848, when the king probably saved his crown by hastily giving back the constitution of 1833. Order, however, having been restored, in 185o he dismissed the Liberal See also:ministry and attempted to evade his concessions; a See also:bitter struggle had just broken out when Ernest Augustus died in November 1851. During this reign the foreign policy of Hanover both within and without Germany had been coloured by See also:jealousy of Prussia and by the king's autocratic ideas. Refusing to join the Prussian See also:Zollverein, Hanover had become a member of the See also:rival commercial union, the Steuerverein, three years before Ernest's See also:accession; but as this union was not a great success the Zollverein was joined in 1851. In 1849, after the failure of the German parliament at Frankfort, the king had joined with the sovereigns of Prussia and Saxony to form the " three See also:kings' alliance "; but this union with Prussia was unreal, and with the king of Saxony he soon transferred his support to See also:Austria and became` a member of the " four kings' alliance." George V., the new king of Hanover, who was unfortunately See also:blind, sharing his father's political ideas, at once appointed a ministry whose aim was to sweep away the constitution of 1848. This project, however, was resisted by the second chamber of the Landlag, or parliament; and after several changes of government a new ministry advised the king in 1855 to appeal to the diet of the German Confederation. This was done, and the diet declared the constitution of 1848 to be invalid. Acting on this See also:verdict, not only was a ministry formed to restore the constitution of 184o, but after some trouble a See also:body of members fully in sympathy with this See also:object was returned to parliament in •1857. But these members were so far from representing the opinions of the See also:people that popular resentment compelled George to dismiss his advisers in 1862. But the more liberal government which succeeded did not enjoy his See also:complete confidence, and in 1865 a ministry was once more formed which was more in See also:accord with his own ideas. This contest soon lost both See also:interest and importance owing to the condition of affairs in Germany. See also:Bismarck, the director of the policy of Prussia, was devising methods for the realization of his schemes, and it became clear after the war over the duchies of See also:Schleswig and Holstein that the smaller German states would soon be obliged to decide definitely between Austria and Prussia. After a period of vacillation Hanover threw in her lot with Austria, the decisive step being taken when the question of the mobilization of the federal army was voted upon in the diet on the 14th of See also:June ' 1866. At once Prussia requested Hanover to remain unarmed and neutral during the war, and with equal promptness King George refused to assent to these demands. Prussian troops then crossed his frontier and took possession of his capital. main considerations dominated the fortunes of Hanover during the period of the See also:Napoleonic wars, the jealousy See also:felt by Prussia at the increasing strength and prestige of the electorate, and its position as a vulnerable outpost of Great Britain. From 1793 the Hanoverian troops fought for the See also:Allies against France, until the treaty of See also:Basel between France and Prussia in 1795 imposed a forced See also:neutrality upon Hanover. At the instigation of See also:Bonaparte Hanover was occupied by the Prussians for a few months in 18o1, but at the settlement which followed the peace of See also:Luneville the secularized bishopric of Osnabruck was added to the electorate. Again tempting the See also:fortune of war after the rupture of the peace of See also:Amiens, the Hanoverians found that the odds against them were too great; and in June 1803 by the convention of Sulingen their territory was occupied by the French. The formation of the third See also:coalition against France in 18o5 induced See also:Napoleon to See also:purchase the support of Prussia by allowing her, troops to seize Hanover; but in 1807, after the defeat of Prussia at See also:Jena, he incorporated the southern part of the electorate in the kingdom of Westphalia, adding the northern portion to France in 181o. The French occupation was costly and aggressive; and the Hanoverians, many of whom were found in the allied armies, welcomed the fall of Napoleon and the return of the old order. Represented at the See also:congress of See also:Vienna by Ernest, See also:Count Munster, the elector,was granted the title of king; but the British ministers wished to keep the interests of Great Britain distinct from those of Hanover. The result of the congress, however, was not unfavourable to the new kingdom, which received East Friesland, the secularized bishopric of Hildesheim, the city of See also:Goslar, and some smaller additions of territory, in return for the surrender of the greater part of the duchy of Saxe-Lauenburg to Prussia. Like those of the other districts of Germany, the estates of the different provinces which formed the kingdom of Hanover had met for many years in an irregular fashion to exercise their varying and See also:ill-defined authority; and, although the elector Ernest Augustus introduced a See also:system of administrative See also:councils into Celle, these estates, consisting of the three orders of prelates, nobles and towns, together with a body somewhat resembling the English privy See also:council, were the only constitution which the country possessed, and the only check upon the power of its ruler. When the elector George Louis became king of Great Britain in 1714 he appointed a representative, or statthalter, to govern the electorate, and thus the union of the two countries was attended with constitutional changes in Hanover as well as in Great Britain. Responsible of course to the elector, the Statthalter, aided by the privy council, conducted the See also:internal affairs of the electorate, generally in a peaceful and satisfactory fashion, until the welter of the Napoleonic wars. On the conclusion of peace in 1814 the estates of the several provinces of the kingdom were fused into one body, consisting of eighty-five members, but the chief power was exercised as before by the members of a few See also:noble families. In 1819, however, this feudal relic was supplanted by a new constitution. Two chambers were established, the one formed of nobles and the other of elected representatives; but although they were authorized to See also:control the finances, their power with regard to legislation was very circumscribed. This constitution was sanctioned by the prince See also:regent, afterwards King George IV.; but it was out of See also:harmony with the new and liberal ideas which prevailed in Europe, and it hardly survived George's decease in 1830. The revolution of that year compelled George's brother and successor, William, to dismiss Count Munster, who had been the actual ruler of the country, and to name his own brother, Adolphus Frederick, duke of See also:Cambridge, a See also:viceroy of Hanover; one of the viceroy's earliest duties being to appoint a See also:commission to draw up a new constitution. This was done, and after William had insisted upon certain alterations, it was accepted and promulgated in 1833. See also:Representation was granted to the peasants; the two chambers were empowered to initiate legislation; ministers were made responsible for all acts of government; a See also:civil See also:list was given to the king in return for the surrender of the crown lands; and, in See also:short, the new constitution was similar to that of Great The Hanoverians, however, were victorious at the See also:battle of See also:Langensalza on the 27th of June 1866, but the advance of fresh bodies of the enemy compelled them to capitulate two days later. By the terms of this surrender the king was not to reside in Hanover, his See also:officers were to take no further part in the war, and his See also:ammunition and stores became the property of Prussia. The See also:decree of the 20th of September 1866 formally annexed Hanover to Prussia, when it became a province of that kingdom, while King George from his See also:retreat at Hietzing appealed in vain to the See also:powers of Europe. Many of the Hanoverians remained loyal to their sovereign; some of them serving in the See also:Guelph See also:Legion, which was maintained largely at his expense in France, where a paper, La Situation, was founded by Oskar Meding (1829-1903) and conducted in his interests. These and other elaborate efforts, however, failed to bring about the return of the king to Hanover, though the Guelph party continued to agitate and to See also:hope even after the Franco-German War had immensely increased the power and the prestige of Prussia. George died in June 1878. His son, Ernest Augustus, duke of Cumberland, continued to maintain his claim to the crown of Hanover, and refused to be reconciled with Prussia. Owing to this attitude the German imperial government refused to allow him to take possession of the duchy of Brunswick, which he inherited on the extinction of the See also:elder branch of his familyin 1884, and again in 1906 when the same subject came up for settlement on the death of the regent, Prince See also:Albert of Prussia. In 1867 King George had agreed to accept Prussian bonds to the value of about 1,600,000 as See also:compensation for the See also:confiscation of his estates in Hanover. In 1868, however, on See also:account of his continued hostility to Prussia, the Prussian government sequestrated this property; and, known as the Welfenfonds, or Reptilienfonds, it was employed as a See also:secret service fund to combat the intrigues of the Guelphs in various parts of Europe; until in 1892 it was arranged that the interest should be paid to the duke of Cumberland. In 1885 See also:measures were taken to incorporate the province of Hanover more thoroughly in the kingdom of Prussia, and there is little doubt but that the great See also:majority of the Hanoverians have submitted to the inevitable, and are loyal subjects of the king of Prussia. Additional information and CommentsThere are no comments yet for this article.
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