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Kingdom of Westphalia

Coordinates: 51°18′36″N 09°30′00″E / 51.31000°N 9.50000°E / 51.31000; 9.50000
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Kingdom of Westphalia
Royaume de Ouestphalie (French)
Königreich Westphalen (German)
1807–1813
Flag of Westphalia
Flag
Coat of arms of Westphalia
Coat of arms
The Kingdom of Westphalia in 1812
The Kingdom of Westphalia in 1812
StatusClient state of the French Empire
CapitalCassel
Recognised regional languagesLow German
Common languages
Religion
GovernmentConstitutional monarchy
King 
• 1807–1813
Jérôme Bonaparte
Prime Minister 
• 1807–1813
Joseph Jérôme Siméon
LegislatureImperial Estate
Historical eraNapoleonic era
7 July 1807
7 December 1807
• Prussian occupation
26 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 ofGermany

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

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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

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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.

Downfall

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A significant burden on the kingdom was the requirement to supply troops and financial support for the Napoleonic Wars. A Westphalian contingent took part in the Russian campaign of 1812. King Jérôme, reprimended by Napoleon for his poor performance at the Battle of Smolensk, abandoned his command and returned to Wesphalia. By the end of the campaign, his troops had been practically decimated: out of the initial 25,000 soldiers and 800 officers of the Kingdom of Westphalia, only 600 and 18 returned, with 600 others defecting to Russia.[3] In Janury 1813, revolts against conscription broke out in Düsseldorf and Hanau.[3] Nevertheless, Jérôme managed to raise 27,000 men for the German campaign of 1813, one of the highest mobilisation rates in Europe, and the Westphalian troops fought steadfastly on the French side until the end of the campaign.[4]

In September 1813, Russian general Alexander Chernyshyov led a raid on Cassel with 1,200 to 2,300 regular cavalrymen and Cossacks, along with four to six artillery pieces. He captured the city by surprise on the night of 28 to 29 September, causing Jérôme and his staff to flee; however, Chernyshyov, lacking the infantry to hold Cassel, evacuated the city with prisoners and loot. The French retook Cassel on 7 October.[5] Prussian troops occupied Westphalia on 26 October, following the French defeat at the Battle of Leipzig on 19 October.[5] The kingdom was then dissolved and the status quo of 1806 was restored, except for the counties of Rietberg and Stolberg-Wernigerode, which were annexed by Prussia.

Coat of arms

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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

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References

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  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.
  3. ^ a b Tulard, Jean (1989). L'Europe de Napoléon. Horvath. pp. 473–485.
  4. ^ Riley, J. P. (2013). Napoleon and the World War of 1813. Taylor & Francis. ISBN 9781136321429.
  5. ^ a b Weil, Maurice-Henri (1886). Campagne de 1813 - La cavalerie des armées alliées (in French). Paris: L. Baudouin. ISBN 1-390-84510-9.
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51°18′36″N 09°30′00″E / 51.31000°N 9.50000°E / 51.31000; 9.50000

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