BRUNSWICK-LUNEBURG-CALENBURG-HANOVER
In
1692 the Holy Roman Emperor, Leopold I, elevated George of Brunswick-Lüneburg's
son, Duke Ernest Augustus to the rank of Elector of the Empire as a reward for
aid given in the War of the Grand Alliance. There were protests against the
addition of a new Elector, and the elevation did not become official (with the
approval of the Imperial Diet) until 1708, in the person of Ernest Augustus'
son, George Louis. Though the Elector's 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. The territory assigned
to the Electorate included the Brunswick-Lüneburg duchies of Calenberg,
Grubenhagen, and Celle (even though at the time Celle was ruled by Ernest Augustus'
older brother) and the counties of Diepholz and Hoya.
George Louis became king of Great Britain in 1714 (see House
of Hanover). The influence of the electors in Germany grew also: they inherited
the formerly Swedish territories of Bremen and Verden in 1719. As part of the
German Mediatisation of 1803, the Electorate received the Prince-Bishopric of
Osnabrück.
In 1803, the Electorate of Hanover was occupied by France.
From 1807 to 1813, the Hanoverian territority was part of the Kingdom of Westphalia.
However, the government of George III did not recognize the French annexation
(being at war continuously with France through the entire period) and Hanoverian
ministers continued to operate out of London. The Hanoverian government maintained
its own separate diplomatic service, which maintained links to countries such
as Austria and Prussia, with whom the United Kingdom itself was technically
at war. The Hanoverian army was dissolved, but many of the officers and soldiers
went to England, where they formed the King's German Legion . The KGL was the
only German army to fight during the whole Napoleonic wars against the French.
They played an important part in the Battle of Waterloo in 1815.
Although the Holy Roman Empire was dissolved in 1806, George
III's government did not consider the dissolution to be final, and he continued
to be styled "Elector of Hanover" down to 1814. In 1813, George III
was restored to his Hanoverian territories, and in October of 1814 they were
erected into the independent Kingdom of Hanover at the Congress of Vienna (see
Hanover for the coins of this period). The
Congress of Vienna instituted a territorial exchange between Hanover and Prussia,
in which Hanover increased its area substantially, gaining the Bishopric of
Hildesheim, East Frisia, the Lower County of Lingen and the northern part of
the Bishopric of Münster. It lost those parts of the Duchy of Lauenburg
to the right of the Elbe, and several small exclaves in the east.
The personal union with the United Kingdom ended in 1837 on
the accession of Queen Victoria because the succession laws (Salic Law) in Hanover
prevented a female inheriting the title if there was any surviving male heir
(in the United Kingdom, a male takes precedence over only his own sisters).
In the Austro-Prussian War of 1866, Hanover was annexed by Prussia and became
the Province of Hanover.
Key identification notes: The leaping horse is emblematic of all Brunswick
territories, Georg or George in the legend, or a 'G' monogram.
2 Mariengroschen
4 Pfennig
