HESSE-CASSEL

The Landgraviate of Hesse-Kassel (Landgrafschaft Hessen-Kassel in German) was a principality with allodial rights of the Holy Roman Empire that came into existence when the Landgraviate of Hesse was divided in 1568 upon the death of Landgrave Philip I of Hesse. His eldest son Wilhelm IV of Hesse inherited the northern half and the capital of Kassel. The other sons received the Landgraviate of Hesse-Marburg, the Landgraviate of Hesse-Rheinfels and the Landgraviate of Hesse-Darmstadt.

The House of Hesse was a dynasty which descended from proto-protestant and protestant luminaries. Both Philip I of Hesse, William V of Hesse as well as Maurice of Hesse married descendants of king George of Bohemia. From William VI onwards, mothers of the heads of Hessen-Kassel were always descended from William the Silent, the leader of the Dutch to independence on basis of Calvinism.

The Landgraviate of Hesse-Kassel expanded in 1604 when Landgrave Maurice of Hesse-Kassel ((Moritz von Hessen-Kassel)) inherited the Landgraviate of Hesse-Marburg from his childless uncle, Louis IV of Hesse-Marburg (1537-1604). During the Thirty Years' War, Calvinist Hesse-Kassel proved Sweden's most loyal German ally. Landgrave William V and, after his death in 1637, his widow Amelia of Hanau, a granddaughter of William the Silent, as regent supported the Protestant cause and the French and Swedes throughout the war and maintained an army, garrisoning many strongpoints, even while Hesse-Kassel itself was occupied by Imperial troops. William VI followed William V. William VII succeeded William VI. Under Frederick I of Sweden the Landgraviate of Hesse-Kassel was in personal union with Sweden from 1730 to 1751.

Although it was a fairly widespread practice at the time to rent out troops to other princes, it was the Landgraves of Hesse-Kassel who became infamous for hiring out contingents of their army as mercenaries during the 17th and 18th centuries. Frederick II, notably, hired out his troops, the Hessians, to his nephew George III of the United Kingdom who used them to suppress the rebellion of the American colonies during the American Revolution, while Frederick used the revenue to finance his opulent lifestyle. One of these regiments that saw service in America was the Musketeer Regiment Prinz Carl.

During the 17th century the landgraviate was internally split up into landgraviates for dynastical purposes, without allodial rights:

* Landgraviate of Hesse-Rotenburg (1627–1834)
* Landgraviate of Hesse-Wanfried-(Rheinfels) (1649–1755)
* Landgraviate of Hesse-Philippsthal
* Landgraviate of Hesse-Philippsthal-Barchfeld

These were reunited with the Landgraviate of Hesse-Kassel when the particular branch died out without issue.

Following the reorganization of the German states during the Reichsdeputationshauptschluss (Principal Decree of the Imperial Deputation) of 1803, the landgraviate of Hesse-Kassel was raised to the Electorate of Hesse (Kurfürstentum Hessen) and landgrave Wilhelm IX of Hesse-Kassel was elevated to Imperial Elector (Kurfürst), taking the title Wilhelm I, Elector of Hesse. The principality thus became known as Kurhessen, although still usually referred to as Hesse-Kassel.

In 1806, Wilhelm I was dispossessed by Napoleon I of France for his support of Prussia, and Kassel became the capital of a new Kingdom of Westphalia under Napoleon's brother Jérôme Bonaparte as king. The Elector was restored following Napoleon's defeat in 1813, and although the Holy Roman Empire was now defunct, Wilhelm retained his title of Elector, as it gave him pre-eminence over his cousin, the Grand Duke of Hesse. From 1813 onwards, the Electorate of Hesse was for a short time an independant country. Wilhelm's grandson, Elector Friedrich Wilhelm, sided with Austria in the Austro-Prussian War, and after the Prussian victory his lands were annexed by Prussia, which combined it with the Duchy of Nassau and Free City of Frankfurt, both also annexed, into the new Province of Hesse-Nassau of the Kingdom of Prussia.

Key identification notes: The striped lion of Hesse are its coins' most obvious identifier. To determine Hesse-Cassel from Darmstadt and other lines, it is necessary to examine the monograms and ruler's titles.

Thalers

1/6 Thaler

1/24 Thaler

2 Albus

1 Albus

2½ Silber Groschen

1 Silber Groschen

½ Silber Groschen

4 Heller

3 Heller

2 Heller

1 Heller

1/4 Heller

Various coins not to scale with others