Gourt Home::Gourt :: Kingdom of Westphalia
The Kingdom of Westphalia was a historical state that existed from 1807-1813 in parts of present-day Germany. While formally independent, it was a vassal state of France, ruled by Napoleon's brother Jérôme Bonaparte. It was named after Westphalia, but had little territory in common with that area.
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, with the Duchy of Brunswick-Lüneburg and the Electorate of Hesse. It included the city of Magdeburg. Its capital was Cassel, and the King kept court at the palace of Wilhelmshöhe, re-named Napoleonshöhe. The state was a member of the Confederation of the Rhine.
Intended as a Napoleonic "model state", a constitution was written and a number of social reforms were implemented in the kingdom, including the abolition of servitude, the right of free enterprise, and the Napoleonic code. A metric system of weights and measures was introduced. The right to free expression was curtailed and censorship instituted.
A significant burden on the kingdom was the requirement to supply troops and financial support for the Napoleonic wars. Large numbers of Westphalian troops perished in the Russian campaign of 1812; the Westphalian Guards heroically but unsuccessfully charged the Raevski Redoubt during the Battle of Borodino.
After France lost the Battle of Leipzig in 1813, the kingdom was dissolved and its predecessor states were reestablished.
External links
Former monarchies | History of Germany | States of the Confederation of the Rhine | Client states of the Great French War | 1807 establishments | 1813 disestablishments
"Kingdom of Westphalia"