"A short history of the Grafschaft (County of) Hessen-Hanau" Topic

… 1760-1821.

"This is a story of family rows and intrigue that centres on three generations of the family that ruled Hesse-Kassel – William VIII, his son Frederick II and his grandson William IX. The history books don't go into their personal relationships but you can read between the lines

When the hereditary prince of Hesse-Cassel, Frederick (later to be Frederick II) , converted to Roman Catholicism in 1747, and, incidentally, abandonned his family, his father, the reigning landgrave William VIII decided to do what he could to limit his son's future realm. He therefore made the county of Hanau-Münzenberg, which had been part of Hesse-Cassel since 1736, a secundogeniture of Hesse-Cassel, transferring it to his grandson William. A secundogeniture (from Latin:secundus "following, second," and genitus"born") was a dependent territory given to a younger son of a princely house and his descendants, creating a cadet branch. This was a special form of inheritance in which the second and younger son received more possessions and prestige than he would have normally under the rules of primogeniture. It avoided the division of the estate and gave younger branches a stake in the stability of the house…"
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Amicalement
Armand

Very nice blog. I've bookmarked it for future reference.

Nice find, Armand.

Happy you like it my friend! (smile)

Amicalement
Armand