Great Britain and Hanover

Susano

Banned
How about an act of union between the United Kingdom and the Kingdom of Hannover in the 1820s (after the destruction of the HRE)?

Britain at this point keeps a strategic territory for the Empire

Hannover wasnt part of the Empire! It was in personal union with the UK. And that is a real distinction: It means Parliament had no influence whatsoever on Hannover. And that is why there would be no Act of Union: The King would never hand over his personal fief on a silver plate to Parliament, and Parliament OTOH doesnt want an UK territory on the mainland.

Of course, the personal union continuing is possible.

AndreHannover said:
Carrying this idea on, is it possible that the slightly French-leaning southern German states
Err, no. Maybe Bavaria very, very vaguely, but thats about it.

Simon said:
If you want an even easier option with much fewer butterflies simply change the laws of inheritance. IIRC back when William IV was King he signed a new constitution for Hanover moving it slowly towards a slightly more democratic setup, however after Ernest Augustus I came to the throne he threw his toys out the pram about not being consulted on it and had it revoked. As part of the reorganisation simply have William decide "Bugger all this Salic law nonsense, if my daughter is good enough to be Queen of one of the most powerful states in the world then she's good enough to be Queen of Hanover" and have it changed to male-preference primogeniture.
Hannoverian constitutions where signed under popular pressure and taken back when popular pressure decreased again. If everything else fails, invite Prussian soldiers in to restore order, thats how things went about after 1848, after all. I could even imagine that the King would rather trust Prussian than British soldiers in Hannover, so as to not give Parliament a handle...

As for changing the inheritance laws, this could create some bad relations with the German states, though its not the 18th century, so its possible. I dont think the GC constitution set anything about allowable succession laws, either, so,y es, its possible. Of course, most likely it would be a pain both in domestic politics (both in Hannover and the UK) and in foreign politics.

Now, if the personal union continues, then most likely under the old arrangment, giving the King or Queen absolute power in Hannover (and Victoria was of a personality that she would have quite liked that, I think). Thus, 1848 will most likely happen close enough to OTL, including as said Prussian soldiers in Hannover. Maybe Hannover supports the german Union attempt by Prussia as IOTL, but that wont change anything about Austro-Russian pressure against it, so it will also be disbanded as IOTL.

What comes next is the Prussian-Austrian enemyship, either under Austria or not. Since its the King and Monarch ruling in Hannover, Hannover might join either side without regards to British foreign politics stances of the time. Im not quite sure why IOTL hannover joined the cause of the German Confederation, one would have to look this up...
 
Hannover wasnt part of the Empire! It was in personal union with the UK. And that is a real distinction: It means Parliament had no influence whatsoever on Hannover. And that is why there would be no Act of Union: The King would never hand over his personal fief on a silver plate to Parliament, and Parliament OTOH doesnt want an UK territory on the mainland.

Of course, the personal union continuing is possible.

I my defence, when I wrote that almost a year ago I was comparitively new to the board and so had not yet grasped the nuances between various levels of British control to the degree I have now.
 

Susano

Banned
I my defence, when I wrote that almost a year ago I was comparitively new to the board and so had not yet grasped the nuances between various levels of British control to the degree I have now.

...damn. Who bumped the thread? I didnt even notice the time difference:eek:
 
...damn. Who bumped the thread? I didnt even notice the time difference:eek:

LOL, I didn't notice either - I thought it was a new thread with a few posts in it. Still, its made an interestiing discussion so is an instance of thread necromancy that seems to have been justified!

Best Regards
Grey Wolf
 
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