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The Principality of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel (German: Braunschweig) was a historical state in Germany. Originally the territory of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel in the Holy Roman Empire, it was established as an independent duchy by the Congress of Vienna in 1815. Its capital was Braunschweig.
History[]
Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel traces its origins to the 13th century Duchy of Brunswick-Lüneburg. As was Frankish tradition, land gains were divided as inheritance rather than placed solely into a single heir. Consequently upon the death of Otto I in 1252, his land was jointly run by his sons Albert I and John, who formed separate principalities. Under Imperial law, the Duchy was permanent, with the principalities of Brunswick and Lüneburg being mere subdivisions of the state. Similarly, upon Albert's death in 1269 his sons Henry, Albert II and William would co-rule and later divide Brunswick between them, forming the principalities of Grubenhagen, Göttingen and Wolfenbüttel respectively. Wolfenbüttel would further be divided to form Calenberg in 1432.
Over the coming centuries these principalities remained under the House of Welf, inherited by a cousin in the event of an extinct line. Over the course of the Early Modern period these coalesced. Göttingen was claimed by Calenberg in 1495, while Grubenhagen was absorbed into Lüneburg in 1596. Lüneburg itself would be rendered extinct due to Prince George William dying without a male heir, and was absorbed into the Duchy in 1705. The merging of Lüneburg and Calenberg ensured the indisputability of control in the Duchy, vested in Prince George, the future king of Great Britain. Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel remained as a separate territory within Brunswick, though was under the overall control of the Elector of Hanover.
In 1735, the Wolfenbüttel line died out, and it was inherited by the closely related Brunswick-Bevern line, beginning with Ferdinand Albert II who had fought in the War of the Spanish Succession. Following his death shortly after inheriting the throne it fell to his son, Charles I who reigned from 1735 to his death in 1780. Because of this Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel was required to provide soldiers for the Seven Years' War and the American Revolutionary War in the aid of George III as Elector of Hanover. Following Charles' death, his son Charles II would hold the throne for the rest of the century.