K
H a N 01'ER
Sblitiçâl Ira-
' portance..
Gottingen.
l ’ace of the
Country.
Agriculture,
fhould be conferred on his younger brother, a s. he had no male heir.- ■
Erneft died in 1698,; having married Sophia daughter of [Elizabeth,,
' daughter of-James I of England. He was fucceeded. by his- ion George
Lewis,.elector, 1698, and king: of England, 17.14% The'later hiftory
of Hanover is little remarkabkyexcept by repeated devaluations o f the
French ; and in the .recent w a r it was only fecured by the powerful
interference of the king- o f f ruffia.
. T h e ’ religion is th e Lutheran | there a re ab o u t.7 5 0 'p a rh h churches, .
with fevett fu p erintendants.. The government is now conducted^ by a=.
~ council ,of regency, and there affe provincial ftates, though rarely ftini-
mdnedi, The political importance; Or this electorate cannot'be highly
eftimated in the prefent ftate- of -German, affairs ; and- from- France or
Eriiffia it can only. be protected by the powerful• mediation, of England/
The literature of this- country has deferved confiderable applaufe, fince
the inftitution of the univerfity fof Gottingen, by George |IIV it was
founded in x734, and fol'emnly opened 1737. The'chief city is Handover*
in the northern part of the principality of Galenburg, fituated on
the river Leine, amidft numerous gardens and villas. This City is firft
mentioned in the twelfth century ; and is flightly fortified, containing
about 15,5-00 -inhabitants; In the new city, -on the left.of the Leine,.
is. a.library, particularly, rich, in books of hiftory and,politicks. «,Gottingen
hands pn the. fame river,, containing about 7,600. fouls,, a neat
and pleafing town, firft mentioned in the thirteenth century. Verden,.
•near, the junCtionriof Aller with the Wefer, is of fmall account, but has
recently lent fome veflels to the preenland filhery underthe Hanoverian
flag; Other towns are Luneburg,. which imparts its name to the elee-
t-orate ; Lauenburg, Zell, with Einbeck and- Ofterode in the province of
Grubenhagen. The manufactures and commerce, ©f this electorate are
- pretty confiderable, in metals from the Hartz, linen, cotton, fome broad
cloths, &c. The fiber fabrics of Zell are-celebrated in Germany. 'T h e
■chief exports are. metals,., coarfe linens,..timber, peat, with, fonie cattle;
and grain. .
The afpeCtof the country is plain,, partaking fomewhat of the fandy
n a t u r e of Brandenburg, except in the fouth, where rife the lofty and
piCturefque mountains of the Hartz.. The agricultural products arewheat,.
•wheat, rye, barley,.'oats, pdas, haricots* and pot-herbs of aft kinds ; w ith '
abundance of potatoes, good fruits, flax, hemp, tobacco,'' madder,. &c;’;
Wood abounds both for fuel and architecture, and affording confiderable
quantities of tar and pitch. Bees are particularly tended. Horfes,
cattle, and , fhee.p are numerous; and game far from rare. The chief
river is the- Elbe towards die north ; and the Wefer arid Leine on the
weft-; with the Adler and Ilrnenau in the centre.. Smaller ftreams ir 6
the L®ha,. the Lutter, the Fuf<' w i t h pervadWthe
‘Harfzwaljhifolfie'fouth. Thtfreriate $a few finaft^t^esyakfibat'of Dirip’~
ho-ltz, and Srinhuder; hut none equal in fize to thofe in the adjacent
province of Mecklenburg. The -Hanoverian dominions ■contain many
fmall for efts, and woods, befides thofe of the Hartz' 'already SlitHbed
'ih theaenumeratibn of rthe CGofiiiak £noto tain's. A-Ttfo nfmefalofcy is
ricli, confifting nf Til-ver,- copper,'-lead,. irofe^Gplklr,'zind?j‘!' with marble^
fla^e, Coal, turf, and lirhefte&JJ the -laft particularly from-'t^e^hift'of
Kalkberg near Lurfebu%; TAVo '-euir’ii^m^ihefal fobftances, bonfoife
and ftaurolite, are, ftktud|vtlie fornfer’in the Ralfeber^ tke^Taffer 'atfAn*
dresdfeerjf ini the Hartz: $ which region likewiie’ 'prefenfs' flverkftfogilaf
features of nature,-’ as the-cavern -of Biadketilharg,'4 he’jtermiriaddh of
■which hasm.evit beeii‘explored,-and theMekve 'ofHamelen.*' •,
Having,Thus1 ’fttferibed, at f b m ' - j e f d ' t ^ g
principalities* on the nnrth df^We Mayn, a. few 'U¥hefs$ the neltt ih
powetytuay ;heihriefly mentioned ; for it 'wouflt varn ^ffte^’ortW
reader’s attention, and indeed only render his knowledge more confufed
and. imperfect, if even fliort accounts were attempted of the 300 princes
and ftates which crowd the labyrinth of Germany; pm territories
under a monarchy would fink into; the geographical obfeurity
pf thofe of a peer or landed gentleman ; and ftates which may be moiie
aptly fought in a gazetteer,’, or in the- minute and kbo,rious;pages of
Bufching, whole chorography o f Germany is the moft. complete part
* T h e biihopnck b r ‘OTn|brffck in confidered as an appanagc.of Hanorier,
ncljoining to the county o f D ieplioltz. B y the treaty o f Ohialu uck', i t . rias decided that
this bi(l?opi;ick fhould .be pofletTed alternately, by a catholic and' a t i * ’ y *** tl,e
choice o f the ehapfo-; but theflatter always a prince o f ih e jrg u fS o f ITgihoVen, who was to hate
Abe civil and criminal fa^ef-ieri«^ 1 , 'i ’ i ft’j 1' 'Aj ' _ i ’ ,*''f**g f 1 arclibiflipp ;
»of.Cologne. Inhabitants about.] 2©j<sfflO : ie v enueCLajq L,
" 4 1 2 "
6 1
H a k o t e r .
Rivers, i
Mineralogy
M