The only countries, whose law is not of direct English origin, which inflict capital punishment by hanging are Japan, Austria, Hungary and Russia.
The only countries, whose law is not of direct English origin, which inflict capital punishment by hanging are Japan, Austria, Hungary and Russia.
(W. F. C.)
1See Pollock and Maitland vol. i. 563. The sole survival of these grants is the jurisdiction of the justices of the Soke of Peterborough to try for capital offences at their quarter sessions.2In most counties in Ireland the scaffold used (in 1852) to consist in an iron balcony permanently fixed outside the gaol wall. There was a small door in the wall commanding the balcony and opening out upon it. The bottom of the iron balcony or cage was so constructed that on the withdrawal of a pin or bolt which could be managed from within the gaol, the trap-door upon which the culprit stood dropped from under his feet. The upper end of the rope was fastened to a strong iron bar, which projected over the trap-door. There were usually two or three trap-doors on the same balcony, so that, if required, two or more men could be hanged simultaneously. (Trench,Realities of Irish Life(1869), 280.)
1See Pollock and Maitland vol. i. 563. The sole survival of these grants is the jurisdiction of the justices of the Soke of Peterborough to try for capital offences at their quarter sessions.
2In most counties in Ireland the scaffold used (in 1852) to consist in an iron balcony permanently fixed outside the gaol wall. There was a small door in the wall commanding the balcony and opening out upon it. The bottom of the iron balcony or cage was so constructed that on the withdrawal of a pin or bolt which could be managed from within the gaol, the trap-door upon which the culprit stood dropped from under his feet. The upper end of the rope was fastened to a strong iron bar, which projected over the trap-door. There were usually two or three trap-doors on the same balcony, so that, if required, two or more men could be hanged simultaneously. (Trench,Realities of Irish Life(1869), 280.)
HANGÖ,a port and sea-bathing resort situated on the promontory of Hangöudd, to the extreme south-west of Finland. Hangö owes its commercial importance to the fact that it is practically the only winter ice-free port in Finland, and is thus of value both to the Finnish and the Russian sea-borne trade. When incorporated in 1874 it had only a few hundred inhabitants; in 1900 it had 2501 and it has now over six thousand (5986 in 1904). It is connected by railway with Helsingfors and Tammerfors, and is the centre of the Finnish butter export, which now amounts to over £1,000,000 yearly. There is a considerable import of coal, cotton, iron and breadstuffs, the chief exports being butter, fish, timber and wood pulp. During the period of emigration, owing to political troubles with Russia, over 12,000 Finns sailed from Hangö in a single year (1901), mostly for the United States and Canada. Hangö now takes front rank as a fashionable watering-place, especially for wealthy Russians, having a dry climate and a fine strand.
HANKA, WENCESLAUS(1791-1861), Bohemian philologist, was born at Horeniowes, a hamlet of eastern Bohemia, on the 10th of June 1791. He was sent in 1807 to school at Königgrätz, to escape the conscription, then to the university of Prague, where he founded a society for the cultivation of the Czech language. At Vienna, where he afterwards studied law, he established a Czech periodical; and in 1813 he made the acquaintance of Joseph Dobrowsky, the eminent philologist. On the 16th of September 1817 Hanka alleged that he had discovered some ancient Bohemian manuscript poems (the Königinhof MS.) of the 13th and 14th century in the church tower of the village of Kralodwor, or Königinhof. These were published in 1818, under the titleKralodworsky Rukopis, with a German translation by Swoboda. Great doubt, however, was felt as to their genuineness, and Dobrowsky, by pronouncingThe Judgment of Libussa, another manuscript found by Hanka, an “obvious fraud,” confirmed the suspicion. Some years afterwards Dobrowsky saw fit to modify his decision, but by modern Czech scholars the MS. is regarded as a forgery. A translation into English,The Manuscript of the Queen’s Court, was made by Wratislaw in 1852. The originals were presented by the discoverer to the Bohemian museum at Prague, of which he was appointed librarian in 1818. In 1848 Hanka, who was an ardent Panslavist, took part in the Slavonic congress andother peaceful national demonstrations, being the founder of the political society Slovanska Lipa. He was elected to the imperial diet at Vienna, but declined to take his seat. In the winter of 1848 he became lecturer and in 1849 professor of Slavonic languages in the university of Prague, where he died on the 12th of January 1861.
His chief works and editions are the following:Hankowy Pjsne(Prague, 1815), a volume of poems;Starobyla Skladani(1817-1826), in 5 vols.—a collection of old Bohemian poems, chiefly from unpublished manuscripts;A Short History of the Slavonic Peoples(1818);A Bohemian Grammar(1822) andA Polish Grammar(1839)—these grammars were composed on a plan suggested by Dobrowsky;Igor(1821), an ancient Russian epic, with a translation into Bohemian; a part of the Gospels from the Reims manuscript in the Glagolitic character (1846); the old Bohemian Chronicles ofDalimil(1848) and theHistory of Charles IV., by Procop Lupáč (1848);Evangelium Ostromis(1853).
His chief works and editions are the following:Hankowy Pjsne(Prague, 1815), a volume of poems;Starobyla Skladani(1817-1826), in 5 vols.—a collection of old Bohemian poems, chiefly from unpublished manuscripts;A Short History of the Slavonic Peoples(1818);A Bohemian Grammar(1822) andA Polish Grammar(1839)—these grammars were composed on a plan suggested by Dobrowsky;Igor(1821), an ancient Russian epic, with a translation into Bohemian; a part of the Gospels from the Reims manuscript in the Glagolitic character (1846); the old Bohemian Chronicles ofDalimil(1848) and theHistory of Charles IV., by Procop Lupáč (1848);Evangelium Ostromis(1853).
HANKOW (“Mouth of the Han”), the great commercial centre of the middle portion of the Chinese empire, and since 1858 one of the principal places opened to foreign trade. It is situated on the northern side of the Yangtsze-kiang at its junction with the Han river, about 600 m. W. of Shanghai in 30° 32′ 51″ N., 114° 19′ 55″ E., at a height of 150 ft. By the Chinese it is not considered a separate city, but as a suburb of the now decadent city of Hanyang; and it may almost be said to stand in a similar relation to Wu-chang the capital of the province of Hupeh, which lies immediately opposite on the southern bank of the Yangtsze-kiang. Hankow extends for about a mile along the main river and about two and a half along the Han. It is protected by a wall 18 ft. high, which was erected in 1863 and has a circuit of about 4 m. Within recent years the port has made rapid advance in wealth and importance. The opening up of the upper waters of the Yangtsze to steam navigation has made it a commercialentrepôtsecond only to Shanghai. It is the terminus of a railway between Peking and the Yangtsze, the northern half of the trunk line from Peking to Canton. There is daily communication by regular lines of steamers with Shanghai, and smaller steamers ply on the upper section of the river between Hankow and Ich’ang. The principal article of export continues to be black tea, of which staple Hankow has always been the central market. The bulk of the leaf tea, however, now goes to Russia by direct steamers to Odessa instead of to London as formerly, and a large quantity goes overland via Tientsin and Siberia in the form of brick tea. The quantity of brick tea thus exported in 1904 was upwards of 10 million ℔. The exports which come next in value are opium, wood-oil, hides, beans, cotton yarn and raw silk. The population of Hankow, together with the city of Wu-chang on the opposite bank, is estimated at 800,000, and the number of foreign residents is about 500. Large iron-works have been erected by the Chinese authorities at Hanyang, a couple of miles higher up the river, and at Wuchang there are two official cotton mills. The British concession, on which the business part of the foreign settlement is built, was obtained in 1861 by a lease in perpetuity from the Chinese authorities in favour of the crown. By 1863 a great embankment and a roadway were completed along the river, which may rise as much as 50 ft. or more above its ordinary levels, and not infrequently, as in 1849 and 1866, lays a large part of the town under water. On the former occasion little was left uncovered but the roofs of the houses. In 1864 a public assay office was established. Sub-leases for a term of years are granted by the crown to private individuals; local control, including the policing of the settlement, is managed by a municipal council elected under regulations promulgated by the British minister in China, acting by authority of the sovereign’s orders in council. Foreigners,i.e.non-British, are admitted to become lease-holders on their submitting to be bound by the municipal regulations. The concession, however, gives no territorial jurisdiction. All foreigners, of whatever nationality, are justiciable only before their own consular authorities by virtue of the extra-territorial clauses of their treaties with China. In 1895 a concession, on similar terms to that under which the British is held, was obtained by Germany, and this was followed by concessions to France and Russia. These three concessions all lie on the north bank of the river and immediately below the British. An extension of the British concession backwards was granted in 1898. The Roman Catholics, the London Missionary Society and the Wesleyans have all missions in the town; and there are two missionary hospitals. The total trade in 1904 was valued at £15,401,076 (£9,042,190 being exports and £6,358,886 imports) as compared with a total of £17,183,400 in 1891 and £11,628,000 in 1880.
HANLEY,a market town and parliamentary borough of Staffordshire, England, in the Potteries district, 148 m. N.W. from London, on the North Staffordshire railway. Pop. (1891) 54,946; (1901) 61,599. The parliamentary borough includes the adjoining town of Burslem. The town, which lies on high ground, has handsome municipal buildings, free library, technical and art museum, elementary, science and art schools, and a large park. Its manufactures include porcelain, encaustic tiles, and earthenware, and give employment to the greater part of the population, women and children being employed almost as largely as men. In the neighbourhood coal and iron are obtained. Hanley is of modern development. Its municipal constitution dates from 1857, the parliamentary borough from 1885, and the county borough from 1888. Shelton, Hope, Northwood and Wellington are populous ecclesiastical parishes included within its boundaries. That of Etruria, adjoining on the west, originated in the Ridge House pottery works of Josiah Wedgwood and Thomas Bentley, who founded them in 1769, naming them after the country of the Etruscans in Italy. Etruria Hall was the scene of Wedgwood’s experiments. The parliamentary borough of Hanley returns one member. The town was governed by a mayor, 6 aldermen, and 18 councillors until under the “Potteries federation” scheme (1908) it became part of the borough of Stoke-on-Trent (q.v.) in 1910.
HANNA, MARCUS ALONZO(1837-1904), American politician, was born at New Lisbon (now Lisbon) Columbiana county, Ohio, on the 24th of September 1837. In 1852 he removed with his father to Cleveland, where the latter established himself in the wholesale grocery business, and the son received his education in the public schools of that city, and at the Western Reserve University. Leaving college before the completion of his course, he became associated with his father in business, and on his father’s death (1862) became a member of the firm. In 1867 he entered into partnership with his father-in-law, Daniel P. Rhodes, in the coal and iron business. It was largely due to Hanna’s progressive methods that the business of the firm, which became M. A. Hanna & Company in 1877, was extended to include the ownership of a fleet of lake steam-ships constructed in their own shipyards, and the control and operation of valuable coal and iron mines. Subsequently he became largely interested in street railway properties in Cleveland and elsewhere, and in various banking institutions. In early life he had little time for politics, but after 1880 he became prominent in the affairs of the Republican party in Cleveland, and in 1884 and 1888 was a delegate to the Republican National Convention, in the latter year being associated with William McKinley in the management of the John Sherman canvass. It was not, however, until 1896, when he personally managed the canvass that resulted in securing the Republican presidential nomination for William McKinley at the St Louis Convention (at which he was a delegate), that he became known throughout the United States as a political manager of great adroitness, tact and resourcefulness. Subsequently he became chairman of the Republican National Committee, and managed with consummate skill the campaign of 1896 against William Jennings Bryan and “free-silver.” In March 1897 he was appointed, by Governor Asa S. Bushnell (1834-1904) United States senator from Ohio, to succeed John Sherman. In the senate, to which in January 1898 he was elected for the short term ending on the 3rd of March 1899 and for the succeeding full term, he took little part in the debates, but was recognized as one of the principal advisers of the McKinley administration, and his influence was large in consequence. Apart from politics he took a deep and active interest in the problems of capital and labour, was one of theorganizers (1901) and the first president of the National Civic Federation, whose purpose was to solve social and industrial problems, and in December 1901 became chairman of a permanent board of conciliation and arbitration established by the Federation. After President Roosevelt’s policies became defined, Senator Hanna came to be regarded as the leader of the conservative branch of the Republican party and a possible presidential candidate in 1904. He died at Washington on the 15th of February 1904.
HANNAY, JAMES(1827-1873), Scottish critic, novelist and publicist, was born at Dumfries on the 17th of February 1827. He came of the Hannays of Sorbie, an ancient Galloway family. He entered the navy in 1840 and served till 1845, when he adopted literature as his profession. He acted as reporter on theMorning Chronicleand gradually obtained a connexion, writing for the quarterly and monthly journals. In 1857 Hannay contested the Dumfries burghs in the Conservative interest, but without success. He edited theEdinburgh Courantfrom 1860 till 1864, when he removed to London. From 1868 till his death on the 8th of January 1873 he was British consul at Barcelona. His letters to thePall Mall Gazette“From an Englishman in Spain” were highly appreciated. Hannay’s best books are his two naval novels,Singleton Fontenoy(1850) andEustace Conyers(1855);Satire and Satirists(1854); andEssays from the Quarterly Review(1861).Satirenot only shows loving appreciation of the great satirists of the past, but is itself instinct with wit and fine satiric power. The book sparkles with epigrams and apposite classical allusions, and contains admirable critical estimates of Horace (Hannay’s favourite author), Juvenal, Erasmus, Sir David Lindsay, George Buchanan, Boileau, Butler, Dryden, Swift, Pope, Churchill, Burns, Byron and Moore.
Among his other works areBiscuits and Grog, Claret Cup, andHearts are Trumps(1848);King Dobbs(1849);Sketches in Ultramarine(1853); an edition of thePoemsof Edgar Allan Poe, to which he prefixed an essay on the poet’s life and genius (1852);Characters and Criticisms, consisting mainly of his contributions to theEdinburgh Courant(1865);A Course of English Literature(1866);Studies on Thackeray(1869); and a family history entitledThree Hundred Years of a Norman House(the Gurneys) (1867).
Among his other works areBiscuits and Grog, Claret Cup, andHearts are Trumps(1848);King Dobbs(1849);Sketches in Ultramarine(1853); an edition of thePoemsof Edgar Allan Poe, to which he prefixed an essay on the poet’s life and genius (1852);Characters and Criticisms, consisting mainly of his contributions to theEdinburgh Courant(1865);A Course of English Literature(1866);Studies on Thackeray(1869); and a family history entitledThree Hundred Years of a Norman House(the Gurneys) (1867).
HANNEN, JAMES HANNEN,Baron(1821-1894), English judge, son of a London merchant, was born at Peckham in 1821. He was educated at St Paul’s school and at Heidelberg University, which was famous as a school of law. Called to the bar at the Middle Temple in 1848, he joined the home circuit. At this time he also wrote for the press, and supplied special reports for theMorning Chronicle. Though not eloquent in speech, he was clear, accurate and painstaking, and soon advanced in his profession, passing many more brilliant competitors. He appeared for the claimant in the Shrewsbury peerage case in 1858, when the 3rd Earl Talbot was declared to be entitled to the earldom of Shrewsbury as the descendant of the 2nd earl; was principal agent for Great Britain on the mixed British and American commission for the settlement of outstanding claims, 1853-1855; and assisted in the prosecution of the Fenian prisoners at Manchester. In 1868 Hannen was appointed a judge of the Court of Queen’s Bench. In many cases he took a strong position of his own, notably in that ofFarrarv.Close(1869), which materially affected the legal status of trade unions and was regarded by unionists as a severe blow to their interests. Hannen became judge of the Probate and Divorce Court in 1872, and in 1875 he was appointed president of the probate and admiralty division of the High Court of Justice. Here he showed himself a worthy successor to Cresswell and Penzance. Many important causes came before him, but he will chiefly be remembered for the manner in which he presided over the Parnell special commission. His influence pervaded the whole proceedings, and it is understood that he personally penned a large part of the voluminous report. Hannen’s last public service was in connexion with the Bering Sea inquiry at Paris, when he acted as one of the British arbitrators. In January 1891 he was appointed a lord of appeal in ordinary (with the dignity of a life peerage), but in that capacity he had few opportunities for displaying his powers, and he retired at the close of the session of 1893. He died in London, after a prolonged illness, on the 29th of March 1894.
HANNIBAL(“mercy” or “favour of Baal”), Carthaginian general and statesman, son of Hamilcar Barca (q.v.), was born in 249 or 247B.C.Destined by his father to succeed him in the work of vengeance against Rome, he was taken to Spain, and while yet a boy gave ample evidence of his military aptitude. Upon the death of his brother-in-law Hasdrubal (221) he was acclaimed commander-in-chief by the soldiers and confirmed in his appointment by the Carthaginian government. After two years spent in completing the conquest of Spain south of the Ebro, he set himself to begin what he felt to be his life’s task, the conquest and humiliation of Rome. Accordingly in 219 he seized some pretext for attacking the town of Saguntum (mod. Murviedro), which stood under the special protection of Rome, and disregarding the protests of Roman envoys, stormed it after an eight months’ siege. As the home government, in view of Hannibal’s great popularity, did not venture to repudiate this action, the declaration of war which he desired took place at the end of the year.
Of the large army of Libyan and Spanish mercenaries which he had at his disposal Hannibal selected the most trustworthy and devoted contingents, and with these determined to execute the daring plan of carrying the war into the heart of Italy by a rapid march through Spain and Gaul. Starting in the spring of 218 he easily fought his way through the northern tribes to the Pyrenees, and by conciliating the Gaulish chiefs on his passage contrived to reach the Rhone before the Romans could take any measures to bar his advance. After out-manœuvring the natives, who endeavoured to prevent his crossing, Hannibal evaded a Roman force sent to operate against him in Gaul; he proceeded up the valley of one of the tributaries of the Rhone (Isère or, more probably, Durance), and by autumn arrived at the foot of the Alps. His passage over the mountain-chain, at a point which cannot be determined with certainty, though the balance of the available evidence inclines to the Mt Genèvre pass, and fair cases can be made out for the Col d’Argentière and for Mt Cenis, was one of the most memorable achievements of any military force of ancient times. Though the opposition of the natives and the difficulties of ground and climate cost Hannibal half his army, his perilous march brought him directly into Roman territory and entirely frustrated the attempts of the enemy to fight out the main issue on foreign ground. His sudden appearance among the Gauls, moreover, enabled him to detach most of the tribes from their new allegiance to the Romans before the latter could take steps to check rebellion. After allowing his soldiers a brief rest to recover from their exertions Hannibal first secured his rear by subduing the hostile tribe of the Taurini (mod. Turin), and moving down the Po valley forced the Romans by virtue of his superior cavalry to evacuate the plain of Lombardy. In December of the same year he had an opportunity of showing his superior military skill when the Roman commander attacked him on the river Trebia (near Placentia); after wearing down the excellent Roman infantry he cut it to pieces by a surprise attack from an ambush in the flank. Having secured his position in north Italy by this victory, he quartered his troops for the winter on the Gauls, whose zeal in his cause thereupon began to abate. Accordingly in spring 217 Hannibal decided to find a more trustworthy base of operations farther south; he crossed the Apennines without opposition, but in the marshy lowlands of the Arno he lost a large part of his force through disease and himself became blind in one eye. Advancing through the uplands of Etruria he provoked the main Roman army to a hasty pursuit, and catching it in a defile on the shore of Lake Trasimenus destroyed it in the waters or on the adjoining slopes (seeTrasimene). He had now disposed of the only field force which could check his advance upon Rome, but realizing that without siege engines he could not hope to take the capital, he preferred to utilize his victory by passing into central and southern Italy and exciting a general revolt against the sovereign power. Though closely watchedby a force under Fabius Maximus Cunctator, he was able to carry his ravages far and wide through Italy: on one occasion he was entrapped in the lowlands of Campania, but set himself free by a stratagem which completely deluded his opponent. For the winter he found comfortable quarters in the Apulian plain, into which the enemy dared not descend. In the campaign of 217 Hannibal had failed to obtain a following among the Italians; in the following year he had an opportunity of turning the tide in his favour. A large Roman army advanced into Apulia in order to crush him, and accepted battle on the site of Cannae. Thanks mainly to brilliant cavalry tactics, Hannibal, with much inferior numbers, managed to surround and cut to pieces the whole of this force; moreover, the moral effect of this victory was such that all the south of Italy joined his cause. Had Hannibal now received proper material reinforcements from his countrymen at Carthage he might have made a direct attack upon Rome; for the present he had to content himself with subduing the fortresses which still held out against him, and the only other notable event of 216 was the defection of Capua, the second largest city of Italy, which Hannibal made his new base.
In the next few years Hannibal was reduced to minor operations which centred mainly round the cities of Campania. He failed to draw his opponents into a pitched battle, and in some slighter engagements suffered reverses. As the forces detached under his lieutenants were generally unable to hold their own, and neither his home government nor his new ally Philip V. of Macedon helped to make good his losses, his position in south Italy became increasingly difficult and his chance of ultimately conquering Rome grew ever more remote. In 212 he gained an important success by capturing Tarentum, but in the same year he lost his hold upon Campania, where he failed to prevent the concentration of three Roman armies round Capua. Hannibal attacked the besieging armies with his full force in 211, and attempted to entice them away by a sudden march through Samnium which brought him within 3 m. of Rome, but caused more alarm than real danger to the city. But the siege continued, and the town fell in the same year. In 210 Hannibal again proved his superiority in tactics by a severe defeat inflicted at Herdoniae (mod. Ordona) in Apulia upon a proconsular army, and in 208 destroyed a Roman force engaged in the siege of Locri Epizephyrii. But with the loss of Tarentum in 209 and the gradual reconquest by the Romans of Samnium and Lucania his hold on south Italy was almost lost. In 207 he succeeded in making his way again into Apulia, where he waited to concert measures for a combined march upon Rome with his brother Hasdrubal (q.v.). On hearing, however, of his brother’s defeat and death at the Metaurus he retired into the mountain fastnesses of Bruttium, where he maintained himself for the ensuing years. With the failure of his brother Mago (q.v.) in Liguria (205-203) and of his own negotiations with Philip of Macedon, the last hope of recovering his ascendancy in Italy was lost. In 203, when Scipio was carrying all before him in Africa and the Carthaginian peace-party were arranging an armistice, Hannibal was recalled from Italy by the “patriot” party at Carthage. After leaving a record of his expedition, engraved in Punic and Greek upon brazen tablets, in the temple of Juno at Crotona, he sailed back to Africa. His arrival immediately restored the predominance of the war-party, who placed him in command of a combined force of African levies and of his mercenaries from Italy. In 202 Hannibal, after meeting Scipio in a fruitless peace conference, engaged him in a decisive battle at Zama. Unable to cope with his indifferent troops against the well-trained and confident Roman soldiers, he experienced a crushing defeat which put an end to all resistance on the part of Carthage.
Hannibal was still only in his forty-sixth year. He soon showed that he could be a statesman as well as a soldier. Peace having been concluded, he was appointed chief magistrate (suffetes, sofet). The office had become rather insignificant, but Hannibal restored its power and authority. The oligarchy, always jealous of him, had even charged him with having betrayed the interests of his country while in Italy, and neglected to take Rome when he might have done so. The dishonesty and incompetence of these men had brought the finances of Carthage into grievous disorder. So effectively did Hannibal reform abuses that the heavy tribute imposed by Rome could be paid by instalments without additional and extraordinary taxation.
Seven years after the victory of Zama, the Romans, alarmed at this new prosperity, demanded Hannibal’s surrender. Hannibal thereupon went into voluntary exile. First he journeyed to Tyre, the mother-city of Carthage, and thence to Ephesus, where he was honourably received by Antiochus III. of Syria, who was then preparing for war with Rome. Hannibal soon saw that the king’s army was no match for the Romans. He advised him to equip a fleet and throw a body of troops on the south of Italy, adding that he would himself take the command. But he could not make much impression on Antiochus, who listened more willingly to courtiers and flatterers, and would not entrust Hannibal with any important charge. In 190 he was placed in command of a Phoenician fleet, but was defeated in a battle off the river Eurymedon.
From the court of Antiochus, who seemed prepared to surrender him to the Romans, Hannibal fled to Crete, but he soon went back to Asia, and sought refuge with Prusias, king of Bithynia. Once more the Romans were determined to hunt him out, and they sent Flaminius to insist on his surrender. Prusias agreed to give him up, but Hannibal did not choose to fall into his enemies’ hands. At Libyssa, on the eastern shore of the Sea of Marmora, he took poison, which, it was said, he had long carried about with him in a ring. The precise year of his death was a matter of controversy. If, as Livy seems to imply, it was 183, he died in the same year as Scipio Africanus.
As to the transcendent military genius of Hannibal there cannot be two opinions. The man who for fifteen years could hold his ground in a hostile country against several powerful armies and a succession of able generals must have been a commander and a tactician of supreme capacity. In the use of stratagems and ambuscades he certainly surpassed all other generals of antiquity. Wonderful as his achievements were, we must marvel the more when we take into account the grudging support he received from Carthage. As his veterans melted away, he had to organize fresh levies on the spot. We never hear of a mutiny in his army, composed though it was of Africans, Spaniards and Gauls. Again, all we know of him comes for the most part from hostile sources. The Romans feared and hated him so much that they could not do him justice. Livy speaks of his great qualities, but he adds that his vices were equally great, among which he singles out his “more than Punic perfidy” and “an inhuman cruelty.” For the first there would seem to be no further justification than that he was consummately skilful in the use of ambuscades. For the latter there is, we believe, no more ground than that at certain crises he acted in the general spirit of ancient warfare. Sometimes he contrasts most favourably with his enemy. No such brutality stains his name as that perpetrated by Claudius Nero on the vanquished Hasdrubal. Polybius merely says that he was accused of cruelty by the Romans and of avarice by the Carthaginians. He had indeed bitter enemies, and his life was one continuous struggle against destiny. For steadfastness of purpose, for organizing capacity and a mastery of military science he has perhaps never had an equal.
Authorities.—Polybius iii.-xv., xxi.-ii., xxiv.; Livy xxi.-xxx.; Cornelius Nepos,Vita Hannibalis; Appian,Bellum Hannibalicum; E. Hennebert,Histoire d’Annibal(Paris, 1870-1891, 3 vols.); F. A. Dodge,Great Captains, Hannibal(Boston and New York, 1891); D. Grassi,Annibale giudicato da Polibio e Tito Livio(Vicenza, 1896); W. How,Hannibal and the Great War between Rome and Carthage(London, 1899); Te Montanari,Annibale, down to 217B.C.(Rovigo, 1901); K. Lehmann,Die Angriffe der drei Barkiden auf Italien(Leipzig, 1905), with bibliography. See alsoPunic Warsand articles on the chief battle sites. On Hannibal’s passage through Gaul and the Alps see T. Arnold,The Second Punic War(ed. W. T. Arnold, London, 1886), Appendix B, pp. 362-373, with bibliography; D. Freshfield inAlpine Journal(1883), pp. 267-300; L. Montlahuc,Le Vrai Chemin d’Annibal à travers les Alpes(Paris, 1896); J. Fuchs,Hannibals Alpenübergang(Vienna, 1897); G. E. Marindin inClassical Review(1899), pp. 238-249; W. Osiander,Der Hannibalweg neuuntersucht(Berlin, 1900); P. Azan,Annibal dans les Alpes(Paris, 1902); J. L. Colin,Annibal en Gaule(Paris, 1904); E. Hesselmeyer,Hannibals Alpenübergang im Lichte der neueren Kriegsgeschichte, (1906); Kromyer, inN. Jahrb. f. kl. Alt.(1907).
Authorities.—Polybius iii.-xv., xxi.-ii., xxiv.; Livy xxi.-xxx.; Cornelius Nepos,Vita Hannibalis; Appian,Bellum Hannibalicum; E. Hennebert,Histoire d’Annibal(Paris, 1870-1891, 3 vols.); F. A. Dodge,Great Captains, Hannibal(Boston and New York, 1891); D. Grassi,Annibale giudicato da Polibio e Tito Livio(Vicenza, 1896); W. How,Hannibal and the Great War between Rome and Carthage(London, 1899); Te Montanari,Annibale, down to 217B.C.(Rovigo, 1901); K. Lehmann,Die Angriffe der drei Barkiden auf Italien(Leipzig, 1905), with bibliography. See alsoPunic Warsand articles on the chief battle sites. On Hannibal’s passage through Gaul and the Alps see T. Arnold,The Second Punic War(ed. W. T. Arnold, London, 1886), Appendix B, pp. 362-373, with bibliography; D. Freshfield inAlpine Journal(1883), pp. 267-300; L. Montlahuc,Le Vrai Chemin d’Annibal à travers les Alpes(Paris, 1896); J. Fuchs,Hannibals Alpenübergang(Vienna, 1897); G. E. Marindin inClassical Review(1899), pp. 238-249; W. Osiander,Der Hannibalweg neuuntersucht(Berlin, 1900); P. Azan,Annibal dans les Alpes(Paris, 1902); J. L. Colin,Annibal en Gaule(Paris, 1904); E. Hesselmeyer,Hannibals Alpenübergang im Lichte der neueren Kriegsgeschichte, (1906); Kromyer, inN. Jahrb. f. kl. Alt.(1907).
(M. O. B. C.)
HANNIBAL,a city of Marion county, Missouri, U.S.A., on the Mississippi river, about 120 m. N.W. of Saint Louis. Pop. (1890), 12,857; (1900), 12,780, including 920 foreign-born and 1836 negroes; (1910) 18,341. It is served by the Wabash, the Missouri, Kansas & Texas, the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy, and the St Louis & Hannibal railways, and by boat lines to Saint Louis, Saint Paul and intermediate points. The business section is in the level bottom-lands of the river, while the residential portion spreads up the banks, which afford fine building sites with beautiful views. Mark Twain’s boyhood was spent at Hannibal, which is the setting ofLife on the Mississippi,Huckleberry FinnandTom Sawyer; Hannibal Cave, described inTom Sawyer, extends for miles beneath the river and its bluffs. Hannibal has a good public library (1889; the first in Missouri); other prominent buildings are the Federal building, the court house, a city hospital and the high school. The river is here spanned by a long iron and steel bridge connecting with East Hannibal, Ill. Hannibal is the trade centre of a rich agricultural region, and has an important lumber trade, railway shops, and manufactories of lumber, shoes, stoves, flour, cigars, lime, Portland cement and pearl buttons (made from mussel shells); the value of the city’s factory products increased from $2,698,720 in 1900 to $4,442,099 in 1905, or 64.6%. In the vicinity are valuable deposits of crinoid limestone, a coarse white building stone which takes a good polish. The electric-lighting plant is owned and operated by the municipality. Hannibal was laid out as a town in 1819 (its origin going back to Spanish land grants, which gave rise to much litigation) and was first chartered as a city in 1839. The town of South Hannibal was annexed to it in 1843.
HANNINGTON, JAMES(1847-1885), English missionary, was born at Hurstpierpoint, in Sussex, on the 3rd of September 1847. From earliest childhood he displayed a love of adventure and natural history. At school he made little progress, and left at the age of fifteen for his father’s counting-house at Brighton. He had no taste for office work, and much of his time was occupied in commanding a battery of volunteers and in charge of a steam launch. At twenty-one he decided on a clerical career and entered St Mary’s Hall, Oxford, where he exercised a remarkable influence over his fellow-undergraduates. He was, however, a desultory student, and in 1870 was advised to go to the little village of Martinhoe, in Devon, for quiet reading, but distinguished himself more by his daring climbs after sea-gulls’ eggs and his engineering skill in cutting a pathway along precipitous cliffs to some caves. In 1872 the death of his mother made a deep impression upon him. He began to read hard, took his B.A. degree, and in 1873 was ordained deacon and placed in charge of the small country parish of Trentishoe in Devon. Whilst curate in charge at Hurstpierpoint, his thoughts were turned by the murder of two missionaries on the shores of Victoria Nyanza to mission work. He offered himself to the Church Missionary Society and sailed on the 17th of May 1882, at the head of a party of six, for Zanzibar, and thence set out for Uganda; but, prostrated by fever and dysentery, he was obliged to return to England in 1883. On his recovery he was consecrated bishop of Eastern Equatorial Africa (June 1884), and in January 1885 started again for the scene of his mission, and visited Palestine on the way. On his arrival at Freretown, near Mombasa, he visited many stations in the neighbourhood. Then, filled with the idea of opening a new route to Uganda, he set out and reached a spot near Victoria Nyanza in safety. His arrival, however, roused the suspicion of the natives, and under King Mwanga’s orders he was lodged in a filthy hut swarming with rats and vermin. After eight days his men were murdered, and on the 29th of October 1885 he himself was speared in both sides, his last words to the soldiers appointed to kill him being, “Go, tell Mwanga I have purchased the road to Uganda with my blood.”
HisLast Journalswere edited in 1888. See alsoLifeby E. C. Dawson (1887); and W. G. Berry,Bishop Hannington(1908).
HisLast Journalswere edited in 1888. See alsoLifeby E. C. Dawson (1887); and W. G. Berry,Bishop Hannington(1908).
HANNINGTON,a lake of British East Africa in the eastern rift-valley just south of the equator and in the shadow of the Laikipia escarpment. It is 7 m. long by 2 m. broad. The water is shallow and brackish. Standing in the lake and along its shores are numbers of dead trees, the remains of an ancient forest, which serve as eyries for storks, herons and eagles. The banks and flats at the north end of the lake are the resort of hundreds of thousands of flamingoes. The places where they cluster are dazzling white with guano deposits. The lake is named after Bishop James Hannington.
HANNO,the name of a large number of Carthaginian soldiers and statesmen. Of the majority little is known; the most important are the following1:—
1.Hanno, Carthaginian navigator, who probably flourished about 500B.C.It has been conjectured that he was the son of the Hamilcar who was killed at Himera (480), but there is nothing to prove this. He was the author of an account of a coasting voyage on the west coast of Africa, undertaken for the purpose of exploration and colonization. The original, inscribed on a tablet in the Phoenician language, was hung up in the temple of Melkarth on his return to Carthage. What is generally supposed to be a Greek translation of this is still extant, under the title ofPeriplus, although its authenticity has been questioned. Hanno appears to have advanced beyond Sierra Leone as far as Cape Palmas. On the island which formed the terminus of his voyage the explorer found a number of hairy women, whom the interpreters called Gorillas (Γορίλλας).
Valuable editions by T. Falconer (1797, with translation and defence of its authenticity) and C. W. Müller inGeographici Graeci minores, i.; see also E. H. Bunbury,History of Ancient Geography, i., and treatise by C. T. Fischer (1893), with bibliography.
Valuable editions by T. Falconer (1797, with translation and defence of its authenticity) and C. W. Müller inGeographici Graeci minores, i.; see also E. H. Bunbury,History of Ancient Geography, i., and treatise by C. T. Fischer (1893), with bibliography.
2.Hanno(3rd centuryB.C.), called “the Great,” Carthaginian statesman and general, leader of the aristocratic party and the chief opponent of Hamilcar and Hannibal. He appears to have gained his title from military successes in Africa, but of these nothing is known. In 240B.C.he drove Hamilcar’s veteran mercenaries to rebellion by withholding their pay, and when invested with the command against them was so unsuccessful that Carthage might have been lost but for the exertions of his enemy Hamilcar (q.v.). Hanno subsequently remained at Carthage, exerting all his influence against the democratic party, which, however, had now definitely won the upper hand. During the Second Punic War he advocated peace with Rome, and according to Livy even advised that Hannibal should be given up to the Romans. After the battle of Zama (202) he was one of the ambassadors sent to Scipio to sue for peace. Remarkably little is known of him, considering the great influence he undoubtedly exercised amongst his countrymen.
Livy xxi. 3 ff., xxiii. 12; Polybius i. 67 ff.; Appian,Res Hispanicae, 4, 5,Res Punicae, 34, 49, 68.
Livy xxi. 3 ff., xxiii. 12; Polybius i. 67 ff.; Appian,Res Hispanicae, 4, 5,Res Punicae, 34, 49, 68.
1For others of the name seeCarthage;Hannibal;Punic Wars. Smith’sClassical Dictionaryhas notices of some thirty of the name.
1For others of the name seeCarthage;Hannibal;Punic Wars. Smith’sClassical Dictionaryhas notices of some thirty of the name.
HANOI,capital of Tongking and of French Indo-China, on the right bank of the Song-koi or Red river, about 80 m. from its mouth in the Gulf of Tongking. Taking in the suburban population the inhabitants numbered in 1905 about 110,000, including 103,000 Annamese, 2289 Chinese and 2665 French, exclusive of troops. Hanoi resembles a European city in the possession of wide well-paved streets and promenades, systems of electric light and drainage and a good water-supply. A crowded native quarter built round a picturesque lake lies close to the river with the European quarter to the south of it. The public buildings include the palace of the governor-general, situated in a spacious botanical and zoological garden, the large military hospital, the cathedral of St Joseph, the Paul Bert college, and the theatre. The barracks and other military buildings occupy the site of the old citadel, an area of over 300 acres, to the west of the native town. The so-called pagoda of the Great Buddha is the chief native building. The river is embanked and is crossed by the Pont Doumer, a fine railway bridge over 1 m. long. Vessels drawing 8 or 9 ft. can reach the town. Hanoi isthe seat of the general government of Indo-China, of the resident-superior of Tongking, and of a bishop, who is vicar-apostolic of central Tongking. It is administered by an elective municipal council with a civil service administrator as mayor. It has a chamber of commerce, the president of which has a seat on the superior council of Indo-China; a chamber of the court of appeal of Indo-China, a civil tribunal of the first order, and is the seat of the chamber of agriculture of Tongking. Its industries include cotton-spinning, brewing, distilling, and the manufacture of tobacco, earthenware and matches; native industry produces carved and inlaid furniture, bronzes and artistic metal-work, silk embroidery, &c. Hanoi is the junction of railways to Hai-Phong, its seaport, Lao-Kay, Vinh, and the Chinese frontier via Lang-Son. It is in frequent communication with Hai-Phong by steamboat.
See C. Madrolle,Tonkin du sud: Hanoi(Paris, 1907).
See C. Madrolle,Tonkin du sud: Hanoi(Paris, 1907).
HANOTAUX, ALBERT AUGUSTE GABRIEL(1853- ), French statesman and historian, was born at Beaurevoir in the department of Aisne. He received his historical training in the École des Chartes, and becamemaître de conférencesin the École des Hautes Études. His political career was rather that of a civil servant than of a party politician. In 1879 he entered the ministry of foreign affairs as a secretary, and rose step by step through the diplomatic service. In 1886 he was elected deputy for Aisne, but, defeated in 1889, he returned to his diplomatic career, and on the 31st of May 1894 was chosen by Charles Dupuy to be minister of foreign affairs. With one interruption (during the Ribot ministry, from the 26th of January to the 2nd of November 1895) he held this portfolio until the 14th of June 1898. During his ministry he developed therapprochementof France with Russia—visiting St Petersburg with the president, Felix Faure—and sent expeditions to delimit the French colonies in Africa. The Fashoda incident of July 1898 was a result of this policy, and Hanotaux’s distrust of England is frankly stated in his literary works. As an historian he publishedOrigines de l’institution des intendants de provinces(1884), which is the authoritative study on the intendants;Études historiques sur les XVIeet XVIIesiècles en France(1886);Histoire de Richelieu(2 vols., 1888); andHistoire de la Troisième République (1904, &c.), the standard history of contemporary France.He also edited theInstructions des ambassadeurs de France à Rome, depuis les traités de Westphalie(1888). He was elected a member of the French Academy on the 1st of April 1897.
HANOVER(Ger.Hannover), formerly an independent kingdom of Germany, but since 1866 a province of Prussia. It is bounded on the N. by the North Sea, Holstein, Hamburg and Mecklenburg-Schwerin, E. and S.E. by Prussian Saxony and the duchy of Brunswick, S.W. by the Prussian provinces of Hesse-Nassau and Westphalia, and W. by Holland. These boundaries include the grand-duchy of Oldenburg and the free state of Bremen, the former stretching southward from the North Sea nearly to the southern boundary of Hanover. A small portion of the province in the south is separated from Hanover proper by the interposition of part of Brunswick. On the 23rd of March 1873 the province was increased by the addition of the Jade territory (purchased by Prussia from Oldenburg), lying south-west of the Elbe and containing the great naval station and arsenal of Wilhelmshaven. The area of the province is 14,870 sq. m.
Physical Features.—The greater part of Hanover is a plain with sandhills, heath and moor. The most fertile districts lie on the banks of the Elbe and near the North Sea, where, as in Holland, rich meadows are preserved from encroachment of the sea by broad dikes and deep ditches, kept in repair at great expense. The main feature of the northern plain is the so-calledLüneburger Heide, a vast expanse of moor and fen, mainly covered with low brushwood (though here and there are oases of fine beech and oak woods) and intersected by shallow valleys, and extending almost due north from the city of Hanover to the southern arm of the Elbe at Harburg. The southern portion of the province is hilly, and in the district of Klausenburg, containing the Harz, mountainous. The higher elevations are covered by dense forests of fir and larch, and the lower slopes with deciduous trees. The eastern portion of the northern plain is covered with forests of fir. The whole of Hanover dips from the Harz Mountains to the north, and the rivers consequently flow in that direction. The three chief rivers of the province are the Elbe in the north-east, where it mainly forms the boundary and receives the navigable tributaries Jeetze, Ilmenau, Seve, Este, Lühe, Schwinge and Medem; the Weser in the centre, with its important tributary the Aller (navigable from Celle downwards); and in the west the Ems, with its tributaries the Aa and the Leda. Still farther West is the Vecht, which, rising in Westphalia, flows to the Zuider Zee. Canals are numerous and connect the various river systems.The principal lakes are the Steinhuder Meer, about 4 m. long and 2 m. broad, and 20 fathoms deep, on the borders of Schaumburg-Lippe; the Dümmersee, on the borders of Oldenburg, about 12 m. in circuit; the lakes of Bederkesa and some others in the moorlands of the north; the Seeburger See, near Duderstadt; and the Oderteich, in the Harz, 2100 ft. above the level of the sea.Climate.—The climate in the low-lying districts near the coast is moist and foggy, in the plains mild, on the Harz mountains severe and variable. In spring the prevailing winds blow from the N.E. and E., in summer from the S.W. The mean annual temperature is about 46° Fahr.; in the town of Hanover it is higher. The average annual rainfall is about 23.5 in.; but this varies greatly in different districts. In the west the Herauch, a thick fog arising from the burning of the moors, is a plague of frequent occurrence.Population; Divisions.—The province contains an area of 14,869 sq. m., and the total population, according to the census of 1905, was 2,759,699 (1,384,161 males and 1,375,538 females). In this connexion it is noticeable that in Hanover, almost alone among German states and provinces, there is a considerable proportion of male births over female. The density of the population is 175 to the sq. m. (English), and the proportion of urban to rural population, roughly, as 1 to 3 of the inhabitants. The province is divided into the sixRegierungsbezirke(or departments) of Hanover, Hildesheim, Lüneburg, Stade, Osnabrück and Aurich, and these again into Kreise (circles, or local government districts)—76 in all. The chief towns—containing more than 10,000 inhabitants—are Hanover, Linden, Osnabrück, Hildesheim, Geestemünde, Wilhelmshaven, Harburg, Lüneburg, Celle, Göttingen and Emden. Religious statistics show that 84% of the inhabitants belong to the Evangelical-Lutheran Church, 17 to the Roman Catholic and less than 1% to the Jewish communities. The Roman Catholics are mostly gathered around the episcopal sees of Hildesheim and Osnabrück and close to Münster (in Westphalia) on the western border, and the Jews in the towns. A court of appeal for the whole province sits at Celle, and there are eight superior courts. Hanover returns 19 members to theReichstag(imperial diet) and 36 to theAbgeordnetenhaus(lower house) of the Prussian parliament (Landtag).Education.—Among the educational institutions of the province the university of Göttingen stands first, with an average yearly attendance of 1500 students. There are, besides, a technical college in Hanover, an academy of forestry in Münden, a mining college in Clausthal, a military school and a veterinary college (both in Hanover), 26 gymnasia (classical schools), 18 semi-classical, and 14 commercial schools. There are also two naval academies, asylums for the deaf and dumb, and numerous charitable institutions.Agriculture.—Though agriculture constitutes the most important branch of industry in the province, it is still in a very backward state. The greater part of the soil is of inferior quality, and much that is susceptible of cultivation is still lying waste. Of the entire area of the country 28.6% is arable, 16.2 in meadow or pasture land, 14% in forests, 37.2% in uncultivated moors, heaths, &c.; from 17 to 18% is in possession of the state. The best agriculture is to be found in the districts of Hildesheim, Calenberg, Göttingen and Grubenhagen, on the banks of the Weser and Elbe, and in East Friesland. Rye is generally grown for bread. Flax, for which much of the soil is admirably adapted, is extensively cultivated, and forms an important article of export, chiefly, however, in the form of yarn. Potatoes, hemp, turnips, hops, tobacco and beet are also extensively grown, the latter, in connexion with the sugar industry, showing each year a larger return. Apples, pears, plums and cherries are the principal kinds of fruit cultivated, while the wild red cranberries from the Harz and the black bilberries from the Lüneburger Heide form an important article of export.Live Stock.—Hanover is renowned for its cattle and live stock generally. Of these there were counted in 1900 1,115,022 head of horned cattle, 824,000 sheep, 1,556,000 pigs, and 230,000 goats. The Lüneburger Heide yields an excellent breed of sheep, theHeidschnucken, which equal the Southdowns of England in delicacy of flavour. Horses famous for their size and quality are reared in the marshes of Aurich and Stade, in Hildesheim and Hanover; and, for breeding purposes, in the stud farm of Celle. Bees are principally kept on the Lüneburger Heide, and the annual yield of honey is very considerable. Large flocks of geese are kept in the moist lowlands; their flesh is salted for domestic consumption during the winter, and their feathers are prepared for sale. The rivers yield trout, salmon (in the Weser) and crayfish. The sea fisheries are important and have their chief centre at Geestemünde.Mining.—Minerals occur in great variety and abundance. The Harz Mountains are rich in silver, lead, iron and copper; coal is found around Osnabrück, on the Deister, at Osterwald, &c., lignite in various places; salt-springs of great richness exist at Egestorfshalland Neuhall near Hanover, and at Lüneburg; and petroleum may be obtained south of Celle. In the cold regions of the northern lowlands peat occurs in beds of immense thickness.Manufactures.—Works for the manufacture of iron, copper, silver, lead, vitriol and sulphur are carried on to a large extent. The iron works are very important: smelting is carried on in the Harz and near Osnabrück; there are extensive foundries and machine factories at Hanover, Linden, Osnabrück, Hameln, Geestemünde, Harburg, Osterode, &c., and manufactories of arms at Herzberg, and of cutlery in the towns of the Harz and in the Sollinger Forest. The textile industries are prosecuted chiefly in the towns. Linen yarn and cloth are largely manufactured, especially in the south about Osnabrück and Hildesheim, and bleaching is engaged in extensively; woollen cloths are made to a considerable extent in the south about Einbeck, Göttingen and Hameln; cotton-spinning and weaving have their principal seats at Hanover and Linden. Glass houses, paper-mills, potteries, tile works and tobacco-pipe works are numerous. Wax is bleached to a considerable extent, and there are numerous tobacco factories, tanneries, breweries, vinegar works and brandy distilleries. Shipbuilding is an important industry, especially at Wilhelmshaven, Papenburg, Leer, Stade and Harburg; and at Münden river-barges are built.Commerce.—Although the carrying trade of Hanover is to a great extent absorbed by Hamburg and Bremen, the shipping of the province counted, in 1903, 750 sailing vessels and 86 steamers of, together, 55,498 registered tons. The natural port is Bremen-Geestemünde and to it is directed the river traffic down the Weser, which practically forms the chief commercial artery of the province.Communications.—The roads throughout are, on the whole, well laid, and those connecting the principal towns macadamized. Hanover is intersected by important trunk lines of railway; notably the lines from Berlin to Cologne, from Hamburg to Frankfort-on-Main, from Hamburg to Bremen and Cologne, and from Berlin to Amsterdam.
Physical Features.—The greater part of Hanover is a plain with sandhills, heath and moor. The most fertile districts lie on the banks of the Elbe and near the North Sea, where, as in Holland, rich meadows are preserved from encroachment of the sea by broad dikes and deep ditches, kept in repair at great expense. The main feature of the northern plain is the so-calledLüneburger Heide, a vast expanse of moor and fen, mainly covered with low brushwood (though here and there are oases of fine beech and oak woods) and intersected by shallow valleys, and extending almost due north from the city of Hanover to the southern arm of the Elbe at Harburg. The southern portion of the province is hilly, and in the district of Klausenburg, containing the Harz, mountainous. The higher elevations are covered by dense forests of fir and larch, and the lower slopes with deciduous trees. The eastern portion of the northern plain is covered with forests of fir. The whole of Hanover dips from the Harz Mountains to the north, and the rivers consequently flow in that direction. The three chief rivers of the province are the Elbe in the north-east, where it mainly forms the boundary and receives the navigable tributaries Jeetze, Ilmenau, Seve, Este, Lühe, Schwinge and Medem; the Weser in the centre, with its important tributary the Aller (navigable from Celle downwards); and in the west the Ems, with its tributaries the Aa and the Leda. Still farther West is the Vecht, which, rising in Westphalia, flows to the Zuider Zee. Canals are numerous and connect the various river systems.
The principal lakes are the Steinhuder Meer, about 4 m. long and 2 m. broad, and 20 fathoms deep, on the borders of Schaumburg-Lippe; the Dümmersee, on the borders of Oldenburg, about 12 m. in circuit; the lakes of Bederkesa and some others in the moorlands of the north; the Seeburger See, near Duderstadt; and the Oderteich, in the Harz, 2100 ft. above the level of the sea.
Climate.—The climate in the low-lying districts near the coast is moist and foggy, in the plains mild, on the Harz mountains severe and variable. In spring the prevailing winds blow from the N.E. and E., in summer from the S.W. The mean annual temperature is about 46° Fahr.; in the town of Hanover it is higher. The average annual rainfall is about 23.5 in.; but this varies greatly in different districts. In the west the Herauch, a thick fog arising from the burning of the moors, is a plague of frequent occurrence.
Population; Divisions.—The province contains an area of 14,869 sq. m., and the total population, according to the census of 1905, was 2,759,699 (1,384,161 males and 1,375,538 females). In this connexion it is noticeable that in Hanover, almost alone among German states and provinces, there is a considerable proportion of male births over female. The density of the population is 175 to the sq. m. (English), and the proportion of urban to rural population, roughly, as 1 to 3 of the inhabitants. The province is divided into the sixRegierungsbezirke(or departments) of Hanover, Hildesheim, Lüneburg, Stade, Osnabrück and Aurich, and these again into Kreise (circles, or local government districts)—76 in all. The chief towns—containing more than 10,000 inhabitants—are Hanover, Linden, Osnabrück, Hildesheim, Geestemünde, Wilhelmshaven, Harburg, Lüneburg, Celle, Göttingen and Emden. Religious statistics show that 84% of the inhabitants belong to the Evangelical-Lutheran Church, 17 to the Roman Catholic and less than 1% to the Jewish communities. The Roman Catholics are mostly gathered around the episcopal sees of Hildesheim and Osnabrück and close to Münster (in Westphalia) on the western border, and the Jews in the towns. A court of appeal for the whole province sits at Celle, and there are eight superior courts. Hanover returns 19 members to theReichstag(imperial diet) and 36 to theAbgeordnetenhaus(lower house) of the Prussian parliament (Landtag).
Education.—Among the educational institutions of the province the university of Göttingen stands first, with an average yearly attendance of 1500 students. There are, besides, a technical college in Hanover, an academy of forestry in Münden, a mining college in Clausthal, a military school and a veterinary college (both in Hanover), 26 gymnasia (classical schools), 18 semi-classical, and 14 commercial schools. There are also two naval academies, asylums for the deaf and dumb, and numerous charitable institutions.
Agriculture.—Though agriculture constitutes the most important branch of industry in the province, it is still in a very backward state. The greater part of the soil is of inferior quality, and much that is susceptible of cultivation is still lying waste. Of the entire area of the country 28.6% is arable, 16.2 in meadow or pasture land, 14% in forests, 37.2% in uncultivated moors, heaths, &c.; from 17 to 18% is in possession of the state. The best agriculture is to be found in the districts of Hildesheim, Calenberg, Göttingen and Grubenhagen, on the banks of the Weser and Elbe, and in East Friesland. Rye is generally grown for bread. Flax, for which much of the soil is admirably adapted, is extensively cultivated, and forms an important article of export, chiefly, however, in the form of yarn. Potatoes, hemp, turnips, hops, tobacco and beet are also extensively grown, the latter, in connexion with the sugar industry, showing each year a larger return. Apples, pears, plums and cherries are the principal kinds of fruit cultivated, while the wild red cranberries from the Harz and the black bilberries from the Lüneburger Heide form an important article of export.
Live Stock.—Hanover is renowned for its cattle and live stock generally. Of these there were counted in 1900 1,115,022 head of horned cattle, 824,000 sheep, 1,556,000 pigs, and 230,000 goats. The Lüneburger Heide yields an excellent breed of sheep, theHeidschnucken, which equal the Southdowns of England in delicacy of flavour. Horses famous for their size and quality are reared in the marshes of Aurich and Stade, in Hildesheim and Hanover; and, for breeding purposes, in the stud farm of Celle. Bees are principally kept on the Lüneburger Heide, and the annual yield of honey is very considerable. Large flocks of geese are kept in the moist lowlands; their flesh is salted for domestic consumption during the winter, and their feathers are prepared for sale. The rivers yield trout, salmon (in the Weser) and crayfish. The sea fisheries are important and have their chief centre at Geestemünde.
Mining.—Minerals occur in great variety and abundance. The Harz Mountains are rich in silver, lead, iron and copper; coal is found around Osnabrück, on the Deister, at Osterwald, &c., lignite in various places; salt-springs of great richness exist at Egestorfshalland Neuhall near Hanover, and at Lüneburg; and petroleum may be obtained south of Celle. In the cold regions of the northern lowlands peat occurs in beds of immense thickness.
Manufactures.—Works for the manufacture of iron, copper, silver, lead, vitriol and sulphur are carried on to a large extent. The iron works are very important: smelting is carried on in the Harz and near Osnabrück; there are extensive foundries and machine factories at Hanover, Linden, Osnabrück, Hameln, Geestemünde, Harburg, Osterode, &c., and manufactories of arms at Herzberg, and of cutlery in the towns of the Harz and in the Sollinger Forest. The textile industries are prosecuted chiefly in the towns. Linen yarn and cloth are largely manufactured, especially in the south about Osnabrück and Hildesheim, and bleaching is engaged in extensively; woollen cloths are made to a considerable extent in the south about Einbeck, Göttingen and Hameln; cotton-spinning and weaving have their principal seats at Hanover and Linden. Glass houses, paper-mills, potteries, tile works and tobacco-pipe works are numerous. Wax is bleached to a considerable extent, and there are numerous tobacco factories, tanneries, breweries, vinegar works and brandy distilleries. Shipbuilding is an important industry, especially at Wilhelmshaven, Papenburg, Leer, Stade and Harburg; and at Münden river-barges are built.
Commerce.—Although the carrying trade of Hanover is to a great extent absorbed by Hamburg and Bremen, the shipping of the province counted, in 1903, 750 sailing vessels and 86 steamers of, together, 55,498 registered tons. The natural port is Bremen-Geestemünde and to it is directed the river traffic down the Weser, which practically forms the chief commercial artery of the province.
Communications.—The roads throughout are, on the whole, well laid, and those connecting the principal towns macadamized. Hanover is intersected by important trunk lines of railway; notably the lines from Berlin to Cologne, from Hamburg to Frankfort-on-Main, from Hamburg to Bremen and Cologne, and from Berlin to Amsterdam.
History.—The name Hanover (Hohenufer= high bank), originally confined to the town which became the capital of the duchy of Lüneburg-Calenberg, came gradually into use to designate, first, the duchy itself, and secondly, the electorate of Brunswick-Lüneburg; and it was officially recognized as the name of the state when in 1814 the electorate was raised to the rank of a kingdom.
The early history of Hanover is merged in that of the duchy of Brunswick (q.v.), from which the duchy of Brunswick-Lüneburg and its offshoots, the duchies of Lüneburg-Celle and Lüneburg-Calenberg have sprung. Ernest I. (1497-1546), duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg, who introduced the reformed doctrines into Lüneburg, obtained the whole of this duchy in 1539; and in 1569 his two surviving sons made an arrangement which was afterwards responsible for the birth of the kingdom of Hanover. By this agreement the greater part of the duchy, with its capital at Celle, came to William (1535-1592), the younger of the brothers, who gave laws to his land and added to its area; and this duchy of Lüneburg-Celle was subsequently ruled in turn by four of his sons: Ernest II. (1564-1611), Christian (1566-1633), Augustus (d. 1636) and Frederick (d. 1648). In addition to these four princes Duke William left three other sons, and in 1610 the seven brothers entered into a compact that the duchy should not be divided, and that only one of them should marry and continue the family. Casting lots to determine this question, the lot fell upon the sixth brother, George (1582-1641), who was a prominent soldier during the period of the Thirty Years’ War and saw service in almost all parts of Europe, fighting successively for Christian IV. of Denmark, the emperor Ferdinand II., and for the Swedes both before and after the death of Gustavus Adolphus. In 1617 he aided his brother, Duke Christian, to add Grubenhagen to Lüneburg, and after the extinction of the family of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel in 1634, he obtained Calenberg for himself, making Hanover the capital of his small dukedom. In 1648, on Duke Frederick’s death, George’s eldest son, Christian Louis (d. 1665), became duke of Lüneburg-Celle; and at this time he handed over Calenberg, which he had ruled since his father’s death, to his second brother, George William (d. 1705). When Christian Louis died George William succeeded him in Lüneburg-Celle; but the duchy was also claimed by a younger brother, John Frederick, a cultured and enlightened prince who had forsaken the Lutheran faith of his family and had become a Roman Catholic. Soon, however, by an arrangement John Frederick received Calenberg and Grubenhagen, which he ruled in absolute fashion, creating a standing army and modelling his court after that of Louis XIV., and which came on his death in 1679 to his youngest brother, Ernest Augustus (1630-1698), the Protestant bishop of Osnabrück. During the French wars of aggression the Lüneburg princes were eagerly courted by Louis XIV. and by his opponents; and after some hesitation George William, influenced by Ernest Augustus, fought among the Imperialists, while John Frederick was ranged on the side of France. In 1689 George William was one of the claimants for the duchy of Saxe-Lauenburg, which was left without a ruler in that year; and after a struggle with John George III., elector of Saxony, and other rivals, he was invested with the duchy by the emperor Leopold I. It was, however, his more ambitious brother, Ernest Augustus, who did most for the prestige and advancement of the house. Having introduced the principle of primogeniture into Calenberg in 1682, Ernest determined to secure for himself the position of an elector, and the condition of Europe and the exigencies of the emperor favoured his pretensions. He made skilful use of Leopold’s difficulties; and in 1692, in return for lavish promises of assistance to the Empire and the Habsburgs, the emperor granted him the rank and title of elector of Brunswick-Lüneburg with the office of standard-bearer in the Holy Roman Empire. Indignant protests followed this proceeding. A league was formed to prevent any addition to the electoral college; France and Sweden were called upon for assistance; and the constitution of the Empire was reduced to a state of chaos. This agitation, however, soon died away; and in 1708 George Louis, the son and successor of Ernest Augustus, was recognized as an elector by the imperial diet. George Louis married his cousin Sophia Dorothea, the only child of George William of Lüneburg-Celle; and on his uncle’s death in 1705 he united this duchy, together with Saxe-Lauenburg, with his paternal inheritance of Calenberg or Hanover. His father, Ernest Augustus, had taken a step of great importance in the history of Hanover when he married Sophia, daughter of the elector palatine, Frederick V., and grand-daughter of James I. of England, for, through his mother, the elector George Louis became, by the terms of the Act of Settlement of 1701, king of Great Britain and Ireland in 1714.
From this time until the death of William IV. in 1837, Lüneburg or Hanover, was ruled by the same sovereign as Great Britain, and this personal union was not without important results for both countries. Under George I. Hanover joined the alliance against Charles XII. of Sweden in 1715; and by the peace of Stockholm in November 1719 the elector received the duchies of Bremen and Verden, which formed an important addition to the electorate. His son and successor, George II., who founded the university of Göttingen in 1737, was on bad terms with his brother-in-law Frederick William I. of Prussia, and his nephew Frederick the Great; and in 1729 war between Prussia and Hanover was only just avoided. In 1743 George took up arms on behalf of the empress Maria Theresa; but in August 1745 the danger in England from the Jacobites led him to sign the convention of Hanover with Frederick the Great, although the struggle with France raged around his electorate until the peace of Aix-la-Chapelle in 1748. Induced by political exigencies George allied himself with Frederick the Great when the Seven Years’ War broke out in 1756; but in September 1757 his son William Augustus, duke of Cumberland, was compelled after his defeat at Hastenbeck to sign the convention of Klosterzeven and to abandon Hanover to the French. English money, however, came to the rescue; in 1758 Ferdinand, duke of Brunswick, cleared the electorate of the invader; and Hanover suffered no loss of territory at the peace of 1763. Both George I. and George II. preferred Hanover to England as a place of residence, and it was a frequent and perhaps justifiable cause of complaint that the interests of Great Britain were sacrificed to those of the smaller country. But George III. was more British than either his grandfather or his great-grandfather, and owing to a variety of causes the foreign policies of the two countries began to diverge in the later years of his reign. Twomain considerations dominated the fortunes of Hanover during the period of the Napoleonic wars, the jealousy felt by Prussia at the increasing strength and prestige of the electorate, and its position as a vulnerable outpost of Great Britain. From 1793 the Hanoverian troops fought for the Allies against France, until the treaty of Basel between France and Prussia in 1795 imposed a forced neutrality upon Hanover. At the instigation of Bonaparte Hanover was occupied by the Prussians for a few months in 1801, but at the settlement which followed the peace of Lunéville the secularized bishopric of Osnabrück was added to the electorate. Again tempting the fortune of war after the rupture of the peace of Amiens, the Hanoverians found that the odds against them were too great; and in June 1803 by the convention of Sulingen their territory was occupied by the French. The formation of the third coalition against France in 1805 induced Napoleon to purchase the support of Prussia by allowing her troops to seize Hanover; but in 1807, after the defeat of Prussia at Jena, he incorporated the southern part of the electorate in the kingdom of Westphalia, adding the northern portion to France in 1810. The French occupation was costly and aggressive; and the Hanoverians, many of whom were found in the allied armies, welcomed the fall of Napoleon and the return of the old order. Represented at the congress of Vienna by Ernest, Count Münster, the elector was granted the title of king; but the British ministers wished to keep the interests of Great Britain distinct from those of Hanover. The result of the congress, however, was not unfavourable to the new kingdom, which received East Friesland, the secularized bishopric of Hildesheim, the city of Goslar, and some smaller additions of territory, in return for the surrender of the greater part of the duchy of Saxe-Lauenburg to Prussia.
Like those of the other districts of Germany, the estates of the different provinces which formed the kingdom of Hanover had met for many years in an irregular fashion to exercise their varying and ill-defined authority; and, although the elector Ernest Augustus introduced a system of administrative councils into Celle, these estates, consisting of the three orders of prelates, nobles and towns, together with a body somewhat resembling the English privy council, were the only constitution which the country possessed, and the only check upon the power of its ruler. When the elector George Louis became king of Great Britain in 1714 he appointed a representative, orStatthalter, to govern the electorate, and thus the union of the two countries was attended with constitutional changes in Hanover as well as in Great Britain. Responsible of course to the elector, the Statthalter, aided by the privy council, conducted the internal affairs of the electorate, generally in a peaceful and satisfactory fashion, until the welter of the Napoleonic wars. On the conclusion of peace in 1814 the estates of the several provinces of the kingdom were fused into one body, consisting of eighty-five members, but the chief power was exercised as before by the members of a few noble families. In 1819, however, this feudal relic was supplanted by a new constitution. Two chambers were established, the one formed of nobles and the other of elected representatives; but although they were authorized to control the finances, their power with regard to legislation was very circumscribed. This constitution was sanctioned by the prince regent, afterwards King George IV.; but it was out of harmony with the new and liberal ideas which prevailed in Europe, and it hardly survived George’s decease in 1830. The revolution of that year compelled George’s brother and successor, William, to dismiss Count Münster, who had been the actual ruler of the country, and to name his own brother, Adolphus Frederick, duke of Cambridge, a viceroy of Hanover; one of the viceroy’s earliest duties being to appoint a commission to draw up a new constitution. This was done, and after William had insisted upon certain alterations, it was accepted and promulgated in 1833. Representation was granted to the peasants; the two chambers were empowered to initiate legislation; ministers were made responsible for all acts of government; a civil list was given to the king in return for the surrender of the crown lands; and, in short, the new constitution was similar to that of Great Britain. These liberal arrangements, however, did not entirely allay the discontent. A strong and energetic party endeavoured to thwart the working of the new order, and matters came to a climax on the death of William IV. in 1837.
By the law of Hanover a woman could not ascend the throne, and accordingly Ernest Augustus, duke of Cumberland, the fifth son of George III., and not Victoria, succeeded William as sovereign in 1837, thus separating the crowns of Great Britain and Hanover after a union of 123 years. Ernest, a prince with very autocratic ideas, had disapproved of the constitution of 1833, and his first important act as king was to declare it invalid. He appears to have been especially chagrined because the crown lands were not his personal property, but the whole of the new arrangements were repugnant to him. Seven Göttingen professors who protested against this proceeding were deprived of their chairs; and some of them, including F. C. Dahlmann and Jakob Grimm, were banished from the country for publishing their protest. To save the constitution an appeal was made to the German Confederation, which Hanover had joined in 1815; but the federal diet declined to interfere, and in 1840 Ernest altered the constitution to suit his own illiberal views. Recovering the crown lands, he abolished the principle of ministerial responsibility, the legislative power of the two chambers, and other reforms, virtually restoring affairs to their condition before 1833. The inevitable crisis was delayed until the stormy year 1848, when the king probably saved his crown by hastily giving back the constitution of 1833. Order, however, having been restored, in 1850 he dismissed the Liberal ministry and attempted to evade his concessions; a bitter struggle had just broken out when Ernest Augustus died in November 1851. During this reign the foreign policy of Hanover both within and without Germany had been coloured by jealousy of Prussia and by the king’s autocratic ideas. Refusing to join the PrussianZollverein, Hanover had become a member of the rival commercial union, theSteuerverein, three years before Ernest’s accession; but as this union was not a great success theZollvereinwas joined in 1851. In 1849, after the failure of the German parliament at Frankfort, the king had joined with the sovereigns of Prussia and Saxony to form the “three kings’ alliance”; but this union with Prussia was unreal, and with the king of Saxony he soon transferred his support to Austria and became a member of the “four kings’ alliance.”
George V., the new king of Hanover, who was unfortunately blind, sharing his father’s political ideas, at once appointed a ministry whose aim was to sweep away the constitution of 1848. This project, however, was resisted by the second chamber of theLandtag, or parliament; and after several changes of government a new ministry advised the king in 1855 to appeal to the diet of the German Confederation. This was done, and the diet declared the constitution of 1848 to be invalid. Acting on this verdict, not only was a ministry formed to restore the constitution of 1840, but after some trouble a body of members fully in sympathy with this object was returned to parliament in 1857. But these members were so far from representing the opinions of the people that popular resentment compelled George to dismiss his advisers in 1862. But the more liberal government which succeeded did not enjoy his complete confidence, and in 1865 a ministry was once more formed which was more in accord with his own ideas. This contest soon lost both interest and importance owing to the condition of affairs in Germany. Bismarck, the director of the policy of Prussia, was devising methods for the realization of his schemes, and it became clear after the war over the duchies of Schleswig and Holstein that the smaller German states would soon be obliged to decide definitely between Austria and Prussia. After a period of vacillation Hanover threw in her lot with Austria, the decisive step being taken when the question of the mobilization of the federal army was voted upon in the diet on the 14th of June 1866. At once Prussia requested Hanover to remain unarmed and neutral during the war, and with equal promptness King George refused to assent to these demands. Prussian troops then crossed his frontier and took possession of his capital.The Hanoverians, however, were victorious at the battle of Langensalza on the 27th of June 1866, but the advance of fresh bodies of the enemy compelled them to capitulate two days later. By the terms of this surrender the king was not to reside in Hanover, his officers were to take no further part in the war, and his ammunition and stores became the property of Prussia. The decree of the 20th of September 1866 formally annexed Hanover to Prussia, when it became a province of that kingdom, while King George from his retreat at Hietzing appealed in vain to the powers of Europe. Many of the Hanoverians remained loyal to their sovereign; some of them serving in the Guelph Legion, which was maintained largely at his expense in France, where a paper,La Situation, was founded by Oskar Meding (1829-1903) and conducted in his interests. These and other elaborate efforts, however, failed to bring about the return of the king to Hanover, though the Guelph party continued to agitate and to hope even after the Franco-German War had immensely increased the power and the prestige of Prussia. George died in June 1878. His son, Ernest Augustus, duke of Cumberland, continued to maintain his claim to the crown of Hanover, and refused to be reconciled with Prussia. Owing to this attitude the German imperial government refused to allow him to take possession of the duchy of Brunswick, which he inherited on the extinction of the elder branch of his family in 1884, and again in 1906 when the same subject came up for settlement on the death of the regent, Prince Albert of Prussia.
In 1867 King George had agreed to accept Prussian bonds to the value of about £1,600,000 as compensation for the confiscation of his estates in Hanover. In 1868, however, on account of his continued hostility to Prussia, the Prussian government sequestrated this property; and, known as theWelfenfonds, orReptilienfonds, it was employed as a secret service fund to combat the intrigues of the Guelphs in various parts of Europe; until in 1892 it was arranged that the interest should be paid to the duke of Cumberland. In 1885 measures were taken to incorporate the province of Hanover more thoroughly in the kingdom of Prussia, and there is little doubt but that the great majority of the Hanoverians have submitted to the inevitable, and are loyal subjects of the king of Prussia.