Kingdom of Westphalia Royaume de Westphalie (fr) Königreich Westphalen (de)
1807–1813
Flag Coat of arms
The Kingdom of Westphalia (green) after territorial cessions to France in 1810
Status	Client of the First French Empire
Capital	Kassel
Common languages	German, French (official) Low German(regional)
Government	Constitutional monarchy
Historical era	Napoleonic era
• Treaty of Tilsit	July 9 1807
• Battle of Nations	October 19 1813
Currency	Westphalian frank
Preceded by Succeeded by Electorate of Hanover Hesse-Kassel Electorate of Hanover Hesse-Kassel
Today part of	Germany

The Kingdom of Westphalia was a new country of two millions Germans that existed from 1807-1813 in western parts of present-day Germany. While formally independent, it was a vassal state of the First French Empire, ruled by Napoleon's brother Jérôme Bonaparte. It was named after Westphalia, but it is a misnomer since the kingdom had little territory in common with that area.^[1] Napoleon imposed the first written constitution in Germany, a French-style central administration, and agricultural reform. The Kingdom liberated the serfs and gave everyone equal rights and the right to a jury trial. In 1808 the Kingdom passed Germany's first laws granting Jews equal rights, thereby providing a model for reform in the other German states. Westphalia was progressive in immediately enacting and enforcing the new reforms, thereby playing a leading role in the evolution of German democracy. The new government imposed heavy new taxes and conscripted soldiers, but few of the men who marched into Russia with Napoleon in 1812 ever returned. When Napoleon was retreating in the face of Allied advances in 1813, the kingdom was overrun by the Allies and (in 1815) turned over to Prussian rule. Most of the reforms, however, remained in place.^[2]

The Kingdom of Westphalia was created in 1807 by merging territories ceded by the Kingdom of Prussia in the Peace of Tilsit, among them the Duchy of Magdeburg, the Brunswick-Luneburgian former Electorate of Hanover, the Brunswick-Lunenburgian Principality of Wolfenbüttel, and the Electorate of Hesse. The latter's capital Kassel then fulfilled the same function for Westphalia, and the king kept court at the palace of Wilhelmshöhe, re-named Napoleonshöhe. The state was a member of the Confederation of the Rhine.

Intended as a Napoleonic "model state", a constitution was written and enacted by King Jérôme on 7 December 1807, the day after he had arrived in Kassel, making Westphalia the first monarchy in Germany with a modern-style constitution. The constitution made all male residents citizens of equal rights. Thus serfs were liberated and Jews emancipated, soccage was abolished. The Napoleonic code was enacted, doing away with guilds and providing for the right of free enterprise. A metric system of weights and measures was introduced. Just as before the conquest, freedom of expression remained curtailed and censorship was instituted. In 1810 the coastal and northern départements North (capital: Stade) and Lower Elbe (capital: Lunenburg) had to be ceded to the French Empire.

Following the French example, Jewish congregations were reorganised and a Consistory supervising them was established. The former Brunswick-Wolfenbüttelian merchant and man of letters, Israel Jacobson, became its consistorial president, assisted by a board of officers. Jacobson did his best to exercise a reforming influence upon the various congregations of the country. He opened a house of prayer in Kassel, with a ritual similar to that introduced in Seesen. Napoléon's inglorious so-called décret infâme, restricting again the rights of many French Jews, did not apply in Westphalia.

A significant burden on the kingdom was the requirement to supply troops and financial support for the Napoleonic wars. Large numbers of Westphalian troops fought in the Russian campaign of 1812; the Westphalian Guards heroically but unsuccessfully charged the Raevski Redoubt during the Battle of Borodino.

In September 1813, Russian troops surrounded Kassel, defeated the French completely and retook the city. By October 1 they had conquered the whole Kingdom, but three days later Jérôme returned with French soldiers and managed to recapture Kassel. The Elector of Hesse-Kassel arrived soon after and the Russians besieged the city again. After France lost the Battle of the Nations on 19 October 1813, the Russians dissolved the Kingdom and restored the status quo of 1806 except for Kaunitz-Rietberg and Stolberg-Wernigerode, with Prussia regaining control.

The arms reflect the incorporated territories. The first quarter shows the silver horse of Westphalia, the second the lion of Hesse over the counties of Diez, Nidda and Katzenelnbogen, the third was newly designed for non specified territories around Magdeburg and the fourth combined Brunswick, Diepholz, Lüneburg and Lauterburg. Around the shield are the Order of the Crown of Westphalia and the French ‘Grand Aigle’. Above is Napoleon's star. Typical for Napoleonic heraldry are the crossed sceptres.

• Connelly, Owen. Napoleon's satellite kingdoms (1966) ch 6

• Corpus juris of the Kingdom of Westphalia (constitution etc.)
• König Lustik!? Jérôme Bonaparte and the Model State Kingdom of Westphalia. State Exhibition of Hesse 2008. Museum Fridericianum Kassel / Germany

v t e Client states of the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars (1792–1815)
Sister republics	Germany Mainz Ireland Connacht Italy Alba Ancona Bergamo Bologna Brescia Cisalpinia Cispadania Crema Italy Liguria Lucca Parthenopea Piedmont Rome Subalpinia Tiberinia Transpadania Venice Netherlands Batavia Switzerland Helvetia Lemania Rauracia Valais Swiss Confederation	Europe at the height of Napoleon's Empire
Napoleonic creations	Germany Aschaffenburg Confederation of the Rhine Baden Bavaria Berg Erfurt Frankfurt Hesse Leyen Regensburg Salm Salm-Horstmar Salm-Reifferscheid-Dyck Saxony Westphalia Wetzlar Württemberg Würzburg Italy Etruria Italy Lucca and Piombino Massa and Carrara Naples Pontecorvo Tuscany Mediterranean Malta Egypt Netherlands Holland Poland Warsaw Danzig Spain Spain

v t e States of the Confederation of the Rhine (1806–1813)
Rank elevated by Napoleon	Kingdoms Bavaria Saxony Württemberg Grand Duchies Baden Hesse Duchies Nassau
States created	Kingdoms Westphalia Grand Duchies Berg Frankfurt1 Würzburg Principalities Aschaffenburg2 Leyen Regensburg2
Pre-existing states	Saxon duchies Coburg-Saalfeld Gotha-Altenburg Hildburghausen Meiningen Weimar3 Eisenach3 Weimar-Eisenach4 Other duchies Anhalt Bernburg Dessau Köthen Arenberg Mecklenburg-Schwerin Mecklenburg-Strelitz Oldenburg Principalities Hohenzollern Hechingen Sigmaringen Isenburg Liechtenstein Lippe-Detmold Reuss Ebersdorf Greiz Lobenstein Schleiz Salm5 Schaumburg-Lippe Schwarzburg Rudolstadt Sondershausen Waldeck
1 from 1810 2 until 1810 3 until 1809 4 from 1809 5 until 1811

51°18′30.45″N 9°29′58.60″E / 51.3084583°N 9.4996111°E / 51.3084583; 9.4996111