Emden Convention
The Emden Convention was a treaty dated March 14, 1744, which regulated the annexation of the county of East Friesland by Prussia after the local dynasty of the Cirksena died out . In the Emden Convention, the old rights and privileges of the city of Emden and the Prussian estates were recognized.
background
In 1734 the last prince of East Frisia, Carl Edzard, took office. He married Sophia Wilhelmina von Brandenburg-Bayreuth . The city of Emden and other unruly estates refused to pay homage to him . Whether Carl Edzard intervened in the administration of his country at all is at least doubtful. It is likely that his decisions were made by others. Carl Edzard's disputes with the estates led to negotiations between Emden and Prussia. The city of Emden was after the war appeal isolated politically and economically weakened. Emden wanted to regain its position as a “corporate capital” and trading metropolis. From 1740 the opinion prevailed in Emden that this goal could be achieved with Prussian help. Emden's main demands were the withdrawal of the Sauvegarde (imperial protection force) and the Danes , the return of the Emden glories sequestered as a punishment for the roll call war (= confiscated by the emperor) and the relocation of the state treasury to Emden. In return, the East Frisian estates should recognize the Prussian eligibility in East Frisia.
On the other hand were the interests of Prussia, which were pursued especially after Frederick II's accession to the throne . Following Prussian policy, he wanted to adequately assert the rights and claims of the House of Hohenzollern everywhere. The focus of interest was on Jülich-Berg , Mecklenburg and East Frisia. Here Prussia relied on the right issued by Emperor Leopold I in 1694 to enfeoff the Principality of East Frisia in the event of a lack of male heirs. In order to enforce these interests, Sebastian Anton Homfeld was commissioned from Berlin to prepare for the seizure of the property in the mid-1730s, when the end of the Cirksena house was on the horizon. During the 1720s, Homfeld was the syndic of the Emden Estates Party and court mayor in the city's Prussian battalion. From 1733 he was also a director of Prussia in the Lower Rhine-Westphalian Empire . Homfeld undeterred supported the Prussian cause. He had been in Berlin as early as 1724, where he was informed of the Prussian plans and received instructions. After Friedrich II ascended the throne, negotiations began between the Emden magistrate and Prussia. The negotiations on the Prussian side were conducted by Sebastian Anton Homfeld, who on November 8, 1740 presented a first draft of the procedure to be followed in the event of inheritance. Homfeld was considered one of the leading representatives of the unruly estates. After initial difficulties, two contracts were concluded on March 14, 1744 . On the one hand, this was the Royal Special Declaration and Insurance Act, and on the other, the Agitation and Convention Act, in which primarily economic regulations were made. In 23 paragraphs it was stipulated that all national treaties and thus also the position of the city and the guarantee rights of the States General should remain valid. In addition to the above-mentioned demands, the city of Emden was granted special rights in the toleration of Jews and Mennonites (and the associated collection of protection money from the city treasury), the recognition of the Cirksenas guilt with Emden creditors and in the exemption from military burdens. Furthermore, the agreements for the promotion of economy and shipping according to earlier agreements of 1683 were regulated under § 11. The city of Emden had thus enforced its maximum demands. Finally, on March 14, 1744, a formal convention was signed. When Carl Edzard died on May 25, 1744 (less than two weeks after the Emden Convention had been ratified), King Frederick the Great immediately asserted his right of succession and had Aurich occupied by 500 Prussians on June 7, 1744 without resistance June the whole country paid homage to the Prussian crown. The foreign garrisons were withdrawn: the Dutch from Emden, the imperial from Leer and the Danes from Weener, Jemgum and Detern.
Web links
- Thorsten Melchers: East Friesland: Prussia's atypical province ?: Prussian integration policy in the 18th century . Oldenburg 2002, urn : nbn: de: gbv: 715-oops-3219 (668 S., Univ., Diss., 2002).