Convention of Zeven Monastery

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Zeven Monastery

The Zeven Monastery Convention is a declaration of neutrality made by the Duke of Cumberland in 1757 in the Zeven Monastery towards the French during the Seven Years' War .

Starting position

After the decisive battle at Hastenbeck , the Hanoverian observation army, pursued by the French, withdrew across the Weser towards the Stade fortress . Both sides asked the Danish king to broker an armistice. He sent the experienced diplomat Rochus Friedrich to Lynar to lead the armistice negotiations. This assignment came about so quickly that Lynar had to act without written authorization or further instructions.

Conclusion of the convention

On September 4, 1757 Lynar met the Duke of Cumberland, who camped with his troops in Bremervörde . With an armistice offer he reached the French standing in front of Zeven on September 6th and returned immediately with a counter offer from the Duke of Richelieu . The Duke of Cumberland's discussions with his advisors about this counter-offer lasted so long that Lynar did not return to the French until September 8th and was shocked to see that they had marched against the Hanoverian troops. Lynar urged the Hanoverians to graduate at all costs. Last changes were negotiated by courier on September 9, and at 4 a.m. on September 10, the conventions signed by the Duke of Cumberland came into being.

The Zeven Convention essentially contains only four articles:

  1. Conclusion of a truce within 24 hours.
  2. The Hessian , Brunswick , Saxony-Gotha and Lippe auxiliaries are returned to their homeland.
  3. The Hanoverian army withdraws across the Elbe into the Duchy of Lauenburg . As an exception, a crew of 4,000 to 6,000 remains in the fortress of Stade.
  4. All detached departments withdraw to Stade within 48 hours.

Effects

The 40,000 strong Hanoverian observation army withdrew across the Elbe, the Electorate of Hanover fell into the hands of the French, although neither side was satisfied with the Zeven convention. The British King and Hanoverian Elector George II did not confirm the convention. The Duke of Cumberland was removed from command for the conclusion of the Convention and fell out of favor with his father. The French king pushed for another convention according to which the Hanoverian troops should be disarmed. In November, the convention was repealed, and from the French point of view it even became a Pyrrhus victory : After the defeat and in some cases as a direct consequence of it, the British war efforts, which had hitherto been half-hearted, were further intensified and conducted much more effectively under the direction of William Pitt .

The Hanoverian version of the convention is now in the Hanover location within the Lower Saxony State Archives .

literature

  • Charteris, Evan: William Augustus, Duke of Cumberland and the seven years' war , London 1925.
  • Mediger, Walther, Hastenbeck and Zeven. Hanover's entry into the Seven Years' War . In: Niedersächsisches Jahrbuch für Landesgeschichte 56/1984, pp. 137–166.

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