Tithing in Nassau

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The tithe redemption in Nassau was initiated by the tithe laws of 1840 and 1848. This abolished the tithe in the Duchy of Nassau , a process that lasted until 1897.

The tithe in Nassau

Creditors of the tithe payment, a levy from the Middle Ages , were landlords and tithe lords . In Nassau, the greatest tithe was the ducal domain administration . In addition, there were aristocrats , private individuals, parishes and schools as entitled .

The way to abolish tithe

As early as 1817, the Nassau government promised in an edict the "replacement of tithes, basic charges and servitutes". Nassau thus corresponded to the zeitgeist. In the Kingdom of Westphalia , the constitution in 1807 and a replacement law in 1809 created a replacement option for those liable to pay tithing against payment of 25 times the annual income. In the Grand Duchy of Hesse , neighboring Nassau , the tithe redemption was so vigorously pursued that the tithe redemption was initiated in Upper Hesse in 1829 except for four cases. In Nassau, on the other hand, the promise remained initially.

As a result of the July Revolution of 1830 , the tithe was abolished in other states, for example in Saxony in 1832 (described as exemplary in literature) and in Baden in 1833 . In Nassau, however, Duke Wilhelm I refused to replace the tithe because he considered the domain income to be his due (the estates of the Duchy of Nassau saw things differently, which led to the Nassau domain dispute ).

Tithe Act of 1840

It was not until Duke Wilhelm I's death in August 1839 and Duke Adolf took office that the situation changed. As one of the last German states, Nassau regulated the replacement of the tithe in the edict of January 29, 1840. The law provided:

  • The redemption of the tithe was basically possible.
  • The replacement was voluntary. There was no legal entitlement and no compulsion to do so.
  • The compensation was 25 times the amount of the annual tithe income.

Since very few of the ten debtors had the necessary capital for the redemption, the Landes-Credit-Casse Nassau was founded. This had the task of providing the redemption capital as a loan .

The offer was accepted many times. By the end of 1843, 96,500 hectares of the 146,500 hectares of land subject to a decade had been replaced. The refinancing of the country's credit-Casse Nassau proved to be easier than expected. Only a third of the tithe recipients had the redemption paid out in cash. Everyone else left the capital as a deposit at the Sparkasse (at 5% interest). As of December 31, 1847, the Sparkasse's balance sheet contained a claim for tithes in the amount of 6.2 million guilders .

Tithe Act of 1848

The year 1847 resulted in a bad harvest. This made it difficult for many farmers to meet their obligations to the savings bank. In the March Revolution of 1848, the issue of the tithing was discussed again.

The August Hergenhahn government proposed a legal regulation according to which a legal entitlement to the tithe redemption was provided for 16 times the annual tithe income. This was justified by the fact that this corresponded to the residual debt of those who had carried out the redemption under the old law. The difference in the compensation of the titular beneficiaries should be paid by the state. The meeting of the estates did not follow this proposal, however, but passed a law on August 17, 1848 that provided for a right to redemption at 12 times the annual tenth income.

There was opposition to this law not only from the government but also from the people. In the Westerwald in particular, there were broad stretches of land in which the tithe played no role. The local population feared tax increases due to the more generous regulation of the state parliament. Numerous petitions reached the state parliament and contributed to the fact that parliament and government agreed on a compromise. On December 24, 1848, the assembly of estates finally passed the law, which fixed compensation at 14 times the annual tithe income.

The law was not changed in the reaction era either. In 1856 it was even expanded again: now it was also possible to replace the inherited goods. These were goods that in the event of inheritance could only be inherited with the consent of the landlord and against additional payment.

The practical handling of the tithe replacement in Nassau continued to be sluggish. It was not until 1897 - the Duchy of Nassau had not existed for more than 30 years and had been annexed by the Kingdom of Prussia - the last installments of the tithe redemption were paid.

literature

  • Franz Lerner: Economic and social history of the Nassau area 1816–1964. Wiesbaden 1965, page 60 ff.