Two Definitions of Neutrality: Prussia, the European States-System, and the French Invasion of Hanover in 1803
1997; Routledge; Volume: 19; Issue: 3 Linguagem: Inglês
10.1080/07075332.1997.9640795
ISSN1949-6540
Autores Tópico(s)American Constitutional Law and Politics
Resumothe end of May 1803, twenty-five thousand French troops, under the command of General Edouard Mortier, marched virtually unopposed from northern Holland into the north German electorate of Hanover. When Hanover capitulated on 3 June by the convention of Suhlingen,1 for the second time in a little over two years the electorate was occupied by a foreign state. The first time had been in March 1801, when Prussia invaded Hanover with the backing of Russia, Denmark, and Sweden, its allies in the second league of Armed Neutrality.2 The sponsor of the league, which ostensibly aimed to combat British violations of neutral shipping in the Baltic, was the tsar of Russia, Paul I. As Prussia, lacking a navy, could not help the league at sea, it occupied Hanover in an attempt to threaten Britain, whose king, George III, was also elector of Hanover. At the same time, France, too, was threatening to invade Hanover as a means of striking at Britain. Thus, the Prussian army marched into Hanover in March 1801, partly to fulfil its treaty obligations to the league, partly to pre-empt a French invasion. The invasion of Hanover came back to haunt Prussia two years later when the king, Frederick William III, was again faced with having to decide whether to invade Hanover himself or to stand by and watch the French. This time, despite Hanover's obvious military and strategic value to Prussia, he stood by. To understand this turn of events, one must first examine the unit actors in the international system; that is, the great powers involved, especially Britain and Russia. Of particular importance at
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