Hanover, Germany

From Encyclopediak

Hanover, a province of northwest Prussia, formerly a kingdom of Germany. It is bounded on the n. by the North Sea, on the e. by Saxony and Brunswick, on the s. by Hesse-Nassau and Westphalia and on the w. by Holland. It includes the old Brunswick-Liineburg possessions, and also Hilde-sheim, East Friesland, Osnabriick, Gottingen and other districts. In the region of the Harz Mountains are valuable mineral deposits and dense woods, and the valleys are fertile. The coast, like that of Holland, is low and frequently subject to overflow. The manufactures include cotton and woolen textiles, leather, machinery, wagons, paper, chemicals, glassware, etc. The early history of Hanover is identical with that of Brunswick. In 1692 it became an electorate in 1714 George Louis, Elector of Hanover, became King of England as George I, and as a result of this, Hanover grew rapidly in importance. A century later it was established as a kingdom by the Congress of Vienna. It was annexed to Prussia by the Peace of Prague in 1866. Population, about 2,760,000.