_werner@honkomp.de_ (mailto:werner@honkomp.de) writes:
Westphalia was a part of Prussia since 1815, later also Osnabrück area and
Hannover, never Oldenburg.
Check this map site:
http://www.honkomp.de/atlas/niedersachsen/index.htm
Werner Honkomp
Thank you! Never underestimate the American ignorance of European history
and geography (and I'm speaking as an ignorant American).
Bob,
Be sure to dig into the history of Hannover and also the Holy Roman Empire.
The situation regarding names and boundaries of countries was in a frequent
state of flux in the region, partcularly from the 16th Century onwards.
Also, be aware of the generalizations Americans made about the area during
the 19th Century. Basically, Americans tended to call evrything in what is
now northern Germany "Prussia" from the 1870 Census until sometime after 1890
when everything except Austria (and Lichtenstein)became "Germany" or sometimes
"German Empire". [e.g. if a person were born in the Kingdom of Hannover in
1840, and immigrated to the US in 1858, his birthplace in the 1860 US Census
would be Hannover. In 1870, the same person's birthplace would be shown as
Prussia, and in 1900 he would be shown to have been born in Germany.]
Don Roddy
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