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The Landgraviate of Hessen-Kassel (German: Landgrafschaft Hessen-Kassel) or Hesse-Cassel was a Reichsfrei principality of the Holy Roman Empire.
History[]
Hesse-Kassel was formed in 1526 following the death of Philip I, Landgrave of Hesse. His land was divided between his four sons, who divided the land between the cities and towns, with Hesse-Kassel formed alongside Hesse-Marburg, Hesse-Rheinfels and Hesse-Darmstadt. During the Thirty Years' War Hesse-Kassel allied with Sweden, and it eventually fell into personal union from 1730-1751 when it was inherited by King Frederick I. Due to his commitments in Sweden however his brother William governed on his behalf and inherited the land which was politically separated from Sweden.
In 1760 William died, and the Landgravate was inherited by his son Frederick II. Having married Princess Mary in 1740, he was the brother-in-law of George II and uncle of George III. During the American Revolutionary War, George relied heavily on Hessen-Kassel to provide auxiliary mercenary forces. Hessen-Kessel provided so many through such regiments as the Musketeer Regiment Prinz Carl that all German auxiliaries were nicknamed "Hessians" regardless of their nationality.