This article is about the Rhineland as a region. For the historical period from 1822 until 1946, seeRhine Province.
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In the early 1800s,Rhinelanders settled theMissouri Rhineland, a German cultural region and wine-producing area in the U.S.State of Missouri, and named it after noticing similarities in soil and topography to the Rhineland inEurope. By 1860, nearly half of all settlers in Missouri Rhineland came fromKoblenz, capital of theRhine Province.[2][3]
Toponyms as well as localfamily names often trace back to the Frankish heritage.[citation needed]The lands on the western shore of the Rhine are strongly characterized byRoman influence, includingviticulture. In the core territories, large parts of the population are members of theCatholic Church.
At the earliest historical period, the territories between theArdennes and the Rhine were occupied by theTreveri, theEburones, and otherCeltic tribes, who, however, were all more or less modified and influenced by their Germanic neighbors. On the East bank of the Rhine, between the Main and the Lahn, were the settlements of theMattiaci, a branch of the GermanicChatti, while farther to the north were theUsipetes andTencteri.[5]
Julius Caesar conquered the Celtic tribes on the West bank, and Augustus established numerous fortified posts on the Rhine, but the Romans never succeeded in gaining a firm footing on the East bank. As the power of the Roman empire declined theFranks pushed forward along both banks of the Rhine, and by the end of the 5th century had conquered all the lands that had formerly been under Roman influence. By the 8th century, the Frankish dominion was firmly established in western Germania and northern Gaul.
By the time of EmperorOtto I (d. 973) both banks of the Rhine had become part of theHoly Roman Empire, and in 959 the Rhenish territory was divided between the duchies ofUpper Lorraine, on the Mosel, andLower Lorraine on the Meuse.
As the central power of theHoly Roman Emperor weakened, the Rhineland disintegrated into numerous small independent principalities, each with its separate vicissitudes and special chronicles. The old Lotharingian divisions became obsolete, and while the Lower Lorraine lands were referred to as theLow Countries, the name ofLorraine became restricted to the region on theupper Moselle that still bears it. After theImperial Reform of 1500/12, the territory was part of theLower Rhenish–Westphalian,Upper Rhenish, andElectoral Rhenish Circles. Notable RhenishImperial States included:
Despite its dismembered condition and the sufferings it underwent at the hands of its French neighbors in various periods of warfare, the Rhenish territory prospered greatly and stood in the foremost rank of German culture and progress. Aachen was the place of coronation of the German emperors, and the ecclesiastical principalities of the Rhine played a large role in German history.[5]
At thePeace of Basel in 1795, the whole of the left bank of the Rhine was taken by France. The population was about 1.6 million in numerous small states. In 1806, the Rhenish princes all joined theConfederation of the Rhine, a puppet of Napoleon. France took direct control of the Rhineland until 1814 and radically and permanently liberalized the government, society, and economy. The Coalition of France's enemies made repeated efforts to retake the region, but France repelled all the attempts.[6]
The French swept away centuries worth of outmoded restrictions and introduced unprecedented levels of efficiency.[citation needed] The chaos and barriers in a land divided and subdivided among many different petty principalities gave way to a rational, simplified, centralized system controlled by Paris and run by Napoleon's relatives. The most important impact came from the abolition of all feudal privileges and historic taxes, the introduction of legal reforms of theNapoleonic Code, and the reorganization of the judicial and local administrative systems. The economic integration of the Rhineland with France increased prosperity, especially in industrial production, while business accelerated with the new efficiency and lowered trade barriers. The Jews were liberated from the ghetto. There was limited resistance; most Germans welcomed the new regime, especially the urban elites, but one sour point was the hostility of the French officials toward the Roman Catholic Church, the choice of most of the residents.[7] The reforms were permanent. Decades later workers and peasants in the Rhineland often appealed to Jacobinism to oppose unpopular government programs, while the intelligentsia demanded the maintenance of the Napoleonic Code (which stayed in effect for a century).[8][9]
Regierungsbezirke of the Prussian Rhine Province, 1905 map
A Prussian influence began on a small scale in 1609 by the occupation of theDuchy of Cleves. A century later,Upper Guelders andMoers also became Prussian. TheCongress of Vienna expelled the French and assigned the whole of the lower Rhenish districts to Prussia, who left them in undisturbed possession of the liberal institutions to which they had become accustomed under the French.[5] The Rhine Province remained part of Prussia afterGermany was unified in 1871.[10]
The occupation of the Rhineland took place following theArmistice with Germany of 11 November 1918. The occupying armies consisted ofAmerican,Belgian,British andFrench forces. Under theTreaty of Versailles, German troops were banned from all territory west of the Rhine and within 50 kilometers east of the Rhine.
In 1920, under massive French pressure, theSaar was separated from the Rhine Province and administered by theLeague of Nations until a plebiscite in 1935, when the region was returned to Germany. At the same time, in 1920, the districts ofEupen andMalmedy were transferred toBelgium (seeGerman-Speaking Community of Belgium).
In January 1923, in response to Germany's failure to meet itsreparations obligations, French and Belgian troopsoccupied the Ruhr district, strictly controlling all important industrial areas. The Germans responded with passive resistance, which led tohyperinflation,[11] and the French gained very little of the reparations they wanted. French troops left the Ruhr in August 1925.
The occupation of the remainder of the Rhineland ended on 30 June 1930.[12]
On 7 March 1936, in violation of the Treaty of Versailles, German troops marched into the Rhineland and other regions along the Rhine. After 1918, territory west of the Rhine had been off-limits to the German military. However, there was no opposition to its re-occupation from other powers such as France and the UK, despite the fact that in 1936 the German forces were not particularly strong and could have been pushed back. This lack of action by other powers gave Hitler confidence and Germany increased its programme of re-armament which led to war in 1939.
Towards the end of the war the Rhineland was the scene ofmajor fighting as the Allied forces overwhelmed the German defenders in 1945.[13]
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