The Duchy of Oster

The Duchy of Oster was a state that existed from 1603 until 1705 when it was succeeded by the Oster Republic.

Creation
In 1602, the Osterlands was the name given to the region of small provinces surrounding the River Oster. On one side were the triple duchies of Walden, Herrenburg and the Geldt whilst on the other were the dual duchies of Oster and Weissen. The Oster family had controlled the dual duchies since 1458 with the Geisse family controlling Walden, Herrenberg and the Geldt. Both families employed agnatic succession laws which excluded females from inheriting the lands though the Duchy of Walden-Herrenberg-Geldt had made some alteration to it's laws in 1567 which would allow for female succession in the event that all male descendants were extinct. There is some debate as to how legitimate this alteration was, the change being made by Ducal Decree rather than legislation passed by the Ducal Council, however it proved to be useful in 1602 when Walden-Herrenberg-Geldt found itself in a crisis of succession.

The last reigning Duke, Claus IX had two sons and a daughter. The eldest, Friedrich, died at the age of 12 whilst the second, Josef, took up arms against his father to try and inherit sooner. This failed and Josef was sent into exile, stripped of his titles and succession rights. As the only surviving child of the Duke, Princess Margriet was widely believed to be the successor to her father which made her one of the most eligible spinsters in Europe. The Duchy of Walden-Herrenberg-Geldt had access to some of the best farm land and copper mines and was therefore considered one of the more wealthy states despite it's small size. Whilst many states sent emissaries to try and secure a proposal with Margriet, she refused them all and by the time Claus IX died, Margriet inherited in her own right. This was contested by Felix III who was head of the Oster family. Under a 1589 treaty between the Oster and Geisse families, he claimed that Margriet could not inherit and therefore the Geisse lands should transfer to him. When Margriet refused his claims, Felix led an army taking control of the three provinces. With few allies, Margriet's armies could not hold Oster troops back and she petitioned the Holy Roman Emperor for assistance. When this failed, a council was called in Frankfurt and Felix III said that he would withdraw his troops if Margriet recognised the 1589 treaty and abandoned her claim to be reigning Duchess. She did so and the Duchy of Oster, defined as the five provinces of Oster, Weissen, Walden, Herrenberg and the Geldt were handed over to the Oster family who proclaimed their new Duchy of Oster. Margriet was offered Felix III's fourth son Maximillian as a spouse but she refused and entered an abbey, dying there in 1623.

The Great Pledge
The united duchy initially suffered from rebellion. There were many noble families who had a vested interest in the Geisse family and when in 1605 there was a mass outbreak of disease in barley crops on which most of the population depended for beer and bread, the Osterians revolted against Felix III. His response was to agree to the Great Pledge, an agreement between the people and the crown which secured a way of life that would continue for 100 years. The pledge asserted the following: The Great Pledge is considered to be the first constitution of the Osterlands but had mixed results. Whilst life for tenant farmers changed for the better, the economy suffered. Their living conditions were dramatically improved but this did nothing to ensure the quality or quantity of their goods and with foreign goods shunned, many families survived on a very basic diet of poor quality foods. In 1639, the monasteries lost their right to charge vast sums for tenant farmers which began the seperation of religion from every day life and for the first time, protestantism gained a hold in the country, also helped along by the immigration of many Dutch and German settlers. The Great Pledge is regarded as a successful document however as it secured the reign of the Oster family for the next 100 years.
 * That noble families could no longer expect tithes from tenant farmers that were greater than the income they raised in the previous year. Tithes still existed but were variable and not set nationally. Monastery farms were exempt however and could still continue to demand tithes of it's tenants of up to 50% in some cases.
 * Crops and livestock were to be registered to tenants for the first time to prevent fraud among merchants which had been rife in the previous years. All farms had to keep a record, witnessed by a local Merchant Registrar but this was eventually used to levy a new tax on households which was unavoidable now that all income and expenditure was so clearly accounted for.
 * Noble families could not evict a family that had lived on the tenant farm for over 5 years. After 10 years, tenant farmers had to be offered the option to purchase their farm but in reality this was rarely the case.
 * Imported goods had to be marked with a red circle to show that they were foreign. This led to the belief that those buying red circled goods were unpatriotic and it became a great social stigma to be seen buying them. With a decline in imported goods, the Duchy found it's revenue depleted and many luxury goods failed to take hold as they did in other countries.
 * The law that forced the second son of all families to enter the priesthood or a monastery was abolished. Similarly, the law requiring the eldest female to "prove her worth" by the payment of a dowry was also abolished though many families continued the practice well into the 19th century.
 * The reigning Duke was to rule with a council of advisors as the Geisse family had done. This took the form of a ducal council known as the 'Grafsmeer', an early form of unicameral parliament.
 * All men over the age of 21 were entitled to move their families and goods freely without the permission of the local magistrate. This saw many families leave the country giving rise to a large number of Dutch and German settlers who took their place and contributed to cultural and social values.
 * All men were entitled to a trial with a jury of their peers rather than the local magistrate. This was a direct response to many cases of corruption in the judiciary but did not last long, the 1620 Witch Hunt allowing the Grafsmeer to abolish this part of the Great Pledge supported by the public.

The Decline of the Duchy
By 1690, the economy was in a state of almost complete collapse. Before the Great Pledge, nobles had been able to trade their tenant farmers in a similar way to Russian serfs (though not legally or defined so clearly). Nobles depended on the tenant farmers to work their land for them bringing in huge profits in terms of dairy, meat, grains, cloth, honey, wax and other goods. As the economy nose dived, prices rose and many nobles found that their tenant farmers paid next to nothing in the way of rent which they were entitled to do under the Great Pledge. According to it's strict rules on tithes, a farmer might sell his produce for 10 Guilders after which the local Merchant Registrar would use the household accounts to calculate taxes and the cost of living. Realistically, most nobles now recieved around 5% of the tithe they had one enjoyed. In an effort to raise revenue, most landlords sold their farms, some to tenants who could afford to take on the property but the majority to Dutch and German settlers who had arrived with some considerable wealth. With their way of life crumbling, the nobles (most of whom formed the Grafsmeer) demanded that the Great Pledge be abolished and replaced with new laws but many of the working classes felt a great pride in the Great Pledge, seeing it as their guarantee of a better life. On June 5 1690, the nobles in the Grafsmeer voted unanimously to abolish the Great Pledge. When the reigning Duke, Casimir II refused to grant assent, the nobles voted to abolish the monarchy and thus began the Ducal War of 1690.

Whilst the Duke's forces were loyal, they didn't have the finances avaliable to them to invest in weaponry, horses and tools. Many troop camps were infested with disease owing to their position in the low lands and flooding, so they were easily destroyed by the noble forces. The Battle of Osterhaven in September 1690 brought the war to a swift close when Duke Casimir II's eldest son and heir, Joachim, was killed. Casimir ended the war by abdicating and seeking exile in France where he died in 1698. For a time, the nobles continued to serve in the Grasfmeer under the puppet Duke Francis of Oster but with Francis' death in 1703, the House of Oster had become extinct and the Grafsmeer voted to form the Oster Republic.