Local office-holders in the Landgraviate of Hesse-Kassel, 1750- 1830 : the significance of social networks for their careers and daily life

The article deals with the significance of personal networks among stateofficials in Hesse-Kassel in the process of state-formation in this medium-sized German territory. It sketches how personal loyalties of kin, friendship and patronage shaped the process from the middle of the 18th century to the revolution of 1830, and vice-versa, how personal networks were reshaped through changes in customs, institutions and power. In the emergence of the constitutional system, an antagonism between liberal judiciary and conservative administration could be detected, which prefigured later political parties.Brakensiek Stefan. Local office-holders in the Landgraviate of Hesse-Kassel, 1750- 1830 : the significance of social networks for their careers and daily life. In: Mélanges de l'École française de Rome. Italie et Méditerranée, tome 116, n°2. 2004. La culture scientifique à Rome à l’époque moderne. Pouvoir local et factions (XVe-XIXe siècle). Città e ambiente. Ospedali e sanità. pp. 577-591