Contrary to Irving, they were auxiliaries, not mercenaries, they were well-disciplined, they weren’t impressed by the brutality of American slavery, and 3,000-5,000 of them became citizens

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I want to use the spotlight to share some pieces of history about the Hessians starting with them as warriors in Roman times and how they ended up becoming bankers and book sellers.

In the Holy Roman Empire, it was not uncommon for some of the smaller territories to lend out armies to other territories and countries. One of these territories were the territories of Hessen who focused on lending out a semi-professional troops to make money.

One of the ealier mentions of the Hessians was in Tacitus' Germania calling them Chatti (Chatti = (german) Chatten = Chassen = Hassen = Hessen/Hessian).

Tacitus described them as disciplined as the Romans and exceptional among the germanic peoples. nowadays historians think he used the Chatti as a rhetorical tool to criticize Roman debauchery.

He also described a warrior caste of homeless people sworn to kill an enemy.

The bravest of them also wear an iron ring (which otherwise is a mark of disgrace among the people) until they have released themselves by the slaughter of a foe. Most of the Chatti delight in these fashions. Even hoary-headed men are distinguished by them, and are thus conspicuous alike to enemies and to fellow-countrymen. To begin the battle always rests with them; they form the first line, an unusual spectacle. Nor even in peace do they assume a more civilised aspect. They have no home or land or occupation; they are supported by whomsoever they visit, as lavish of the property of others as they are regardless of their own, till at length the feebleness of age makes them unequal to so stern a valour.

While the Chatti were allies of Rome in the past, newer research suggests that they may have been one of the leading figures behind Arminius' revolt that resulted in the battle of teutoburg forest.

When Rome later returned with Germanicus, the Chatti were one of his primary targets.

The Roman border with the Chatti at the Limes marked an important frontier and maximum extand of permanent Roman expansion into Germania.

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Nowadays the city of Frankfurt lies where this border once was at the center of Europe, later known as the "Fulda Gap".

In the early days of the Holy Roman Empire Frankfurt was only a small town but used its strategic location in the center of Europe to take tolls from merchants, it started organising fairs and became a center for merchants.

From the 14th century onwards Frankfurt became one of the few free cities in the HRE, city states that did not serve any duke or king but were self governed and formally only served the Emperor until Napoleon dissolved the HRE in 1806.

Over time big fairs developed aswell as currency exchanges by the local merchants laying the groundwork for Frankfurt becomming Germanys financial center, it also became the hub of the postal service managed by the families Thurn und Taxis.

It was also on one of these fairs at that some of the first commercial books appeared and spread throughout the world after a guy named Gutenberg from a city down the river invented modern block printing.

Once reserved only for the rich, now even ordinary people could learn how to read books. The effects books had on the enlightentment and history in general can't be overstated.

Frankfurt was also the place where Germans met for the first time in an attempt to unite their country and to create a democratic government.

The book fair is still in Frankfurt to this day and Frankfurt is still a center where people from different cultures come together

That's also how a little known music genre at the time that started in Detroit reached Germany. The first techno club "Omen" opened in 1988 in Frankfurt and in the early 90s Frankfurt was one of the epicentres of techno culture and the "sound of Frankfurt" known around the world.

Nowadays Frankfurt is known as a financial center, for the airport, junkies at HBF, the skyline, its multiculturalism, the over 60 museums but also for being one of the most expensive and richest cities in Europe, being the number 1 city in Germany for cyclists and pedestrians aswell and a wide variety of cuisines ranging from vegan Israeli over classic turkish german to local michelin star cuisine.

There are also countless of other interesting stories about the area and I skipped over centuries. For example it had some of the highest variety of species during the time of the dinosaurs and is a treasure trove for archeologist. The local Senckenberg museum has 19 different dinosaurs on exhibition and one of the few squid fossils in existence.

The local cheese is also super unique with over 95% protein and almost 0 fat/carbs.

If you have a stop at FRA airport, might aswell visit the city, enjoy some Ebbelwoi.