Kingdom of Hanover
The party was founded in 1867 in protest of the annexation of the Kingdom of Hanover by the Kingdom of Prussia in the aftermath of the Austro-Prussian War. They wanted the revival of the Kingdom of Hanover and the restoration of the sequestrated assets of the former ruling House of Welf. The party therefore was also called the "Welfen", and drew its strongest support from the rural areas around Hannover.