In 1549 Lutheranism was recognized as the State religion; a little later the churches and schools were reformed and most of the monasteries were suppressed. In 1611, by a partition, Duke Adolphus Frederick I. (d. 1658) received Schwerin, and John Albert II. (d. 1636) received Gastrow. The town of Rostock, "with its university and high court of justice," was declared to be common property, while the diet or landtag also retained its joint character, its meetings being held alternately at Sternberg and at Malchin. In 1701, by the treaty of Hamburg, a new divi sion of the country was made. Mecklenburg was divided into two parts, which were later represented by the duchies of Meck lenburg-Schwerin and Mecklenburg-Strelitz. At the same time the principle of primogeniture was again asserted, and the right of summoning the joint landtag was reserved to the ruler of Mecklenburg-Schwerin.
Under Duke Christian Louis of Mecklenburg-Schwerin there was signed, in April 1755, the convention of Rostock by which a new constitution was framed for the duchy. By this instrument all power was in the hands of the duke, the nobles, and the upper classes generally, the lower classes being entirely unrepresented. In the early years of the French revolutionary wars Duke Freder ick Francis I. (1756-1837) remained neutral, but in 18o6 his land was overrun by the French and in 1808 he joined the Con federation of the Rhine. He was the first member of the confed eration to abandon Napoleon, to whose armies he had sent a contingent, and in 1813-14 he f ought against France. In 1815 he joined the Germanic Confederation (Bund) and took the title of grand duke. In 1819 serfdom was abolished in his dominions. During the movement of 1848 the duchy witnessed a considerable agitation in favour of a more liberal constitution, but in the sub sequent reaction all the concessions which had been made to the democracy were withdrawn and further restrictive measures were introduced in 1851 and 1852.
Mecklenburg-Strelitz adopted the constitution of the sister duchy by an act of Sept. 1755. Having been a member of the alliance against Napoleon, its duke, Charles, joined the Germanic Confederation in 1815 and assumed the title of grand duke.
In 1866 both the grand dukes of Mecklenburg joined the North German Confederation and in 1871 the two grand duchies became states of the German empire. The power of both grand ducal lines was ended by the German revolution of 1918.
See F. A. Rudloff, Pragmatisches Handbuch der mecklenburgischen Geschichte (Schwerin, 1780-1822) ; C. C. F. von Liitzow, Versuch einer pragmatischen Geschichte von Mecklenburg (Berlin, 1827-35) Jahrbiicher des Vereins fiir mecklenburgische Geschichte and Alter tumskunde (Schwerin, 1836, fol.) ; C. Hegel, Geschichte der mecklen burgischen Landstiinde bis 1555 (Rostock, 1856) ; Mecklenburgisches Urkundenbuch (Schwerin, 1873-1903) ; A. Mayer, Geschichte des Grossherzogtums Mecklenburg-Strelitz 1816-1890 (New Strelitz, 189o) ; von Hirschfield, Friedrich Franz II., Grossherzog von Mecklenburg Schwerin and seine V orgiinger (Leipzig, 1891) ; Volz, Friedrich Franz II. (Wismar, 1893) ; Bartold, Friedrich Wilhelm, Grossherzog von Mecklenburg-Strelitz and Augusta Carolina (New Strelitz, 1893) ; W. Raabe, Mecklenburgische Vaterlandskunde (Wismar, 1894-96) ; C. Schroder, Friedrich Franz III. (Schwerin, 1898) ; Tolzien, Die Grossherzoge von Mecklenburg-Schwerin (Wismar, 1904).