German unification

The events leading up to the establishment of the German Empire in 1871. In 1815, at the end of the Napoleonic wars, the Congress of Vienna (1814–15) created a German confederation of 39 states in the geographical area known as Germany (formerly a region divided into hundreds of German states). Its organization gave Austria and Prussia, the largest German states, joint influence over the affairs of the confederation, although Austria was its nominal leader. The movement towards German unification was slow until the 1850s. The idea was popular with German nationalists and liberals, but opposed by their state governments. However, in the 1860s unification was taken up by an increasingly powerful Prussia and its chancellor, Otto von Bismarck. By 1871 only two German states existed – Austria and Germany; the states of Germany had been effectively taken over by Prussia, and were now united under the German Empire.

The rise of Prussia 1529–1789 The main force behind German unification was Prussia. By the middle of the 19th century, Prussia was the economic and military superior of all the other German states, including Austria. However Prussia was a relatively young state, and its rise to dominance had been relatively rapid.

Prussia lay along the Baltic coast east of the River Vistula, incorporating parts of present-day Poland, Russia, and Lithuania. The area was occupied by the order of Teutonic Knights in the 13th century, and in 1525 the Albert Hohenzollern, a grand master of the order, declared it to be the duchy of Prussia. The state grew by taking over land and moving westwards towards modern-day Germany. In 1618 the Electorate of Brandenburg (in present-day northeast Germany and northwest Poland) acquired the duchy of Prussia, the linked states being ruled under a single Hohenzollern elector. Between 1640 and 1688 the elector Frederick William built a permanent Prussian army and defeated both Poland and Sweden in wars; Poland surrendered its control over Ducal or East Prussia in 1657 and formally recognized the independence of Prussia in 1660. In 1701, under Frederick I, Prussia became a kingdom.

Already regarded as a force to be reckoned with by 1740, Prussia achieved even more power in Europe under the reign of Frederick (II) the Great (ruled 1740–86). Prussia fought Austria in the War of the Austrian Succession (1740–48), and gained Silesia in the Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle (1748). During the Seven Years' War (1756–63), an unsuccessful attempt by Austria, France, and Russia to weaken Prussia, Prussia fought on all fronts at the same time, and defeated its enemies with help from British funding. At the Peace of Paris (1763) Prussia had its ownership of Silesia confirmed, recognizing its status as a major power in Europe.

However by 1789 Prussia was still far from being the equal of Austria, and was the weakest of the five ‘Great Powers’ – Austria, Britain, France, Prussia, and Russia. Germany remained a patchwork of hundreds of states. Austria and Prussia were the largest states, but each guarded its independence jealously. The split between Protestant northern Germany and Roman Catholic southern Germany was clear, and the idea of a single united Germany was unrealistic.

The Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars (1792–1815) The French Revolution (1789) caused great concern among the leaders of Europe, and attempts to restore the French monarchy led to the Revolutionary Wars (1791–1801). Prussia joined Austria in invading France in 1792 but was defeated. In 1793 Prussia joined the unsuccessful First Coalition against France led by Britain, but in 1795 it withdrew. France began to invade and conquer the German states, redrawing their boundaries to suit French wishes. In 1800 the Austrians were defeated at the Battle of Hohenlinden by the French army of the Rhine, and pushed back beyond the River Inn.

During the Napoleonic Wars (1803–15) the French, led by Napoleon Bonaparte, inflicted a massive defeat on the Austrians at the Battle of Austerlitz (1805). Napoleon's victory ended the Holy Roman Empire, a loose historical system that linked the German states under the ceremonial authority of the Holy Roman Emperor (normally the ruler of Austria); Austria's long-established dominance over Germany had begun to come to an end. Prussia entered the war against France again in 1806, but was defeated decisively at the battles of Jena and Auerstadt. Prussia lost its independence and Germany came under the total control of France. After the abolition of the Holy Roman Empire in 1806, France set up the Confederation of the Rhine, a grouping of 16 German states under French control.

By 1813 France had been weakened by a disastrous campaign in Russia, and was on the retreat. The Prussians played a crucial part in Napoleon's eventual defeat. The Confederation of the Rhine collapsed and the Prussians, allied with Austria and other German states such as Bavaria and Baden, defeated the French at the Battle of the Nations in October 1813. The Prussian army was later involved in the final defeat of Napoleon at the Battle of Waterloo in 1815.

The German Confederation (1815) With France defeated, the Great Powers set about redrawing the boundaries of the German states. Prussia gained territory in the Rhineland and Saxony at the Congress of Vienna in 1815. With the exception of Austria, Prussia was clearly the most important German state and was now regarded as an equal of the other Great Powers. The unification of the German states was not on the agenda at the Congress of Vienna. The aims of the congress were to stabilize Europe and Germany, and avoid any more revolutions like that in France in 1789. The German Confederation was created, with all 39 German states being members. The Austrian emperor was given nominal leadership of the confederation, recognizing its superior status. However, the power given to Austria in 1815 created tensions with Prussia over the following decades, as Prussia became increasingly wealthy and dominant in Germany.

The Zollverein (1834) In the years following the creation of the German Confederation, there were growing movements for national unification and liberal reforms in Germany. In 1817 students held the Wartburg Festival, at which they celebrated the unity of the German people, and commemorated the anniversaries of their victory over the French at the Battle of the Nations in 1813 and the death of the Protestant reformer Martin Luther. In 1830 a wave of revolts broke out in many German states, but they were not strong enough to force any lasting change from their rulers. However, the movement towards unification was given a great boost by a free trade treaty, known as the Customs Union or Zollverein, agreed between most of the German states, with the notable exclusion of Austria. Beginning in 1828, and formalized in 1834, the Zollverein created a free trade area in which goods could be bought and sold with no barriers between the states. The Zollverein was dominated by Prussia and effectively removed Austria from German affairs.

The revolutions of 1848 In 1848 an outbreak of revolts occurred across the German states. The unrest was part of a wider series of revolts that affected Europe between 1848 and 1851 (see revolutions of 1848). The rulers of the smaller German states were soon forced to accept reforms that gave power to their people. Austria was strongly affected by the revolutions; Chancellor Metternich fled into exile and the government was severely weakened for three years. A revolt also took place in Prussia in 1848, which forced King Frederick William IV to accept a constitution in 1850. German nationalists and liberals created the Frankfurt Parliament (or Frankfurt Assembly) in 1848. However their attempts to unite Germany failed. Although Frederick William IV accepted the crown of a united Germany, Austria opposed the movement, threatening war, and the attempted unification failed.

However, some significant changes had occurred in Germany during the revolutionary period 1848–52. The idea of unification was now being considered seriously, and the Prussians had been identified as potential leaders of a united Germany that would exclude Austria. The revolution in Austria had also shown how weak the Austrian Empire was, and left the future role of Austria as leader of the German Confederation open to question. After 1852 Austria was never able to assert its control over Prussia and the other German states as successfully as before 1848. The Zollverein encouraged increasing unity within its member states, making Austria more than ever an outsider.

In 1861 William I became the new ruler of Prussia, and appointed Otto von Bismarck as his chancellor (prime minister). Bismarck realized that Germany could never be united under Prussian leadership while Austria still remained a powerful influence in German affairs. In 1863 he used Prussia's long-standing dispute with Denmark over control of Schleswig-Holstein as an opportunity to challenge Austria's leadership in German affairs. Schleswig-Holstein, which was under Danish control, had a part-Danish and part-German population. Prussia said that the German population needed protection from their Danish rulers and went to war with Denmark – Prussia also forced Austria to enter the war, as otherwise the Austrians would have to admit the leadership of Prussia in German affairs.

The Austro–Prussian War (1866) In 1863 Austria and Prussia seized Schleswig-Holstein and split control of the duchies between themselves. In 1866 an exaggerated and possibly deliberately manufactured (by Bismarck) dispute about the government of Schleswig-Holstein led to the Austro–Prussian war that Bismarck had wanted. During the Seven Weeks' War (1866) Austria was totally crushed by Prussian forces at the Battle of Sadowa, and was completely removed from any role in German affairs. Prussia was now able to dominate the other German states without fear of Austrian intervention.

The North German Confederation (1867) In 1867 the North German Confederation was formed under Prussian leadership. Frankfurt, Nassau, and Hanover were now part of Prussia. The only German states of importance still outside Prussian control were Bavaria, Baden, and Württemberg. These three were Catholic states of southern Germany. They were traditionally friendlier to Austria than the other German states, and were distrustful of Prussian ambitions.

The Franco–Prussian War (1870–71) In 1870 Bismarck deliberately created war with France – the Franco-Prussian War. Bismarck put forward a German candidate for the vacant Spanish throne to force the French emperor Napoleon III into declaring war on Prussia and the North German Confederation. Prussia was completely victorious over France at the Battle of Sedan in 1870. As a result of the war, the southern German states were forced to accept membership of the Prussian-controlled Germany. In 1871 the North German Confederation was replaced by the German Empire (Reich) with the king of Prussia as emperor (kaiser); the ceremony to confirm this status was held in the Palace of Versailles near Paris, France, in 1871. Germany also gained Alsace-Lorraine from France.

German unity had been gained not by nationalists or liberals forcing their governments to accept change, but by a highly motivated and militarily strong Prussia. The unification of Germany was effectively a Prussian takeover of the other German states.

Germany in 1871 When the German Empire was established in 1871, Germany covered a total area of some 540,789 sq km/208,745 sq mi and was made up of 26 states: the kingdoms of Prussia, Bavaria, Württemberg, and Saxony; the grand duchies of Baden, Hessen, Oldenburg, Saxe-Weimar, Mecklenburg-Schwerin, and Mecklenburg-Strelitz; the duchies of Brunswick, Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, Saxe-Meiningen, Saxe-Altenburg, and Anhalt; the principalities of Lippe, Schaumburg-Lippe and Schwarzburg-Sondershausen, Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt, Reuss-Greitz, Reuss-Schleiz, and Waldeck; the imperial territory of Elass-Lothringen (Alsace-Lorraine); and the free towns of Hamburg, Bremen, and Lübeck (the leading members of the former Hanseatic League).

See also Germany: history 1519–1815, Germany: history 1815–1919, and Austria: history to 1920.