How united was Germany in 1815?

There is much evidence to suggest that Germany was not a United Country in 1815. The most powerful political figure in 1815 was Metternich who although called for 'peaceful dualism' with Prussia, he was not concerned with German political unity. Prince Metternich established the German Confederation which was modelled on the Holy Roman Empire. The Confederation's declared aim was to ensure the 'external and internal security and the independence and integrity of the individual states'. In reality this meant that a system of 'mutual assistance' would be adopted when facing an internal rebellion or external aggression. However the confederation was not concerned with the unification of Germany as each state did not want to loose their independence. Another piece of evidence to suggest that Germany was not a united country was that it lacked clear natural frontiers. German-speaking populations such as Luxembourg, Hannover and Holstein were ruled by foreign monarchs where as areas populated by Poles and Danes were excluded from the Confederation. Further evidence to suggest that Germany was not united in 1815 is that Germany had no single currency, complex trade or transport system and most importantly no federal army. Even when in 1816 the diet passed the federal act to organise a federal army and develop commercial and economic co-operation no important progress was made. Another piece of evidence to suggest that Germany was not a united nation in 1813 were the traditional and religious differences. When the protestant Prussians gained substantial territory within the Catholic Rhineland, they found they shared very little in common. The highly industrialised Rhineland was a vast comparison to rural Prussia. Therefore the selfish interests of the two leading powers, the lack of geographical frontiers or an armed force and the weakness of the Confederation suggest that Germany was not a united country in 1815.

However there is also much evidence to suggest that Germany was a United Country in 1815. The New German Confederation contained just thirty-nine states in comparison to three-hundred and fourteen at the turn of the previous century. Historian David G. Williamson states 'Napoleon was the mid-wife of a United Germany and his destruction of the Reich as acting as a catalyst for the emergence of German nationalism'. It is true that the French revolution accelerated the formation of a German national consciousness. The balance of power had also significantly changed from 1789. The Austrians and Prussians were now not rivals as they had been the previous century. Now their closeness and co-operation was essential for the future of the New German Confederation. The Prussian ambassador at the Vienna Settlement said 'The firm, consistent, and unwavering agreement and friendship of Austria and Prussia would form the essential 'cornerstone for this entire structure'. The New German Confederation had only one exutive body the Diet which acted very much like a govrenment with representatives from each state - a feature of all democatic countries. Therefore the New German Confederation along with the recent co-operation between Prussia and Austria show that Germany was definitely develpoing into a unified country by 1815.

In Conclusion I would say that although there definitely were many factors which would suggest that Germany was a united country in 1815, there is more evidence to suggest it was not unified. Although the New German Confederation had recently been set up, individual states were still eager to ensure their own independence and were keen to keep their own governor and army. Another major factor was that although Prussia and Austria had recently started to co-operate, they would both still be rivals for leadership of any unified Germany. Historian David G. Williamson stated concerning Metternich intentions at the Vienna Settlement that Metternich 'intended to exploit the role allotted to Austria of President of the Diet....and ensure that the Confederation did not evolve into a federal state. Clearly Prince Metternich did not consider Germany a unified nation in 1813 and was anxious to prevent this from occurring. Another reason for my conclusion that Germany was not a united nation in 1815 is that although the German Confederation was modelled on the Holy Roman Empire, many German-speaking populations were excluded and areas peolped by poles included. Despite recent progress there was still no real single concept of German nationalism. In fact in 1815 did not have many of the essential characteristics for a democratic nation. It had no elected government or central authority, it had no single currency, no common language, no common religeon and probably most importantly no common background.