Extracts from this document...

Introduction

German Unification - Germany was divided into several small states (the Roman Empire had almost 350 small states) - Napoleon conquered Germany and reduce the number of states to 39 - By enlarge, North Germany was protestant while South Germany was Catholic --> this was a significant religious segregation - Germany in 1815; o 39 states; Napoleon had set up the Confederation of the Rhine (it included 16 states) o The peacemakers at Vienna established a German Confederation (Bund) o Two of the Germany States count as great powers --> Habsburg Empire and Prussia o At this stage, France, Russia, Austria, Prussia and Britain wanted to keep Germany divided, they believed that a United Germany would cause an imbalance in power o The Habsburgs were given the presidency of the Germany Confederation o Prussia was given the Rhineland (as protection against France) --> coal and iron of the Ruhr (which was later on to be Europe's industrial heartland ) Prussia and the Germany Economy 1815- 1877 - John Maynard Keynes: "Germany was founded not on blood and iron, but on coal and iron" 1834; The Zollverein (a custom's union) - In 1834, a custom's union was led by Prussia - Before the Zollverein, customs duties needed to be paid at every state border --> a disincentive to trade - The Zollverein abolished the State's Customs and introduced a central fund --> you still pay a duty, but just one duty --> the money is then collected and put into the central fund which is then divided to the rest of the states - Under the Zollverein, Customs duties greatly increased as a result of the increase in trade (it becomes an incentive to engage in trade) - Bavaria; o 1831- 2 --> 2.1 million florins o 1834 --> 3.86 million florins - Conclusions; o After 1834, more and more German States joined the Zollverein o It was an example of Prussian leadership in Germany o Austria was excluded from the Zollverein (Prussia didn't ...read more.

Middle

Secondly, he wants to isolate Austria from Russia (make Austria more politically isolated) --> pure power politics 1863-5; Bismarck and the Danish War - In 1863, Denmark; there was a disputed succession between Christian of Glucksburg and the Duke of Augustenburg --> Christian of Glucksburg became King of Denmark in November 1863; he signs a constitution which incorporated Schleswig into Denmark - This infringed the treaty of London of 1852. It raised the question of Schleswig- Holstein (two duchies. Should they belong to Denmark or Germany?) - January 1864; Bismarck induced the Austrians to sign an alliance with Prussia against Denmark. The purpose of this was to stop Schleswig- Holstein becoming a part of Denmark - Holstein was occupied by the army of the German Confederation but now, Prussian and Austrian armies moved through Holstein - February 1864, Austrian and Prussian troops entered Schleswig - Denmark resisted and there was a brief war, which obviously Denmark lost - A conference met --> it couldn't solve the problem and war broke out again in June, late 1864 and again Denmark was defeated - August 1864 --> the King of Denmark gave up his right of Schleswig- Holstein to Austria and Prussia - Conclusion; o The Prussian army gains military experience, as well as the Austrian army o Britain was willing to offer support to Denmark; this was a huge mistake in British Foreign Policy o The importance of what happened so far: Bismarck wants to exploit this issue to obtain Prussian domination of Schleswig- Holstein and Prussian domination of the River Main o The troops of the German Confederation had had to leave Holstein --> Prussia and Austria dismissed them The Convention of Gastein; August 14, 1865 - By this convention, the joint administration of Schleswig - Holstein and Prussia was ended and instead, the two Duchies were divided - Holstein; closest to Prussia was put under Austrian administration - Schleswig was put under Prussian Administration - Bismarck was looking to cause a war with ...read more.

Conclusion

of Hanover, Hesse- Cassel, Nassau, Frankfurt, Schleswig- Holstein by force to Prussia; forming a greatly enlarged Prussia --> 4 million new Prussian subjects o Italy gained Venetia o Grenville: many of the new citizens probably didn't want to be Prussians. Were they asked? No... this encourages the idea for Prussia to become Germany o Austria was excluded from Germany o Prussia to dominate the new North German Confederation o A change in the balance of the German and European power Bismarck and the Southern States - The Southern States were therefore not included in the new structure in Germany - The Southern States are largely Catholic, the Northern States are largely Protestant - The Southern States were Bavaria, Baden, Wurttemberg, Hesse- Darmstadt --> Bavaria was the largest and most important of these states - For the next four years, Bismarck worked consistently to draw the Southern States into a closer relationship with Prussia - August 22, 1866; a day before the Peace of Prague, there was a secret treaty between Prussia and Bavaria - Bavaria was brought into military agreements with Prussia --> in the event of a war, Bavaria was likely to fight with Prussia The Ausgleich of 1867 - Ausgleich actually means the union of Austria and Hungary with the Dual Monarchy; reasons for this- o Either a sign of Austrian weakness --> Austria has got to gather her strength o Or on the contrary, Austria is getting ready for a second round against Prussia - The Ausgleich is a delayed result of the events of 1866 France and 1866 - France had remained neutral in the summer of 1866 --> it did not mobilize - Napoleon III did want to be involved, in regards to the annexation of Venetia to Italy. To some extent, Napoleon had expected some rewards or compensation - Retrospectively; France believes that they should have gotten involved in the Seven Weeks War because they allowed another superpower to emerge in Europe when they could have stopped it ...read more.

This student written piece of work is one of many that can be found in our International Baccalaureate History section.