Germany 1815 to 1851
In 1815, Germany was nothing but a loose grouping of States known as 'the German Confederation'. This creation replaced the holy Roman empire which had previouly held the many German speaking states together and united central Europe under the Austrian emporer. The holy Roman empire had been destroyed by Napoleon, after the crushing victories at marengo in 1800, Ulm and Austerlitz in 1805 and at Jena and Auerstedt in 1806, Napoleon remodelled France by annexing the territories on the west bank of the Rhine to France, and he then gave other kingdoms to his relations (e.g. the Kingdom of Westphalia to his brother Jerome), and he let some of the German princes continue as princes on condition fo absolute loyalty to him.This distruction of the holy Roman empire had disasterous consequences. The recreation of central Europe by the Vienna settlement could not recreate the fine balances of the holy Roman empire and the new confederation was only loosely associated. The new confederation caused many problems. The new states created by the settlement had no long traditions of loyalty to the local Monarch, this caused disputes and disagreements as the sense of loyalty to something was taken away. Also, Monarchs which had fallen from pow
This ecomomic union was vital to the eventual union of Germany becuase it created a union form which Austria was excluded. This meant that no further reforms were enforced and consequently, no military advances were made. The Revolutions of 1848, were a result of the general dislike of the autocratic system throughout Europe. It must alos be taken into consideration that throughout history, 'Germany' had been a collection of loosely bound states, the prospect of unity was not an attractive one at this point, and although these states were discontented with the general situation as regard to the Vienna settlement, unification was not an option for the leaders of the new states as it would undoubtedly mean a loss of power for some or all of these new leaders who were not willing to see their power diluted or diminished in any way. He promised the demonstrators an end to press censorship and a constitution. This was to be emphasised in the Austro-Prussian war of 1866. The two powers were content to live in what Chancellor Metternich descibed as 'peaceful dualism'At this stage, both sides were worried about the nationalist and liberalist movements within their countries and their attempts to overthrow the conservative aristocracy as extremely dangerous, and consequently any attempt at unification and encouraging the nationalist tendancies within the country was out of the question at this time. After the Vienna settlement in 1815, Prussia was rewarded for its role in the war with the territories of Northern Saxony, the Aachen - Cologne - Krefield triangle and the Ruhr. This began the unification process of Germany. The basic sparking point fro the unrisings was the lack of food and consequent disease throughout Prussia. These barriers which surrounded each of the the 39 states of the German Confederation meant that generaly the economies stagnated due to the restrited deveopment of commercial exchange. Consequently the desire of either Great power to unite Germany at this stage was almost non-existant. This 'Franco-phobia' continued for many years after Napoleon and was later used by leaders such as Hitler to create a following. After the 1815 settlement, however, there were still deep rooted divisions which prevented unification. The Zollverein continued to expand and by 1836 the union had extended to include some 25 states.
Common topics in this essay:
Austria Prussia,
German Confederation,
Cologne Krefield,
Europe Vienna,
IV Prussia,
Chancellor Metternich,
Russia Prussia,
Prussia German,
Jerome German,
German Confederation',
german confederation,
roman empire,
holy roman empire,
holy roman,
vienna settlement,
step towards,
german confederation consequently,
customs union,
towards unification,
throughout europe,
reforms effect,
power german confederation,
german confederation meant,
created sense,
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Acceptance Essays
