Germany's Unification and Bismarck’s Diplomacy
Germany's Unification and Bismarck’s Diplomacy
Roughly from 1850 to 1870 the Unification of Germany took place. After the unification, Germany rose as a dominant power in Europe until World War 2. The process of the unification was mainly spread over three wars. But to a great extent, the unification was due Herr Otto Von Bismarck’s diplomacy. However, to a small extent, it was due to other factors such as the formation of the Zollverein, revolutions, nationalism and assemblies and congresses held in the past.
From the 1790s to 1814 French troops successively conquered and occupied the area that later constituted the German Empire. French domination helped to modernize and consolidate Germany by introducing reforms in economy, society and government. Finally, towards the end, sparked the first upsurge of German nationalism. Nationalist ideas began to form among the intellectuals in Germany. Therefore, to a small extent, in different ways, unintentionally, the French emperor Napoleon I helped German unification. It was also important that he encouraged many of the middle-sized German states to absorb huge numbers of small independent territories, mostly bishoprics, church lands, and local principalities. The more powerful German princes, often in alliance with France, seized this chance to enlarge their territories and refused to restore the annexed units to independence after Napoleon's defeat. The number of independent and semi-independent German states had been around one thousand in 1792 but twenty-five years later, only about thirty remained.
The Congress of Vienna in 1814-15 dissolved the Confederation of the Rhine and created the German Confederation under Austrian and Prussian hegemony. The German Confederation consisted of 39 independent and individual states and almost everywhere, the original monarch rulers repressed the nationalist movement, which was mainly composed of students and professors after 1815. Although, there was a parliament with representatives from every state, this diet was weak and powerless and it could only deal with common affairs of the Confederation. An Austrian always led this diet. Later, the German princes realized that nationalism required a reform or even destruction of the traditional monarchic states.
After several decades of repression, a strong desire for reforms, constitutions and parliaments had developed among the educated and wealthy bourgeoisie, while the peasants resented the still present feudal dues. These liberal demands from the nationalists alarmed the foreign princes and their aristocratic supporters. Unemployment among small artisans made them join the revolutionary cause in hopes of secure jobs and economic...