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Among the three great powers in Western Europe (France, Germany, and Britain), Britain and France formed a unified state in history very early on, and gradually established a powerful colonial empire in the 16th and 19th centuries, becoming an important force in the world at that time.
Germany was not unified until the end of the 19th century, and after reunification, Germany also rose rapidly and gradually became a European power on an equal footing with Britain and France. Therefore, the unification of the German nation and the establishment of the German Empire have always been hot topics in the modern history of Europe.
On January 18, 1871, the Hall of Mirrors at Versailles in France ushered in an important moment: King William I of Prussia was officially crowned Emperor of Germany and the German Empire was established.
Prior to this, Germany had just severely damaged the French Empire under the leadership of Prussia, and through this Franco-Prussian War, Napoleon III, the nephew of Napoleon who had wantonly plundered and humiliated Germany, was completely defeated, and even forced to take the throne.
The birth of the German Empire in the Hall of Mirrors at Versailles is also the funeral of the glory of the French Empire.
The Second German Reich declared in its strongest form that a unified and powerful Germany would be the new hegemon of the European continent.
▲ On January 18, 1871, the German Empire was proclaimed in the Hall of Mirrors at Versailles, and the white-clad man was Bismarck, the "Iron-Blooded Prime Minister"
Unlike the previous Holy Roman Empire (also known as the First German Empire) and the later Nazi Germany (also known as the "Third German Reich" at that time), the German Empire, also known as the Second German Empire, was established in 1871, and it united the entire Small German region at a very fast speed and grew into a powerful empire on the European continent.
It was also during this period that the iron and blood, classical and romantic, which the German nation deposited in the bones and blood, began to emerge and evolved into our "German impression" today.
The Iron Cross, awarded by the Second German Empire in recognition of soldiers, is now one of the most important impressions of Germany, inherited from Prussia
Looking back at the birth history of the German Empire, it is long, difficult and tortuous.
In the Middle Ages, although there was a "loose confederation" of the Holy Roman Empire in Germany, the kingdoms, principalities, and even city-states under it were actually independent. The wings of the two-headed eagle of the Holy Roman Empire are covered with the flags of its subordinate states, and this is only a very small part of it.
▲ The Holy Roman Empire was inherited and divided from the Roman Empire
The throne of the Holy Roman Empire was initially rotated by the kings of the seven electorates and subsequently fell into the pockets of the Austrian Habsburg family. But no matter how the rulers changed, the Holy Roman Empire was unable to achieve centralization for nearly 900 years.
At the end of the 18th century, on the eve of the fall of the Holy Roman Empire, there were more than 300 independent states in its territory, large and small, and 1475 manors controlled by lords, that is, a total of 1789 independent sovereign regimes, which could not become a unified powerful force at all.
People jokingly said: "As many days a year as there are german countries." It is precisely this division that has made the national consciousness of the Germans weaker.
▲ The Holy Roman Empire in 1789, with a variety of independent states large and small, the map is dazzling
Two of these powerful and impressive states were of particular concern and were widely regarded at the time as the two hottests for leading German unification.
One is the Austrian Empire, which has a long history and great strength. Austria, ruled by the Habsburgs, had essentially had a profound and significant influence over the German region as early as its time as a major principality under the Holy Roman Empire.
Although its influence in the states was later reduced due to economic backwardness and strict tariff protection policies, it was still a powerful force to be reckoned with.
▲The Schönbrunn Palace in Vienna, which is the ultimate luxury, is the place where the Austrian royal family enjoys living
The second was the Kingdom of Prussia, which was originally nothing more than a small mercenary group, the Teutonic Knights, who acted as thugs in the name of religion, and then married into the Electorate of Brandenburg, becoming one of the states under the wing of the Holy Roman Empire.
In the course of its development, unlike Austria's mild marital expansion, Prussia has always maintained the iron-blooded character of "owning the army of the state".
▲ The style of the Prussian Army General Staff under the Second German Empire at that time, painted by Karl Lübeck
At the beginning of the 19th century, Prussia was dissatisfied with the arrogance of Napoleon of France, and formed a coalition with Saxony to declare war on France, and finally ended up in a disastrous defeat, and was further plundered and humiliated, which is known in history as the "Battle of Jena".
Taking this as an opportunity, Prussia deeply reflected and carried out a grand reform, known in history as the "Stein-Hardenberg Reform".
The reform covered four major aspects, including agriculture, politics, military, and education, including the concentration of the country's agricultural productivity; the establishment of a new and modern army to inculcate patriotic ideas; and the introduction of universal compulsory education and the establishment of more universities. These reforms laid a solid foundation for Prussia to embark on the path of modern capitalism.
▲ The image of the University of Berlin, founded in 1810, during the German Second Reich, is the fruit of Stein-Hardenberg's reforms
Although there was also cooperation between these two powerful German states, there was generally a situation of intolerable water and fire. Austria always had a crush on the rising Prussia, while Prussia was ambitious to take Austria's German crown, and wars between the two countries were frequent.
In general, Austria is an established power and has accumulated a lot of power, while Prussia has recently risen and developed vigorously. The German nation, which was already a mess of sand, faced with the opposition of these two brothers, how on earth was going to move toward reunification?
▲ Prussian lion circling around an Austrian elephant, looking at the tiger: Adolf Menzel draws a cartoon in 1846
Unexpectedly, the unification of the German Empire was not the unity of the conventional impression of competing with each other and shedding the last drop of blood, but the historical result of the national consciousness of the German people after it was stimulated, under the appropriate internal environment and external conditions.
At the beginning of the 19th century, after the industrial revolution, the production efficiency of Britain, France and other countries was greatly improved, and industrial products were dumped into Germany, which made the economy of the small German countries, which were already weak and tiny, face a worse situation. For the German states of the time, the most urgent need was to abolish the numerous checkpoints and ensure that a unified market was formed throughout the German region.
Austria and Prussia showed different attitudes in the face of the needs of the German states: Austria itself faced the dilemma of economic backwardness and could only rely on tariff protection policies to maintain the domestic market.
Prussia, on the other hand, was divided into two large parts of the east and the west, and the economic development of the regions was uneven, and it eagerly hoped to complete the transition to free trade by expecting the unification of tariffs.
In 1818, Prussia was divided into two unconnected enclaves
In 1828, Prussia first signed the first treaty of commerce with Hesse-Darmstadt, thus establishing a relatively small South German customs union.
After that, Prussia used negotiation, propaganda, co-optation and other means to make other large states such as Bavaria, Saxony, etc. believe that the establishment of a customs union would be conducive to their own interests, and then successively concluded trade treaties with Prussia and joined the customs union.
Representatives of the states were deliberating on the details of the customs union
With a binding customs union between states, the participating members of the alliance saved a large amount of tax administrative costs, and the size of the underground economy caused by smuggling was reduced.
In the case of Bavaria, for example, before joining the customs union, the annual tax revenue was 2.1 million florins, while after joining the customs union, the tax revenue from tariffs alone was 3.86 million florins. Higher taxes symbolized a booming national economy, and the expansion of government revenues made the governments of the states truly recognize the existence of a customs union.
With the expansion of the customs union, the benefits that member countries can get are even more impressive; this in turn plays a role in promoting the further growth of the customs union.
The German Customs Union, which eventually came into full play, achieved freedom of trade between the German states and established a unified German commodity market, which promoted the unification of the German economy.
Economic development ensured an improvement in the standard of living, Germany was united by the pursuit of a happy life, and Prussia established a leading position in the unity of the German economy because of its positive stance in the customs union, coupled with its economic size and territorial superiority.
Schematic diagram of the German Customs Union formally established in 1834: dominated by Prussia and dominated by the German Confederation
On the other hand, the Enlightenment that spread on the European continent ignited the national consciousness of the German nation.
The German Enlightenment thinkers preached democracy, science, and reason, represented by the well-known Leibniz, who pondered the problems of division and backwardness facing Germany, and unity was their prescription for Germany.
The aftermath of the Enlightenment set off a "surge" movement in Germany, which marked the birth of German national literature with strong romantic overtones.
It was under the influence of the surge movement that German cultural nationalism gradually formed, and the people had a sense of identification with German civilization and longed for the establishment of a unified national state.
▲ Painting "The Awakening of Germany", painted by Christian Kohler in 1849
The catalyst for the eventual transformation of such cultural trends into political power was the Revolution and the Napoleonic Wars in neighboring France.
The German nation witnessed how France unleashed the energy of a unified nation-state through a bourgeois revolution that swept across Europe and, above all, plundered Germany in a frenzied manner.
French plunder was also the driving force of Prussian reform, and in fact, not only Prussia, but all of Germany was inspired by France, brewing new energies. Together, the German people recalled their glory and greatness, developed a strong sense of national pride, and, dominated by such emotions, actively moved towards unification.
Beyond that, the unification of Germany coincided with an unprecedented and wonderful international environment. Austria was content to ally only with the small and medium-sized German Confederations to maintain the existing state of loose German confederation; prussia, by contrast, had established its leadership among the German states through the customs union. The historical problem of the two powers of Power and Austria has basically been solved.
At that time, the Crimean War broke out in Europe, and in order to prevent Russian forces from going south, Britain and France fought a bloody war with Russia for four years, which led to the loss of the prestige of the Tsarist government and continuous internal worries. Czarist Russia was too busy facing the dilemma at home and did not have much to intervene in the political changes in Germany.
After the war, Britain and France also suffered heavy losses and had to recuperate. Moreover, britain, the number one power at that time, was happy to see another continental country on the European continent rise that was enough to compete with France and Russia.
Thus, the German unified nation-state had a very privileged international environment, and the only big trouble was that France did not want to see German unity threaten its hegemony on the European continent.
Thus, Prussia took advantage of the great victory in the Franco-Prussian War to officially ascend the throne of the Prussian King as Emperor of the German Empire at versailles: the glory of the european victory.
The eventual unification of the German Empire shows the leading Prussia and several major wars between it
Author: Lin Sauce Editor: Thomas (Tang)
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