UNIFICATION OF GERMANY

UNIFICATION OF GERMANY

1. THE DANISH WAR 1864

   • Denmark's attempt to annex Schleswig-Holstein, which was largely inhabited by Germans, led first to an alliance with Austria.
   • Denmark was quickly defeated by Prussia, Holstein was given to Austria, and Schleswig was given to Prussia.
   • Prussia and Austria disagreed over the adminis tration of these provinces. This set the stage for the next step in Bismarck's plan.

2. AUSTRO.PRUSSIAN WAR 1866

   • Bismarck was able to provoke Austria into declaring war on Prussia.
   • Austria had to pay a small indemnity and recognize Prussia's dominance of the German states.
   • In 1867, Bismarck dissolved the German Confederation. Prussia and 21 other German states formed the North German Confederation, ruled by the Prussian king and a bicameral legislature.
   • Bismarck, being practical and wanting to avoid any desire for revenge on the part of Austria, allowed Austria and the four southern states to remain independent.

3. THE FRANCO PRUSSIAN WAR 1870-1871

   • Napoleon III declared war on Prussia in July 1870
   • Bismarck provoked a war with France. The immediate cause was a dispute over the Spanish throne.
   • By the Treaty of Frankfurt in May 1871, France ceded Alsace and Lorraine to Germany and agreed to pay a huge indemnity to Germany.
   • The harshness of the treaty laid the foundation of hate and anger that would poison Franco-German relations for the next generation and planted the seeds for World War I.