Unification of Germany

Unification of Germany

States of the German Empire when the Duchy of Saxe-Lauenburg was merged into the Kingdom of Prussia on 1 July 1876
Native name	Deutsche Einigung
Date	18 August 1866 – 18 January 1871
Location	North German Confederation
Participants	First phase: Kingdom of Prussia (leading member) Kingdom of Saxony Grand Duchy of Mecklenburg-Schwerin Grand Duchy of Mecklenburg-Strelitz Grand Duchy of Oldenburg Grand Duchy of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach Duchy of Saxe-Lauenburg Duchy of Anhalt Duchy of Brunswick Duchy of Saxe-Altenburg Duchy of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha Duchy of Saxe-Meiningen Principality of Lippe Principality of Reuss-Gera Principality of Reuss-Greiz Principality of Schaumburg-Lippe Principality of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt Principality of Schwarzburg-Sondershausen Principality of Waldeck and Pyrmont Second phase: Kingdom of Bavaria Kingdom of Württemberg Grand Duchy of Baden Grand Duchy of Hesse Free Hanseatic City of Bremen Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg Free and Hanseatic City of Lübeck
Outcome	Lesser Germany Peace of Prague (1866) 4 German states having German being popular or led by German monarchy (Austria, Switzerland, Luxembourg, and Liechtenstein) did not join new Germany German Confederation dissolved Austro-Hungarian Compromise of 1867 Duchy of Limburg integrated into Kingdom of Netherlands King of Prussia holder of the Bundespräsidium Minister President of Prussia simultaneously also the Federal Chancellor East Prussian cradle of Prussian statehood made part of Germany under intensified Germanization of Poles (Warmians, Masurians, and Powiślans), Prussian Lithuanians, and Kursenieki Lauenburg and Bütow Land and former Starostwo of Draheim under intensified Germanization of Poles and Kashubians Remainder of the Prussian Partition of Poland (Province of Posen and West Prussia) annexed into the German Empire under intensified Germanization of Poles and Kashubians Silesia and County of Glatz under intensified Germanization of Poles, Silesians, Czechs, and Moravians Lusatia under intensified Germanization of Sorbs Eupen-Malmedy under intensified Germanization of Walloons Schleswig, Holstein and Saxe-Lauenburg annexed into Prussia of the German Empire under intensified Germanization of Danes Constitution of the German Confederation (1871) and second phase of unification Proclamation of the German Empire with William I Hohenzollern as German Emperor Constitution of the German Empire Franco-Prussian War and the Treaty of Frankfurt The territories (later called "Alsace–Lorraine") eventually annexed into the German Empire from France under intensified Germanization of the French Kulturkampf

Events leading to World War I
Unification of Germany 1866–1871 Franco-Prussian War 1870–1871 Second Concert of Europe 1871 Great Eastern Crisis 1875–1878 Campaign in Bosnia 1878 Dual Alliance 1879 Boer Wars 1880–1902 Austro–Serbian Alliance 1881–1903 Triple Alliance 1882 Berlin Conference 1884 Bulgarian Crisis 1885–1888 Reinsurance Treaty 1887–1890 Franco-Russian Alliance 1894 Anglo-German naval arms race 1898–1912 Fashoda incident 1898 Anglo-Japanese Alliance 1902 Russo-Japanese War 1904–1905 Entente Cordiale 1904 First Moroccan Crisis 1905–1906 Pig War 1906–1908 Anglo-Russian Convention 1907 Young Turk Revolution 1908 Bosnian Crisis 1908–1909 Racconigi Bargain 1909 Second Moroccan Crisis 1911 Italo-Turkish War 1911–1912 Balkan Wars 1912–1913 Assassination of Franz Ferdinand 1914 July Crisis 1914
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The unification of Germany (German: Deutsche Einigung, pronounced [ˈdɔʏtʃə ˈʔaɪnɪɡʊŋ] ^ⓘ) was a process of building the first nation-state for Germans with federal features based on the concept of Lesser Germany (one without Habsburgs' multi-ethnic Austria or its German-speaking part). It commenced on 18 August 1866 with adoption of the North German Confederation Treaty establishing the North German Confederation, initially a military alliance de facto dominated by Prussia which was subsequently deepened through adoption of the North German Constitution.

The process symbolically concluded when most of south German states joined the North German Confederation with the ceremonial proclamation of the German Empire i.e. the German Reich having 25 member states and led by the Kingdom of Prussia of Hohenzollerns on 18 January 1871; the event was later celebrated as the customary date of the German Empire's foundation, although the legally meaningful events relevant to the accomplishment of unification occurred on 1 January 1871 (accession of South German states and constitutional adoption of the name "German Empire") and 4 May 1871 (entry into force of the permanent Constitution of the German Empire).

Despite the legal, administrative, and political disruption caused by the dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire in 1806, the German-speaking people of the old Empire had a common linguistic, cultural, and legal tradition. European liberalism offered an intellectual basis for unification by challenging dynastic and absolutist models of social and political organization; its German manifestation emphasized the importance of tradition, education, and linguistic unity. Economically, the creation of the Prussian Zollverein (customs union) in 1818, and its subsequent expansion to include other states of the Austria (under Austrian Empire)-led German Confederation, reduced competition between and within states. Emerging modes of transportation facilitated business and recreational travel, leading to contact and sometimes conflict between and among German-speakers from throughout Central Europe. The model of diplomatic spheres of influence resulting from the Congress of Vienna in 1814–1815 after the Napoleonic Wars endorsed Austrian dominance in Central Europe through Habsburg leadership of the German Confederation, designed to replace the Holy Roman Empire. The negotiators at Vienna took no account of Prussia's growing strength within and declined to create a second coalition of the German states under Prussia's influence, and so failed to foresee that Prussia (Kingdom of Prussia) would rise to challenge Austria for leadership of the German peoples. This German dualism presented two solutions to the problem of unification: Kleindeutsche Lösung, the small Germany solution (Germany without Austria), or Großdeutsche Lösung, the greater Germany solution (Germany with Austria or its German-speaking part), ultimately settled in favor of the former solution in the Peace of Prague.

Historians debate whether Otto von Bismarck—Minister President of Prussia—had a master plan to expand the North German Confederation of 1866 to include the remaining independent German states into a single entity or simply to expand the power of the Kingdom of Prussia. They conclude that factors in addition to the strength of Bismarck's Realpolitik led a collection of early modern polities to reorganize their political, economic, military, and diplomatic relationships in the 19th century. Reaction to Danish and French nationalism provided for expressions of German unity. Military successes—especially those of Prussia—in three regional wars generated enthusiasm and pride that politicians could harness to promote unification. This experience echoed the memory of mutual accomplishment in the Napoleonic Wars, particularly in the War of Liberation of 1813–1814. By establishing a Germany without multi-ethnic Austria (under Austria-Hungary) or its German-speaking part, the political and administrative unification in 1871 at least temporarily solved the problem of dualism.

Despite undergoing in the later years several further changes of its name and borders, overhauls of its constitutional system, periods of limited sovereignty and interrupted unity of its territory or government, and despite dissolution of its dominant founding federated state, the polity resulting from the unification process continues its existence, surviving until today in its contemporary form known as the Federal Republic of Germany.