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German Confederation
The German Confederation (German: Deutscher Bund [ˌdɔʏtʃɐ ˈbʊnt] ⓘ) was an association of 39 predominantly German-speaking sovereign states in Central Europe. It was created by the Congress of Vienna in 1815 to replace the Holy Roman Empire, which dissolved in 1806 as a result of the Napoleonic Wars.
The Confederation had only one organ, the Bundesversammlung, or Federal Convention (also Federal Assembly or Confederate Diet). The Convention consisted of the representatives of the member states. The most important issues had to be decided unanimously. The Convention was presided over by the representative of Austria, but this was a formality, as the Confederation had no head of state, since it was not a state.
The Confederation was a strong alliance among its member states because federal law was superior to state law. (The decisions of the Federal Convention were binding for the member states.) Additionally, the Confederation had been established for eternity and was impossible to dissolve (legally), with no member states able to leave it and no new member able to join without universal consent in the Federal Convention. But the Confederation was weakened by its very structure and member states, partly because its most important decisions required unanimity and the purpose of the Confederation was limited to security matters. Moreover, the functioning of the Confederation depended on the cooperation of the two most populous member states, Austria and Prussia, which were often in opposition.
The German revolutions of 1848–1849, motivated by liberal, democratic, socialist, and nationalist sentiments, attempted to transform the Confederation into a unified German federal state with a liberal constitution (usually called the Frankfurt Constitution in English). The Federal Convention dissolved on 12 July 1848 but was reestablished in 1850 after the revolution was crushed by Austria, Prussia, and other states.
The Confederation finally dissolved after the victory of the Kingdom of Prussia in the Seven Weeks' War over the Austrian Empire in 1866. The dispute over which had the inherent right to rule German lands ended in Prussia's favour, leading to the creation of the North German Confederation under Prussian leadership in 1867, to which the eastern portions of the Kingdom of Prussia were added. A number of South German states remained independent until they joined the North German Confederation, which was renamed and proclaimed as the German Empire in 1871, as the unified Germany (aside from Austria) with the Prussian king as emperor (Kaiser) after the victory over French Emperor Napoleon III in the Franco-Prussian War of 1870.
Most historians consider the Confederation to have been weak and ineffective, as well as an obstacle to the creation of a German nation-state. This weakness was part of its design, as the European Great Powers, including Prussia and especially Austria, did not want it to become a nation-state. But the Confederation was not a loose tie between the German states, as it was impossible to leave, and as Confederation law stood above the law of the aligned states. Its constitutional weakness lay in the principle of unanimity in the Diet and the limits of the Confederation's scope: it was essentially a military alliance to defend Germany against external attacks and internal riots. The War of 1866 proved its ineffectiveness, as it was unable to combine the federal troops to fight the Prussian secession.
The War of the Third Coalition lasted from about 1803 to 1806. Following defeat at the Battle of Austerlitz by the French under Napoleon in December 1805, Francis II abdicated as Holy Roman Emperor on 6 August 1806, thus dissolving the Empire. In the aftermath of the Treaty of Pressburg Napoleon created the Confederation of the Rhine in July 1806, joining 16 of France's allies among the German states (including Bavaria and Württemberg). After the Battle of Jena–Auerstedt of October 1806 in the War of the Fourth Coalition, various other German states, including Saxony and Westphalia, also joined the Confederation. Only Austria, Prussia, Danish Holstein, Swedish Pomerania, and the French-occupied Principality of Erfurt stayed outside the Confederation of the Rhine. The War of the Sixth Coalition from 1812 to winter 1814 saw Napoleon's defeat and Germany's liberation. In June 1814, the German patriot Heinrich vom Stein created the Central Managing Authority for Germany (Zentralverwaltungsbehörde) in Frankfurt to replace the defunct Confederation of the Rhine, but plenipotentiaries gathered at the Congress of Vienna were determined to create a weaker union of German states than Stein envisaged.
The German Confederation was created by the 9th Act of the Congress of Vienna on 8 June 1815 after being alluded to in Article 6 of the 1814 Treaty of Paris, ending the War of the Sixth Coalition.
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German Confederation
The German Confederation (German: Deutscher Bund [ˌdɔʏtʃɐ ˈbʊnt] ⓘ) was an association of 39 predominantly German-speaking sovereign states in Central Europe. It was created by the Congress of Vienna in 1815 to replace the Holy Roman Empire, which dissolved in 1806 as a result of the Napoleonic Wars.
The Confederation had only one organ, the Bundesversammlung, or Federal Convention (also Federal Assembly or Confederate Diet). The Convention consisted of the representatives of the member states. The most important issues had to be decided unanimously. The Convention was presided over by the representative of Austria, but this was a formality, as the Confederation had no head of state, since it was not a state.
The Confederation was a strong alliance among its member states because federal law was superior to state law. (The decisions of the Federal Convention were binding for the member states.) Additionally, the Confederation had been established for eternity and was impossible to dissolve (legally), with no member states able to leave it and no new member able to join without universal consent in the Federal Convention. But the Confederation was weakened by its very structure and member states, partly because its most important decisions required unanimity and the purpose of the Confederation was limited to security matters. Moreover, the functioning of the Confederation depended on the cooperation of the two most populous member states, Austria and Prussia, which were often in opposition.
The German revolutions of 1848–1849, motivated by liberal, democratic, socialist, and nationalist sentiments, attempted to transform the Confederation into a unified German federal state with a liberal constitution (usually called the Frankfurt Constitution in English). The Federal Convention dissolved on 12 July 1848 but was reestablished in 1850 after the revolution was crushed by Austria, Prussia, and other states.
The Confederation finally dissolved after the victory of the Kingdom of Prussia in the Seven Weeks' War over the Austrian Empire in 1866. The dispute over which had the inherent right to rule German lands ended in Prussia's favour, leading to the creation of the North German Confederation under Prussian leadership in 1867, to which the eastern portions of the Kingdom of Prussia were added. A number of South German states remained independent until they joined the North German Confederation, which was renamed and proclaimed as the German Empire in 1871, as the unified Germany (aside from Austria) with the Prussian king as emperor (Kaiser) after the victory over French Emperor Napoleon III in the Franco-Prussian War of 1870.
Most historians consider the Confederation to have been weak and ineffective, as well as an obstacle to the creation of a German nation-state. This weakness was part of its design, as the European Great Powers, including Prussia and especially Austria, did not want it to become a nation-state. But the Confederation was not a loose tie between the German states, as it was impossible to leave, and as Confederation law stood above the law of the aligned states. Its constitutional weakness lay in the principle of unanimity in the Diet and the limits of the Confederation's scope: it was essentially a military alliance to defend Germany against external attacks and internal riots. The War of 1866 proved its ineffectiveness, as it was unable to combine the federal troops to fight the Prussian secession.
The War of the Third Coalition lasted from about 1803 to 1806. Following defeat at the Battle of Austerlitz by the French under Napoleon in December 1805, Francis II abdicated as Holy Roman Emperor on 6 August 1806, thus dissolving the Empire. In the aftermath of the Treaty of Pressburg Napoleon created the Confederation of the Rhine in July 1806, joining 16 of France's allies among the German states (including Bavaria and Württemberg). After the Battle of Jena–Auerstedt of October 1806 in the War of the Fourth Coalition, various other German states, including Saxony and Westphalia, also joined the Confederation. Only Austria, Prussia, Danish Holstein, Swedish Pomerania, and the French-occupied Principality of Erfurt stayed outside the Confederation of the Rhine. The War of the Sixth Coalition from 1812 to winter 1814 saw Napoleon's defeat and Germany's liberation. In June 1814, the German patriot Heinrich vom Stein created the Central Managing Authority for Germany (Zentralverwaltungsbehörde) in Frankfurt to replace the defunct Confederation of the Rhine, but plenipotentiaries gathered at the Congress of Vienna were determined to create a weaker union of German states than Stein envisaged.
The German Confederation was created by the 9th Act of the Congress of Vienna on 8 June 1815 after being alluded to in Article 6 of the 1814 Treaty of Paris, ending the War of the Sixth Coalition.