The
North German Confederation , came into existence in August 1866 as a military alliance of 22 states of northern
GermanyGermany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered to the north by the North Sea, Denmark, and the Baltic Sea; to the east by Poland and the Czech Republic; to the south by Austria and Switzerland; and to the west by France, Luxembourg, Belgium,...
with the
Kingdom of PrussiaThe Kingdom of Prussia was a German kingdom from 1701 to 1918, until the defeat of Germany in World War I, was the leading state of the German Empire, comprising almost two-thirds of the area of the empire...
as the leading state. In July 1867 it was transformed into a federal state. It provided the country with a constitution and was the building block of the
German EmpireThe German Empire is the name commonly used in English to describe Germany from the unification of Germany and proclamation of Wilhelm I as German Emperor on 18 January 1871 to 1918, when it became a German republic after defeat in World War I and the abdication of Wilhelm II .The term Second Reich...
, which adopted most parts of the federation's constitution and its flag.
Unlike the earlier
German ConfederationThe German Confederation was the association of Central European states created by the Congress of Vienna in 1815 to serve as the successor to the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation, which had been abolished in 1806. In 1848, revolutions by liberals and nationalists occurred in an attempt to...
, the North German Confederation was in fact a true state. Its territory comprised the parts of the German Confederation north of the river
MainThe Main is a river in Germany, 524 km long , and it is one of the more significant tributaries of the Rhine. The Main flows through the German states of Bavaria, Baden-Württemberg and Hesse...
, plus Prussia's eastern territories and the Duchy of
SchleswigSchleswig or South Jutland is a region covering the area about 60 km north and 70 km south of the border between Germany and Denmark...
, but excluded
AustriaAustria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.3 million people in Central Europe. It borders both Germany and the Czech Republic to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the west...
,
BavariaBavaria , with an area of and almost 12.5 million inhabitants, is located in the southeast of Germany and is the largest state of Germany by area, forming almost 20% of the total land area of Germany...
,
WürttembergWürttemberg , formerly known as Wirtemberg, is an area and a former state in southwestern Germany, including parts of the regions Swabia and Franconia....
,
BadenBaden is a historical state on the east bank of the Rhine River in the southwest of Germany, now the western part of the Baden-Württemberg of Germany....
and the southern parts of the
Grand Duchy of HesseThe Grand Duchy of Hesse was a member state of the German Confederation from 1806, when the Landgraviate of Hesse-Darmstadt was elevated to a Grand Duchy, until 1918, when all the German monarchies were overthrown...
.
It cemented Prussian control over
northern GermanyNorthern Germany is the geographic area in the north of Germany. The native German concept of northern Germany is called Norddeutschland.- Geography :...
, and emanated that same control via the
Zollvereinthumb|upright=1.2|The German Zollverein 1834–1919
blue = in 1834
green= Included region until 1866
yellow= Excluded after 1866
red = Borders of the German Union of 1828
pink= Relevant others until 1834...
(Customs Union) and secret peace treaties (agreed with the southern states the day before the
Peace of PragueThe Peace of Prague was a peace treaty signed at Prague on 23 August, 1866, which ended the Austro-Prussian War. The treaty was lenient toward the Austrian Empire due to the fact that Otto von Bismarck had persuaded William I that maintaining Austria's place in Europe would be better in the future...
) into southern Germany.
Although it ceased to exist after the creation of the German Empire in 1871, the federation was the building block for the German constitution adopted that year. This constitution granted immense powers to the new chancellor,
Otto von BismarckOtto Eduard Leopold von Bismarck was a Prussian German statesman and aristocrat of the 19th century. As Ministerpräsident of Prussia from 1862–1890, he oversaw the unification of Germany. In 1867 he became Chancellor of the North German Confederation...
who was appointed by the President of the Bundesrat (Prussia). This was because the constitution made the chancellor 'responsible,' however not accountable, to the Reichstag. This therefore allowed him the benefit of being the link between the emperor and the people. The Chancellor retained powers over the military budget, after the constitutional crisis that engulfed Wilhelm I in 1862. Laws also prevented certain civil servants becoming members of the Reichstag, those who were Bismarck's main opposition in the 1860s.
The federation came into being after Prussia defeated
AustriaAustria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.3 million people in Central Europe. It borders both Germany and the Czech Republic to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the west...
and the other remaining states of the
German ConfederationThe German Confederation was the association of Central European states created by the Congress of Vienna in 1815 to serve as the successor to the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation, which had been abolished in 1806. In 1848, revolutions by liberals and nationalists occurred in an attempt to...
in the
Austro-Prussian WarThe Austro-Prussian War was a war fought in 1866 between the Austrian Empire and its German allies on one side and the Kingdom of Prussia with its German allies and Italy on the other, that...
of 1866.
Otto von BismarckOtto Eduard Leopold von Bismarck was a Prussian German statesman and aristocrat of the 19th century. As Ministerpräsident of Prussia from 1862–1890, he oversaw the unification of Germany. In 1867 he became Chancellor of the North German Confederation...
created the
constitutionThe North German Constitution was the constitution of the North German Confederation, which existed from 1867 to 1871. The Constitution of the German Empire was closely based upon it....
, which came into force on 1 July, 1867, with the King of Prussia,
William IWilhelm I, also known as Wilhelm the Great of the House of Hohenzollern was the King of Prussia and the first German Emperor ....
, as its President, and Bismarck as
Chancellor. The states were represented in the
BundesratThere was a Reichsrat * Reichsrat * Reichsrat , in the Austrian part of Austria-Hungary * Reichsrat -See also:...
(Federal Council) with 43 seats (of which Prussia held 17). Most notably, Bismarck introduced universal male suffrage into the confederation for elections to the
ReichstagThe Reichstag was the parliament of the Holy Roman Empire, and subsequently of the North German Confederation, and of Germany until 1945...
. The Bundesrat membership was extended before 1871 with the creation of the Zollverein Parliament in 1867, an attempt to create closer unity with the southern states by permitting representatives to be sent to the Bundersrat.
Following Prussia's victory over the
Second French EmpireThe Second French Empire or Second Empire was the Imperial Bonapartist regime of Napoleon III from 1852 to 1870, between the Second Republic and the Third Republic, in France.-Rule of Napoleon III:...
and the subsequently formed
Third RepublicThere were several Third Republics in the course of history.* French Third Republic * Third Republic of Czechoslovakia * Third Republic of the Philippines * Third Republic of South Korea...
in the
Franco-Prussian WarThe Franco-Prussian War or Franco-German War, often referred to in France as the 1870 War was a conflict between France and Prussia. Prussia was aided by the North German Confederation, of which it was a member, and the South German states of Baden, Württemberg and Bavaria...
of 1871,
BavariaBavaria , with an area of and almost 12.5 million inhabitants, is located in the southeast of Germany and is the largest state of Germany by area, forming almost 20% of the total land area of Germany...
,
WürttembergWürttemberg , formerly known as Wirtemberg, is an area and a former state in southwestern Germany, including parts of the regions Swabia and Franconia....
, and
BadenBaden is a historical state on the east bank of the Rhine River in the southwest of Germany, now the western part of the Baden-Württemberg of Germany....
(together with parts of the
Grand Duchy of HesseThe Grand Duchy of Hesse was a member state of the German Confederation from 1806, when the Landgraviate of Hesse-Darmstadt was elevated to a Grand Duchy, until 1918, when all the German monarchies were overthrown...
which had not originally joined the federation), unified with the states of the Federation to form the
German EmpireThe German Empire is the name commonly used in English to describe Germany from the unification of Germany and proclamation of Wilhelm I as German Emperor on 18 January 1871 to 1918, when it became a German republic after defeat in World War I and the abdication of Wilhelm II .The term Second Reich...
, with William I taking the new title of
German Emperor (rather than
Emperor of Germany as Austria was not included).
Postage stamps
One of the functions of the confederation was to handle mail and issue postage stamps; for details, see
postage stamps and postal history of the North German ConfederationOne of the functions of the North German Confederation was to handle the mail and issue postage stamps, which it began doing on 1 January 1868. To accommodate the different monetary systems in use by the various states, it issued a series valued in groschen for the Northern District, and another...
.
See also
- North German Constitution
The North German Constitution was the constitution of the North German Confederation, which existed from 1867 to 1871. The Constitution of the German Empire was closely based upon it....
- Former countries in Europe after 1815
This article gives an overview of countries that existed in Europe after the Congress of Vienna in 1815. For each country, information is given about the period of existence and what has happened to the territory since.-A:...
- German Unification