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Thirty Years' War
A war that lasted for 30 years that was mostly fought in what is now Germany. The war was fought largely as a religious conflict between Protestants and Catholics in the Holy Roman Empire. This war causesd destruction of land, spread of disease, bankrupcy and economic failure in German states, causeing many casualties in the German population. -
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Napoleon Separates
Napoleon made territorial changes to German states and put them under French/Austrian rule. He annexed lands along the Rhine River for French rule, and dissolved the Holy Roman Empire. Some Germans first saw Napoleon as a hero, but most fought for their freedom, leading to a demand for a unification of Germany. -
German Confederation Made
German states fought French rule so peacemakers made the German Confederation under the rule of Austria. This was created by the Congress of Vienna, hoping to stabalize the separated German speaking countries' economies. This also acted as a type of buffer between the two powerful states at the time, Austria and Prussia. -
Zollverein Created
Prussia created an economic union called the Zollverein breaking tarrif barriers between German states. It was also created to manage customs and economic policies within German territory. It soon spread to most of German states, while Austria was exclueded because of its successful indsutry. -
Germany Offers Crown
German liberals offered a crown to Frederick William IV of Prussia. But, he refused, because of several reasons. The main reason being, that it was offered by the people, and not the state, meaning the prince. -
Otto Takes Power
Otto von Bismarck became Prime Minister of Prussia. He used Realpolitik to unite Germany based on what the state needed. He is well known by "Blood and Iron", symbolized his efforts of unificatoin would lead to several wars. -
Alliance with Austria
Prussia forms an alliance with Austria. Then they had a brief war with Denmark, taking Holstein and Schleswig. Austria took control over Holstein, and Prussia took control over Schleswig. -
Austro-Prussian War
Bismark invents an excuse to attack Austria, and starts a war. Bismark wins within 7 weeks, and annexed several northern German states, placing them under the Prussian rule, creating a new German Confederation. -
Bismarck Ignites War
Bismarck rewrites a telegram between King William I and the french ambassador, making it look like William insulted frenchmen. Bismark uses Napoleon I invasion 60 years earlier to make the Germans get a sense of nationalism to fight France. A combination of these ignited the Franco-Prussian War. -
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Franco-Prussian War
France and Prussia fights Franco-Prussian War. It became evident that Prussia had the superior fighting force. After a short while, Paris had to accept a humiliating defeat, leading to the exile of Napoleon III. Defeating France, Germany becomes the dominant power of Europe. -
William I becomes Kaiser
Southern and Northern German princes persuaded William I to become the German Kaiser, uniting Germany. Otto becomes his chancellor. The German Confederation is lost, and the German Empire is created. -
Kulturkampf
Otto, after becoming chancellor, enacts several laws to put people's loyalty toward the country, rather than the Church. These laws were called Kulturkampf, which literally meant "culture struggle", but Otto used it as a "battle for civilization". This struggle would last for 7~8 years, and would backfire on Otto, and is forced to pass laws that will benefit the people, in hopes to recover his name. -
New German Constitution
Germany creates new constitution. Otto creates two house legislatures; the Bundesrat and Reichstag. The Bundesrat was the upper class, and the Reichstag was the lower class, meaning the Bundesrat can veto the Reichstag. But, the emperor and chancellor still had the real choice and power.
