The German Confederation: Europe's Loose League
Birth from the Ashes: The Congress of Vienna
The French Revolution and the wars of Napoleon Bonaparte had completely shattered the old map of Europe. For over a decade, Napoleon controlled and reorganized German territories, dissolving hundreds of tiny states and creating the simpler Confederation of the Rhine. After Napoleon's final defeat at Waterloo in 1815, the victorious powers (Great Britain, Russia, Austria, Prussia) met at the Congress of Vienna to redraw Europe's borders. Their main goal was to create a stable, peaceful order that would prevent another revolution or a single nation from dominating the continent again.
For the German-speaking lands, the solution was the German Confederation (Deutscher Bund). Think of it like a club. The Holy Roman Empire, the old club, was gone. The new club had stricter, clearer rules but gave its members much more independence. The founders, especially the Austrian Chancellor Prince Klemens von Metternich, wanted a league strong enough to defend against France but too weak to threaten the individual power of kings and princes inside it. It was a classic compromise: it looked unified from the outside but was deeply divided on the inside.
Structure and Rules: How the Confederation Worked
The Confederation's only permanent body was the Federal Assembly (Bundestag), which met in Frankfurt. It was not an elected parliament but a congress of ambassadors appointed by the rulers of each member state. Austria always held the presidency. This structure highlights its nature: it was a meeting of governments, not a government for the people.
The fundamental rule was unanimity for all important decisions. Imagine a school group project where every single member has to agree before you can choose the topic, the color of the poster, or the due date. If one person says "no," the project stalls. The German Confederation worked the same way. This made decisive action almost impossible.
| State | Role & Influence | Key Interest |
|---|---|---|
| Austrian Empire | Permanent President of the Confederation. A multi-national empire. | To maintain the status quo and its leadership over German lands, preventing unification that would exclude its non-German territories. |
| Kingdom of Prussia | Largest purely German state. Military and economic powerhouse. | To expand its influence, create a German customs union, and eventually challenge Austria for leadership. |
| Mid-Sized States (e.g., Bavaria, Saxony, Hanover) | "Third Germany." Had significant local power and votes in the Assembly. | To protect their sovereignty, often playing Austria and Prussia against each other to maintain their independence. |
| Free Cities (e.g., Frankfurt, Hamburg, Bremen) | Small, independent city-republics with full membership. | To preserve their traditional freedoms and thrive through trade, often supporting policies that eased commerce. |
The Economic Engine: The Zollverein
While the Confederation's political structure was frozen, economic forces were moving. Before 1815, traveling across Germany meant stopping at every border to pay heavy taxes, or tariffs, on goods. This was terrible for business. Prussia took the lead in solving this by creating the Prussian Customs Union within its own scattered territories. In 1834, this expanded into the German Customs Union, or Zollverein.
Think of the German states as separate containers of water (economies) connected by thin, clogged pipes (roads with tariffs). The flow of water (trade) is very slow. The Zollverein is like removing the clogs and widening the pipes between most containers. The water flows faster and the level (prosperity) rises in all connected containers. However, one major container, Austria, chooses not to connect its pipe. Over time, the connected containers become a single, large pool, while the disconnected one remains separate.
The Zollverein abolished internal tariffs, created a common external tariff, and standardized weights, measures, and coinage. It was a massive success, boosting trade and industry. Crucially, it was organized by Prussia and excluded Austria. This created two Germanys: a political Germany led by Austria, and an economic Germany led by Prussia. The formula for influence was shifting: Economic unity ($E$) was becoming more powerful than political agreements ($P$).
$$ \text{Total Power} = P_{\text{(Confederation)}} + E_{\text{(Zollverein)}} $$
As $E$ grew much larger for Prussia and its allies, the balance of power tipped.
Forces of Change vs. Forces of Order
The Confederation was a battleground for two powerful ideas: Liberalism/Nationalism and Conservatism.
Liberals and Nationalists (mostly students, professors, and the middle class) wanted a unified German nation-state with a constitution, basic rights, and a parliament. In 1848, inspired by revolutions across Europe, they revolted. The Confederation's Diet was temporarily forced to accept the election of a German National Assembly in Frankfurt, which wrote a liberal constitution and offered the German crown to the King of Prussia. He refused, famously saying he would not accept a "crown from the gutter." With no army to enforce its will, the revolution failed.
Conservatives, led by Austria's Metternich, believed in monarchy, tradition, and the rights of individual states. The Confederation was their perfect tool. It was used to suppress liberal and nationalist movements through decrees like the Carlsbad Decrees of 1819, which censored the press, put universities under state control, and banned student clubs. For decades, the Confederation acted as a police force for kings and princes against their own people.
A League Tested: The Case of the Schleswig-Holstein Question
A practical example of the Confederation's strengths and fatal weaknesses was the Schleswig-Holstein Question (1848-1864). These two duchies were tied to Denmark but had special connections to Germany. When Denmark tried to fully integrate Schleswig, German nationalists were outraged. The Confederation, for once, acted decisively and went to war with Denmark to protect the rights of German speakers.
However, after the war, Austria and Prussia could not agree on how to administer the conquered duchies. Their rivalry paralyzed the Confederation. Finally, in 1866, Prussia provoked Austria into the Austro-Prussian War (also called the Seven Weeks' War). Prussia, with its modern army and railways, won a quick and decisive victory. The German Confederation, which had failed to manage the rivalry at its heart, was formally dissolved by the victorious Prussians. It was replaced by a North German Confederation under Prussian control, a much tighter and more effective federation that excluded Austria entirely. This was the direct precursor to the German Empire founded in 1871.
Important Questions
Its core design was for defense, not governance. The requirement for unanimous votes meant any state could block action it didn't like. It had no independent executive branch, no real army of its own (it relied on troops from member states), and no power to collect taxes directly from citizens. It was a treaty organization, not a government.
The key difference is sovereignty. In the Confederation, sovereignty (ultimate power) remained with the 39 individual states. In the German Empire (1871), sovereignty was transferred to the new national government in Berlin. The Empire had a strong emperor (the King of Prussia), a national parliament with real power, and a unified national army. The states kept some local rights, but the central government was supreme.
Yes, in two main areas. First, it guaranteed peace between German states for over 50 years—no major wars broke out between its members until 1866. Second, it provided a common forum that kept the idea of "Germany" alive, even if only as a loose concept. It also created a framework for minor cooperation, like coordinating some road and river projects. Its greatest unintended achievement was forcing Prussia to seek economic leadership through the Zollverein, which became the foundation for political unity later.
Conclusion
Footnote
1 Congress of Vienna (1814-1815): A series of meetings between the major European powers to establish a long-term peace plan after the defeat of Napoleon.
2 Zollverein: German for "Customs Union." The Prussian-led economic union of German states that abolished internal tariffs, established in 1834.
3 Bundestag: The Federal Assembly, the sole governing body of the German Confederation, located in Frankfurt.
4 Carlsbad Decrees (1819): A set of reactionary restrictions passed by the Confederation that suppressed liberal and nationalist activities through censorship and surveillance.
5 North German Confederation (1867-1871): The federal state of north German countries, formed after the dissolution of the German Confederation and under Prussian leadership. It was the direct predecessor to the German Empire.