Factors That Prevented the Development of A Unified German State

Factors That Prevented the Development of A Unified German State

The Holy Roman Empire (HRE) was the most powerful Kingdom during the middle Ages, but during the broken reign of the HRE, no strong centralized form of government existed. The kingdom was torn apart religiously and then the 30 Years' War devastated the land, economy and severely destroyed the population. The fact that the Germanic states existed as separate governments with no desire to give up power and the fact that no central idea for a government could be reached made the development of a unified Germany impossible. The reformation began when Martin Luther attacked the church for faults in its doctrine. His protest led to the rise of a brand new religion.

Then, in 1863 the Danish king tried to annexe the duchies of Schleswig and Holstein. Both Prussia and Austria fought a short war against Denmark in 1864. As a result Prussia and Austria were given joint administration of the two duchies. Disagreements with Austria over the duchies gave Prussia a pretext to start a war in 1866. It was over within a short period. On 3 July 1866 Prussia won a great victory over the Austrians at Koniggratz. Afterwards a peace treaty created North German Federation dominated by Prussia. Austria was expelled from German affairs. Bismarck, the German chancellor, then quarrelled with France over the issue of who was to succeed to the Spanish throne. The French declared war on 19 July 1870. However the French were utterly defeated at the battle of Sedan on 2 September 1870 and they made peace in February 1871.

Meanwhile the southern German states agreed to become part of a new German Empire with the Prussian king as emperor. William I was proclaimed emperor on 18 January 1871.

In the late 19th century Germany industrialised rapidly. By the end of the century it rivalled Britain as an industrial power. In 1879 Germany signed the Dual Alliance with Austria-Hungary. The two powers agreed to come to each others aid in the event of a war with Russia.

Bismarck the German chancellor also campaigned against socialism. In the late 19th century it was a growing force in Germany. Bismarck tried to take the wind out of Socialism's sails by introducing welfare measures. In 1883 he introduced sickness insurance. In 1884 he introduced accident insurance. Then in 1889 he introduced old age pensions. However socialism continued to grow in Germany and by 1914 the Social Democratic Party was the largest party in the Reichstag. Finally Bismarck resigned in 1890.

In the High Middle Ages, the dukes and princes of the empire gained power at the expense of the emperors. Martin Luther led the Protestant Reformation against the Catholic Church after 1517, as the northern states became Protestant, while the southern states remained Catholic. They clashed in the Thirty Years' War (1618-1648), which was ruinous to the twenty million civilians. 1648 marked the effective end of the Holy Roman Empire and the ...