The American Cyclopædia (1879)/Germany

by A. J. Schem (geographical part)

GERMANY (Ger. Deutschland; Fr. Allemagne), formerly a large empire of central Europe, with an area at the time of the first French revolution of 267,714 sq. m., and 26,265,000 inhabitants. From 1806 to 1815 it was dismembered and disorganized. In 1815 the German confederation (Deutscher Bund) was established in the place of the old German empire, embracing part of Austria (the present Cisleithania, with the exception of Galicia and Bukowina; see Austria), the bulk of Prussia (with the exception of Prussia proper and Posen), the kingdoms of Bavaria, Würtemberg, Saxony, and Hanover, the electorate of Hesse-Cassel, and a number of grand duchies, duchies, principalities, and free cities; in all 39 states, which in 1866 had been reduced to 33. The area of this confederation was 243,539 sq. m.; the population in 1865, 46,412,536. In 1866 it was dissolved. Austria was excluded from Germany, and Hanover, Hesse-Cassel, Nassau, and Schleswig-Holstein, with Lauenburg and Frankfort, were annexed to Prussia; the states north of the Main were formed into the North German confederation under the headship of Prussia. The four South German states, Bavaria, Würtemberg, Baden, and Hesse-Darmstadt, were made independent states, but were closely united with the North German confederation by means of the Zollverein and defensive and offensive alliances. Luxemburg and Liechtenstein were dismissed from all connection with the other German states. Thus the term Germany, from 1866 to 1871, designated the North German confederation and the four South German states, with an aggregate area of 204,719 sq. m., and a population in 1867 of 38,581,522. In January, 1871, the North German confederation and the four South German states united to reëstablish the German empire, to which, by cession from France, the Reichsland of Alsace-Lorraine was added. This empire is bounded N. by the North sea, Denmark, and the Baltic sea, E. by Russia and Austria, S. by Austria and Switzerland, and W. by France, Belgium, and Holland (including Luxemburg). Its extreme northern point is on the frontier of the province of East Prussia, in lat. 55° 52′ N.; its extreme southern point is in the Bavarian district of Swabia and Neuburg, lat. 47° 17′. From E. to W. it extends from lon. 22° 52′, on the boundary of East Prussia and Russian Poland, to lon. 5° 45′, on the line dividing German and French Lorraine. The area is 208,738 sq. m.; pop. in 1871, 41,058,139, or 197 to the square mile.—Stretching from the lofty summit of the Alps to the low beaches of the Baltic, from the picturesque and diversified countries of western Europe to the monotonous plains of the east, Germany encloses a rich variety of mountainous regions, terraced country, table lands, and fertile plains. Though mainly an inland country, it has good outlets to its numerous navigable rivers. Two great river systems, tributary to the North sea and the Black sea, meet in Germany, rendering it the centre of the interior commerce of the European continent. Its climate unites the characteristics of the surrounding countries, holding a mean between the extreme heat of the south and the extreme cold of northern Europe, between the excessive moisture of the western coast countries and the dryness of the eastern plains. Until recently its boundaries were but poorly protected; but the recovery of Alsace and part of Lorraine, in consequence of the war of 1870-'71, restored to Germany a very strong position for defence, as now the Vosges mountains form the western frontier, and to the former bulwarks against an invasion from France, Mentz, Coblentz, Saarlouis, Landau, and Germersheim, a number of equally strong fortresses in Alsace and Lorraine have been added: Metz, Strasburg, Diedenhofen (Thionville), Bitsch, and Neu Breisach. On the south and southeast Germany is protected by the Alpine system and the maze of its projecting spurs, and the mountains separating it from Bohemia. The weakest point of Germany is the E. and N. E. frontier toward Russia. There the Russian territory enters like a wedge into the side of Germany, and the defence of its easternmost provinces depends on its military organization rather than on the three fortresses of Posen, Thorn, and Königsberg.—The vertical configuration of Germany presents three principal groups: the Alpine region south of the Danube, the elevated and terraced central portion, and the level northern country. 1. By the exclusion of Austria from Germany, the Alps have become the southern frontier, and only two comparatively small branches (the Algau Alps between the Rhine and the Lech, and the Bavarian Alps between the Lech and the Salzach) belong to the German empire. 2. The terraced country of central Germany has its nucleus near the junction of the boundaries of Saxony, Bohemia, and Bavaria, about lat. 50°, in the Fichtelgebirge, the watershed of the tributaries of the Rhine, Danube, and Elbe. Thence a number of mountain chains of the secondary order radiate in all directions. To the southeast the Bohemian Forest, the frontier between Bavaria and Bohemia, runs nearly 150 m. in parallel rugged chains toward the Danube. Its highest elevation is the Arber, about 4,800 ft. To the northeast the Erzgebirge, the loftiest peaks of which rise to an elevation of 4,000 ft., forms the frontier between Bohemia and Saxony. On the right bank of the Elbe the mountains cluster in a group of sandstone formation (Saxon Switzerland and Lusatia); after which, assuming the name of Sudetic mountains (Riesengebirge, Glatzergebirge), they turn S. E., dividing Bohemia from Silesia, and extending to the head waters of the Oder, where they meet the Carpathians. They culminate in the Schneekoppe, upward of 5,000 ft. high. S. W. of the Fichtelgebirge the Franconian Jura sweeps to the Danube and along its northern bank in a westerly direction into Würtemberg, where its long-stretched, sharply defined ridges and table lands are known by the names of Rauhe Alp, Swabian Alp, Aalbuch, &c. In S. W. Germany (grand duchy of Baden), near the head waters of the Danube, the mountain ridge of the Black Forest sets off at a sharp angle from the Swabian Alp in a northerly direction nearly parallel to the Rhine, and skirting the fertile bottom land of its E. bank. The spurs of this ridge, extending as far N. as the Neckar river, there meet with the Odenwald (grand duchy of Hesse), which, by the Spessart and Rhön (N. W. frontier of Bavaria), and again by the Thuringian and Franconian forests, is connected with the Fichtelgebirge. The territory enclosed by these different ridges, being those sections of Bavaria and Würtemberg N. of the Danube, nearly the whole of Baden, part of the grand duchy of Hesse, and a few of the petty Saxon duchies, is intersected by a number of lesser hill chains. Between this Franconian and Swabian mountain system and the Rhætian Alps of Austria extends a vast level plain (southern Bavaria), bounded N. by the Danube, W. by the Iller, E. by the Inn and Salzach. The N. W. section of central Germany (always taking the Fichtelgebirge as the centre) appears like a labyrinth of hill chains, few of which attain a considerable elevation. The more important of them are: the Werra mountains, the Habichtswald, the Westerwald, the Taunus (Prussian province of Hesse-Nassau), the Eder hills, Egge hills, Rothhaar hills, and the Haarstrang (Prussian Westphalia). These are all between the Rhine on the west, the Main and Kinzig rivers on the south, the Werra on the east, and the Lippe on the north. The highest summit is the Astenberg in Westphalia, nearly 2,800 ft. high. N. of the Lippe only one other hill chain stretches in a N. W. direction nearly parallel to the Ems, viz., the Teutoburg forest, renowned in German history as the theatre of the conflict by which the rule of the Romans east of the Rhine was broken. E. of the Weser, the Weser hills run parallel to that river, while S. E. of them and N. of the Thuringian system the Hartz appears as an isolated mass of mountains, the highest summit of which (Brocken) reaches the height of 3,737 ft. On the left or western bank of the Rhine the Vosges, extending along the western frontier of Alsace, rise near Colmar to an altitude of about 4,700 ft., and their northern spurs in Rhenish Bavaria and Rhenish Prussia, called the Haardt, the Hunsrück, and the Hochwald, to about 2,700 ft. in the latter range. Further N. the Ardennes send into Rhenish Prussia the ridge of the Eifel (2,500 ft.) and the Hohe Venn. Northeastern offshoots of the Jura cross the southern frontier of Alsace. 3. The great plain of northern Germany extends over the entire breadth of the country N. of a line drawn from the Holland frontier to Osnabrück and Minden, thence E. S. E. to Leipsic, thence S. by E. to a point where the head waters of the Oder and Vistula approach one another. This vast plain, which at some former geological period has undoubtedly formed the bottom of the sea, is traversed only by two ridges of hills, none of which rise above 400 ft. One of these ridges extends from the lower Vistula W. to the Oder above Stettin; the other from Tarnowitz in S. E. Silesia along the Oder to lat. 52° N., then a little to the north of that parallel through the Prussian provinces of Brandenburg and Saxony into Hanover.—Each of the seas by which Germany is bounded on the north has a peculiar coast configuration. While the coast of the North sea or German ocean is largely indented by deep bays (Dollart and Jade bays) or wide embouchures (Weser and Elbe), and its “marshes” are the richest and most fertile soil in all Germany, the shores of the Baltic form many extensive lagoons (Haffs), and are generally uninviting and sterile. The advantages which the formation of the shores of the North sea would seem to offer for the development of the maritime interests of Germany, are to a great extent neutralized by the fact that a series of sand banks, called Watten, stretch nearly all along the coast. Besides this, the island which commands the entrance of all German ports on the North sea (Helgoland) has been ceded to Great Britain.—Germany is intersected by many rivers. The principal river systems are those of the Danube, Rhine, Weser, Elbe, and Oder. The Danube, flowing from W. to E., has within the empire a length of 400 m. Its principal tributaries in Germany are: on the left or N. bank, the Altmühl, Nab, and Regen; on the right bank, the Iller, Lech, Isar, and Inn. The North sea receives the river systems of the Rhine (469 m. within Germany), the Ems (about 200 m. long), the Weser (400 m. inclusive of the Werra), and the Elbe (500 m. within the empire). The principal tributaries of the Rhine are the Ill, Nahe, and Moselle, on the left bank; the Kinzig, Murg, Neckar, Main, Tauber, Lahn, Sieg, Wipper, Ruhr, and Lippe, on the right. The Weser is formed by the confluence of the Werra and Fulda, and receives only a few tributaries (Werre, Aue, and Hunte on the left, Aller and Leine, Ocker, Wümme, and Geeste on the right). The Elbe has, next to the Danube, the largest river system. Its affluents in the empire are the Mulde, Saale, Jetze, Ilmenau, Schwinge, and Oste, on the left bank; the Black Elster, Havel and Spree, Stecknitz, Elde, and Stör on the right bank. Two thirds of the territory drained by rivers which flow into the Baltic sea belongs to the system of the Oder (about 500 m. within the empire), and its numerous tributaries, the Neisse, Weistritz, Katzbach, Bober, Ticker, and Peene on the left, the Klodnitz, Malapane, Weide, Bartsch, Warthe, Plöne, and Ihna on the right. Of the small river systems the following may be mentioned: the Eider (boundary between Schleswig and Holstein), about 105 m. long; the Pomeranian rivers Rega, Persante, Wipper, Stolpe, Lupow, and Leba; and the Vistula, which in Germany has a length of about 150 m. A number of canals connect several of the large river systems, but only a few of them can compare with the American canals. The most important is the Ludwigs canal, connecting the Danube with the Main (and through this with the Rhine), thus furnishing uninterrupted navigation from the North to the Black sea. The Rhône and Rhine canal connects the system of these two rivers by joining the Doubs and the Ill. The Bremervörde canal connects the Oste and Schwinge, tributaries of the Elbe; the Kiel canal connects the North and Baltic seas by the Eider, and the Strecknitz canal furnishes an outlet from the Elbe into the Baltic by the Trave; by the Finow and Müllrose canal the systems of the Elbe and Oder are connected.—The number of lakes in Germany is large, but most of them are inconsiderable. The following deserve to be mentioned: the lake of Constance (Bodensee), the banks of which belong to five different states, Baden, Würtemberg, Bavaria, Austria, and Switzerland; Ammer, Würm, Chiem, and Königs lakes, in Bavaria; Feder lake, Würtemberg; lake of Steinhude (Steinhuder Meer), in Hanover and Lippe; Zwischenahner Meer, in Oldenburg; lake of Plön, in Holstein; lake of Ratzeburg, in Lauenburg and Mecklenburg; the lakes of Schwerin and Müritz, in Mecklenburg; Schwieloch and Scharmütz lakes, in Brandenburg; Damm and Plön, in Pomerania; Zarnowitz lake, in Pomerania and western Prussia; the Salt lake near Eisleben, in the Prussian province of Saxony; and the lake of Laach, in Rhenish Prussia.—The climate of Germany is temperate, and, considering the extent of the country, remarkably uniform, the greater heat of the lower latitudes being tempered by the greater elevation of the country and its Alpine character. On the great plain of northern Germany the districts exposed to the moist west and southwest winds have a more inclement climate than central Germany; while the southern-most districts, though drier, have less heat than more northern latitudes. The average decrease of the mean temperature, going from S. to N., is 1° F. in 52 m., and going from W. to E. 1° in 72 m.; measured by the vertical elevation, it is 1° in 256 ft. The mean annual temperature of Stralsund (lat. 54° 18′ N., lon. 13° 5′ 23″ E.) is 46.4°; the mean temperature in summer 63°, in winter 29.8°. The mean annual temperature of the valley of the Rhine is 52°, of Thuringia 47.5°, of Silesia 47°, of all Germany 48.8°. The extremes of temperature in the country N. of the Alps are 95° above and 31° below zero. In an average of 10 years the Rhine had been frozen over 26 days during each winter, the Weser 30 days, the Elbe 62 days, the Oder 70 days. The atmosphere is pure and wholesome, and unfavorable to the development of endemic or hereditary diseases, except in the high Alpine valleys, where cretinism prevails. Epidemics are generally less destructive in Germany than in the neighboring countries.—Of wild animals, the deer, hare, rabbit, fox, hamster (a kind of marmot peculiar to Germany), marten, badger, weasel, otter (rare), &c., are found nearly everywhere, stringent game laws preventing their destruction. A good breed of horses is raised in Mecklenburg, Holstein, and Hanover; cattle raising is a most important branch of husbandry in Oldenburg, the N. W. part of Hanover, Franconia, and the Alpine country; sheep are raised extensively in Saxony, Silesia, and Brandenburg; Saxony furnishes the finest quality of wool; goats, mules, and asses are reared principally in the mountainous districts of the south; hogs in all states, but chiefly in the west. Large birds of prey (the eagle and vulture) are rarely found beyond the Alpine districts; fowl of all kinds, wild and domestic, are plentiful in all parts of the country. Germany has only a few species of amphibia; there are only two venomous kinds of snakes, vipera berus and V. chersea. Carp and pike are numerous in nearly all rivers and ponds, the salmon only in the larger rivers; sturgeon, cod, and sheatfish in the Elbe, trout in all mountain streams; herring and sardines in the Baltic and North sea. Oysters of good quality are obtained near the shores of Schleswig-Holstein, and pearl mussels in some rivers of the interior. The silkworm is not raised extensively.—Germany is rich in mineral products, and mining has employed there a great number of persons from the remotest times. Gold is found only in a few places in limited quantities (in the Hartz mountains and in the kingdom of Saxony); silver abounds in the Hartz and in southern Westphalia; iron is found in large quantities in nearly all the mountain ranges, the best qualities being those worked in Westphalia, Alsace-Lorraine, and Rhenish Prussia; excellent tin abounds in the Erzgebirge; lead in Saxony and upper Silesia; calamine and zinc in Silesia; cobalt in Saxony. Salt is obtained in quantities more than sufficient for domestic consumption in all the states except Saxony and Anhalt. The production of coal has been enormously increased within the last 40 years. The most extensive coal beds occur in Rhenish Prussia, Westphalia, upper Silesia, Saxony, and Anhalt. The N. W. districts have instead an abundant supply of peat. Sulphur, saltpetre, alum, vitriol, gypsum, chalk, ochre, emery, porcelain clay, graphite, marble, alabaster, and amber (on the shores of the Baltic) are found in different districts. Precious stones are comparatively scarce. Of mineral springs Germany has a great number, and several of them (Pyrmont, Ems, Wiesbaden, Selters, Homburg, Baden-Baden, Kissingen, Schwalbach, Salzbrunn, Warmbrunn, &c.) enjoy a world-wide reputation.—The soil on the whole is only of moderate fertility. Many tracts are exuberantly productive, but many others are almost as barren and sterile as the Russian steppes. The most fertile tracts of land in Germany and in Europe are the marshes on the shore of the North sea. Scientific agriculture has improved the natural condition of the soil in a high degree. All kinds of grain and fruit belonging to the temperate zone are raised: rye, barley, oats, potatoes, peas, and beans, everywhere; maize principally in the south; wheat in the south and west; buckwheat in the north; millet in the southeast; rapeseed, poppy, anise, and cumin in the central and northwest districts. The largest grain fields are in Würtemberg, the smallest in Mecklenburg. Bavaria, Würtemberg, Saxe-Altenburg, Mecklenburg, Holstein, &c., produce a larger quantity of breadstuffs than is required for home consumption, while Saxony and some of the Saxon duchies import breadstuffs. Flax and hemp, madder, woad, and saffron are cultivated more in the south and central region than in the north. Tobacco is extensively raised (even for exportation to other tobacco-growing countries) on the upper Rhine, the Werra and Oder, and in Brandenburg. Excellent hops are furnished by Bavaria and Brunswick. Beets are raised in enormous quantities for the manufacture of sugar, and their cultivation has almost entirely superseded the grain culture in the Prussian province of Saxony, Anhalt, Hesse-Darmstadt, and S. Bavaria. Chiccory, as a substitute for coffee, is raised in the country between the Elbe and Weser rivers. In garden culture Würtemberg, Bavaria, Hesse, and the Saxon duchies hold the highest rank. The fruit raised on the banks of the Rhine and Neckar, in Saxony and N. W. Bavaria, is of the very best quality to be found anywhere. Peaches and figs ripen only in localities protected from the cold. The apples of Saxony are of the choicest kind, and are exported to Russia in large quantities. Marron chestnuts, almonds, &c., are raised in the S. W. states. Great attention is paid to the improvement of fruit. In all the states there are pomological societies, which from time to time hold national conventions. The culture of the vine extends to lat. 51° 30′. (See Germany, Wines of.)—The three free cities excepted, the greatest density of population prevails in the principality of Reuss elder line (473 to the square mile), the kingdom of Saxony (442), the grand duchy of Hesse (288), and the duchy of Saxe-Altenburg (256). In the following states it exceeds the average: Würtemberg, Baden, Brunswick, Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, Schwarzburg, Reuss younger line, Lippe, Anhalt, and Saxe-Weimar. In Prussia it is 184, in Bavaria 166. The number of large cities, proportionately to the population, is greater in Germany than in any other country except Great Britain, Belgium, and Holland. There is one city with more than 800,000 inhabitants (Berlin), two with more than 200,000 (Hamburg and Breslau), seven with more than 100,000 (Dresden, Munich, Cologne, Magdeburg, Königsberg, Leipsic, and Hanover), 22 with more than 50,000, and 50 with from 20,000 to 50,000. More than nine tenths (92 per cent.) of the population of Germany belong to the German race; the remainder, belonging principally to the Slavic race, is mainly confined to the eastern Prussian provinces. The entire number of Slavs in Germany is about 2,640,000 (2,450,000 Poles, 140,000 Wends, 50,000 Czechs), or 6½ per cent., of which number only about 50,000 are outside of Prussia. In the latter country there are also about 150,000 Lithuanians and Letts. The Danes, in Schleswig, number about 150,000, and the French, chiefly in Lorraine, 230,000. Except Ireland, no country of Europe has lost so large a number of inhabitants by emigration as Germany. From 1819 to 1855 the aggregate number of German emigrants was estimated at 1,800,000. The number of German immigrants into the United States from 1820 to 1872 amounted to 2,580,000. The Germans are usually classified into Low Germans and High Germans, or northerners and southerners. The dividing line may be drawn from lat. 50° 30′ in western Ger- many to lat. 52° 30′ on the eastern frontier, or along the course of the Sieg (a tributary of the Rhine) to the southern slope of the Hartz mountains, crossing the Elbe near its confluence with the Saale, then a little to the northward along the southern banks of the Havel and of the Warthe. In physical development the Germans are superior to either the Latin or the Slavic race. Their frame and their muscular development are strong, almost heavy. Among the lower classes of the rural and laboring population stoutness and strength often approach to clumsiness. Generally the northerners are taller and have better-shaped features and limbs than the southerners. The blonde complexion prevails only in the north; in central and southern Germany light or dark brown is more frequently found. In power of endurance the Germans are surpassed by the Slavic race, in agility by the Latin. The prominent features of the German national character are honesty, faithfulness, valor, thoughtfulness, perseverance, and industry. The Germans have largely promoted the progress of human knowledge. There is scarcely a single branch of science in which they have not excelled. In music, painting, and sculpture they occupy a very high rank among nations. The German artisan is valued for his dexterity and steadiness. The sectional and local diversities of character are very great in Germany. While the Protestant northerners have many characteristics in common with the Anglo-Saxon, the Catholic southerners approach in some important respects the Latin race, particularly in a certain preponderance of imagination over reason. The Low German assimilates far more readily to the English or American than to the Austrian or Swabian.—The culture of the soil in Germany is highly developed, and inferior only to that of England. The products of agriculture have been nearly doubled by the introduction of more rational methods of cultivation since 1816. All German states have agricultural colleges, some of which enjoy a world-wide reputation. The methods of cultivation are different in different portions of the country. The triennial and quadrennial rotations of crops are most in use. According to the first method, winter grain is raised in the first year, spring grain in the second, and potatoes, pulse, or fodder in the third year; according to the second method, recommended by Thaer, a grain crop is always followed by a crop of fodder or pulse. In some of the northern states crops of grain are raised on a certain portion of the farm for several successive years, after which the field is allowed to lie fallow from three to seven years, according to the number of lots into which the farm is divided. In Mecklenburg agriculture approaches to horticulture, inasmuch as many different kinds of fruit are raised on little plots of ground, one by the side of another. The culture of forests is conducted upon a more scientific basis than in any other country. Having in former times thoughtlessly destroyed their forests, many German states have been compelled to replant them in order to satisfy the wants of agriculture and industry. In many states the forests mostly belong to government, and are as carefully kept as gardens; but even private owners are prohibited by law from wasting their forests without regard to the public good. The most extensive forests are found in central and southern Germany and in the eastern provinces of Prussia. The entire superficies of wood land in Germany is 52,939 sq. m., of which Prussia has 31,423, Bavaria 9,376, and Würtemberg about 2,296.—Of all European countries, Germany has the oldest manufactures. In the last century it had fallen in regard to the extent of its mechanical pursuits behind England and Belgium, but within 50 years it has advanced rapidly, and is now in a fair way to recover its former position. As early as the 13th century Germany was celebrated for its cloth and linen manufactures, its glass wares, carved and chiselled wares, &c. In the 14th century the silk manufacture was introduced, and the first paper mill was established as early as 1390. During the 15th century Germany became celebrated for its watch manufacture. Printing works were established at Augsburg and the lace manufacture introduced into Saxony in the 16th century. At that time Germany was to Europe, in regard to industry and commerce, what England is now. The thirty years' war destroyed all prosperity for a long time. At the beginning of the 18th century German industry again flourished, principally in consequence of the immigration of the Huguenots expelled from France. Frederick II. of Prussia and Joseph II. of Austria strove to raise it to its former eminence, but the French revolutionary wars blighted it once more. Since then it has recovered the lost ground, principally by means of the Zollverein, a commercial union of German states, which was inaugurated in 1819 and gradually joined by the majority of the states. According to the constitution of 1871, the German empire constitutes one customs and commercial union, except a few small communes which on account of their situation remain excluded from the common line of customs, and the two Hanse towns, Hamburg and Bremen, which as free ports may remain outside of the union “until they themselves demand admittance.” Besides the states of the empire, the Zollverein embraces the grand duchy of Luxemburg and the Austrian commune of Jungholtz on the southern frontier of Bavaria. By the Zollverein free commerce was established among all its members, while a high tariff protected their industry against foreign competition. The progress made by Germany under this system is truly remarkable. While 50 years ago it had become preëminently an exporter of raw products of the soil, it is now one of the principal exporters of industrial products and importers of raw materials. The centres of German industry are the kingdom of Saxony, Westphalia, Rhenish Prussia, and Alsace-Lorraine. The linen manufacture stands highest in Saxony, Silesia, and Rhenish Prussia. The cotton industry of Germany has of late assumed very large dimensions. The number of spindles in 1869 was estimated at 5,000,000. The imports of cotton into the territory of the Zollverein were 2,271,000 cwt., of cotton yarn 313,264, and of cotton goods 28,700 cwt.; while on the other hand the exports of cotton were 936,397 cwt., of cotton yarn 66,861, and of cotton goods 198,562. How the woollen manufacture of Germany has been increased by the Zollverein may be seen from the fact that in 1825 Germany exported to England alone 280,000 cwt. of raw wool, while in 1869 the quantity of woollen yarn imported into Germany amounted to 300,000 cwt., and the quantity exported to 94,000, leaving not less than 206,000 cwt. as the net import of raw material. In the same year the quantity of woollen cloth exported amounted to 306,581 cwt. The German silk fabrics equal in quality the French and English, but are somewhat inferior in design. The principal silk manufactories are in Prussia (Berlin, Elberfeld, and Crefeld) and Saxony. The export of silk fabrics from Germany is nearly equal in amount to the domestic consumption. The paper manufacture has made considerable progress, although the finest qualities are still imported to some extent. In some fabrics of wood, as the choicest kinds of cabinet furniture, and all kinds of toys, Germany stands unequalled, and is a large exporter to all countries of the world. The iron manufacture has of late increased rapidly. The production of raw iron in the empire amounted in 1868 to 27,757,880 cwt. (21,065,199 in Prussia, 4,487,458 in Alsace-Lorraine, 961,382 in Bavaria), and in 1869 to about 33,000,000 cwt. The best iron and steel wares are manufactured in Rhenish Prussia and Saxony. The machine shops of Prussia, Saxony, Bavaria, and Baden rival, if they do not excel, the largest establishments of their kind in England. Other important branches of industry are gold and silver wares (Augsburg and Berlin), glass wares (Silesia), leather (Rhenish Prussia), porcelain (Saxony and Berlin), mathematical and astronomical instruments (Munich and Berlin), clocks (Baden), &c. Brewing is one of the most extensive branches of industry, especially in Bavaria. There were in the year 1870-'71 in the empire (exclusive of Lorraine) 302 beet sugar manufacturing establishments (227 in Prussia, 35 in Anhalt, 25 in Brunswick, 5 each in the Thuringian states and Würtemberg, 4 in Bavaria, 1 in Baden), which made 4,876,000 cwt. of sugar.—The foreign commerce of Germany is of great importance. The total value of imports in 1870 was estimated at $403,200,000, of exports at $345,600,000. The present customs law of the German empire bears date July 1, 1869; a new tariff was introduced on Oct. 1, 1870. All transit duties have been abolished; the duties on imports have been greatly reduced; of exports only rags are subject to a duty. The free towns, Hamburg, Bremen, and Lübeck, are the principal outlets of German commerce. Hamburg holds the third rank of all European ports, London and Liverpool only being superior. The income of the Zollverein in 1871 was $22,900,000. The merchant navy of Germany is larger than that of any other country except England and the United States. It numbered in December, 1871, 5,122 vessels (of which 179 were steamers), of an aggregate tonnage of 1,305,000. The number of vessels entering the German ports in 1871 was 68,155, of 8,735,000 tons; the number of vessels cleared 67,471, of 8,364,000 tons. The principal articles of export are wool, hops, grain, cattle, linen yarn, skins and hides, glass ware, and antimony, to England; iron and steel wares, zinc, coal, lumber, hops, hemp, flax and seed, alcohol, and cattle, to France; grain, timber, coal, wine, leather, wool, metals, woollen and cotton fabrics, hosiery, hardware, china, and glass ware, to Holland; wool, wine, and salt, to Belgium; grain, salt, and brandy, to Switzerland; seeds, fruit, preserves, and sugar, to Sweden and Russia; linen and cotton goods, ribbons, and hosiery, to Italy, Spain, and Portugal; wine, cotton, woollen, linen, and silk goods, hardware, glass ware, toys, &c., to America. The imports are, besides all kinds of raw material (cotton, pig iron, copper, coal, &c.), coffee, sugar, rice, wine (from France and Hungary), cloth, laces, machines, the finer qualities of silk fabrics, jewelry, &c. The silver standard prevailed in Germany until the establishment of the empire, when the gold standard was adopted. The unit in the northern states was the Thaler (30 thalers to 1 Zollverein pound of silver, equal to 1.389 lb. avoirdupois); in the western the Gulden Rheinisch or Rhenish florin (52½ to 1 lb. of silver). The gold coins common to all Germany were the crown (50 to 1 lb. of fine gold) and the half crown; their value was regulated by commerce, and averaged about 9¹⁄₆ thalers ($6 58) the crown. These coins will be received at their old value until Jan. 1, 1875, when they will be superseded. According to the new law for the uniformity of the coinage throughout the empire, published in 1872, the gold coins of the empire will be in future the twenty-mark (69¾ to 1 lb. of fine gold), ten-mark, and five-mark; the silver coins, the five-mark (20 to 1 lb. of fine silver), two-mark, one-mark, 50 pfennige (200 to 1 lb. of fine silver), and 20 pfennige; the nickel coins, ten pfennige and five pfennige; the copper coins, two pfennige and one pfennig. The French metrical system of weights and measures has been adopted, and made compulsory from Jan. 1, 1872.—The railways of Germany belong to the “Association of German Railway Companies,” which was established in 1846, and also embraces various railways of the Austro-Hungarian monarchy and of the Netherlands. The aggregate length of the German railways in connection with the association which were in operation on Jan. 1, 1873, was 13,643 m., of which 8,482 m. belonged to Prussia, 1,910 to Bavaria, 767 to Würtemberg, 689 to Baden, 703 to Hesse, and 513 to Alsace-Lorraine. The constitution of the empire obliges the particular governments to make the railways of their states a uniform part of the general German railway system, and authorizes the central government to build new roads even without the consent of the particular government, whenever the defence of Germany or the interests of the common traffic require it. The aggregate number of locomotives employed by the association in 1868 was 6,373; of tenders, 5,897. The total number of passengers carried was 117,000,000, and the aggregate earnings were $166,000,000. The administration of postal affairs and telegraphs (except those of Bavaria and Würtemberg) also belongs to the central government; the surplus of receipts over expenditures flows into the imperial exchequer. The German-Austrian and Luxemburg postal union also embraces the Austro-Hungarian monarchy; the German-Austrian telegraph union, the Austro-Hungarian monarchy, and the Netherlands. The aggregate length of the telegraph lines of the empire (inclusive of Bavaria and Würtemberg) in 1871 was 22,788 m.; that of telegraph wires, 73,813 m.; the number of stations, 3,726; the number of post offices, 6,896. Regular steamboat lines are established on the Rhine (since 1827), Danube (1833), Elbe, Oder, Vistula, Main, and Moselle. There are two transatlantic lines of steamers from Hamburg, one from Bremen, and one from Stettin.—Politically Germany is divided into 26 states, 22 of which have a monarchical and three a republican form of government. The constitution of one (Alsace-Lorraine) was in 1873 not yet decided. The kingdom of Prussia embraces about two thirds of the area of Germany, and a majority of the population (24,600,000 out of 41,000,000). Besides Prussia there are three kingdoms, Bavaria, Saxony, and Würtemberg; six grand duchies, Baden, Hesse-Darmstadt, Mecklenburg-Schwerin, Mecklenburg-Strelitz, Saxe-Weimar, and Oldenburg; five duchies, Brunswick, Saxe-Meiningen, Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, Saxe-Altenburg, and Anhalt; seven principalities, Schwarzburg-Sondershausen, Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt, Lippe-Detmold, Schaumburg-Lippe, Waldeck, Reuss senior, and Reuss junior; three free cities, Lübeck, Bremen, and Hamburg; and the imperial territory of Alsace-Lorraine. The constitution of the German empire bears date April 16, 1871. At the head of the empire is the king of Prussia, who has the title of “German Emperor.” The emperor represents the empire internationally, declares war, concludes peace, and enters into alliance and treaties with foreign powers. For a declaration of war the consent of the federal council is required, unless an attack has been made upon German territory. The emperor is the commander-in-chief of the imperial army and navy. He convokes, opens, adjourns, and closes the federal council and the Reichstag, but the former must be convoked whenever two thirds of its members demand it. The emperor promulgates the laws and superintends their execution. The legislative functions are vested in the federal council (Bundesrath) and the Reichstag. The members of the former are appointed by the governments of the states. It consisted in 1873 of 58 members: 17 for Prussia, 6 for Bavaria, 4 for Würtemberg, 4 for Saxony, 3 for Baden, 3 for Hesse, 2 for Mecklenburg-Schwerin, 2 for Brunswick, and 1 for each of the others except Alsace-Lorraine. It has, according to the constitution, eight standing committees: 1, for the army and fortresses; 2, for the navy; 3, for tariff, excise, and taxes; 4, for trade and commerce; 5, for railways, posts, and telegraphs; 6, for civil and criminal law; 7, for financial accounts; 8, for foreign affairs. Since the annexation of Alsace-Lorraine, a 9th committee for that territory has been added. The committee for foreign affairs consists of the representatives of Bavaria, Saxony, and Würtemberg, and those of two other states who are annually elected by the federal council, under the presidency of Bavaria. The emperor appoints the committees for the army and navy, except one member in the committee for the army, who is appointed by Bavaria; all the other committees are elected by the federal council. The Reichstag is elected by universal direct suffrage and by ballot, at the average rate of one deputy for every 100,000 inhabitants. It consisted in 1873 of 382 members: 236 for Prussia, 48 for Bavaria, 23 for Saxony, 17 for Würtemberg, 14 for Baden, 9 for Hesse, 6 for Mecklenburg-Schwerin, 3 each for Oldenburg, Saxe-Weimar, Brunswick, and Hamburg, 2 each for Saxe-Meiningen, Anhalt, and Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, and 1 for each of the other states. The legislative period is three years. The Reichstag can be dissolved by a resolution of the federal council with the consent of the emperor. In case of a dissolution, the new election must take place within 60 days, and the convocation of the new Reichstag within 90 days. The Reichstag cannot be adjourned without its own consent for a period exceeding 30 days, and not oftener than once during one session. It elects its president, vice presidents, and secretaries. Its members receive no pay or indemnity, are during the exercise of their functions free from responsibility, and enjoy the usual constitutional immunity. For an imperial law (Reichsgesetz) the agreement of the majority of the federal council and the Reichstag is requisite and sufficient. Such sections of the imperial constitution as provide for the rights of particular states can only be changed with the consent of the state concerned. States which fail to fulfil their federal duties can be coerced by means of an “execution,” which is ordered by the federal council and carried out by the emperor. Disputes between states are decided by the federal council. The revenue and expenditures of the empire must annually be estimated and presented in the imperial budget. The expenditures of the empire are first met by the surplus of previous years, and by the income arising from customs, from the common branches of excise, and from the administration of postal affairs and telegraphs. If these revenues are insufficient, the balance is raised, as long as no imperial taxes are imposed, by contributions from the several states. The distribution is made by the imperial chancellor, who has annually to give an account of it to the federal council and the Reichstag. In the budget for 1873, the ordinary expenditures were estimated at $79,560,000, and the extraordinary at $5,900,000. The direct revenue was estimated at $70,000,000, leaving a balance of about $15,000,000 to be distributed among the states. The public debt on April 8, 1873, amounted to only $1,224,000, which was soon to be paid off—The military system of the empire is the same which has for many years been in operation in Prussia. Every German capable of bearing arms must serve for three years in the standing army, for four years in the reserve, and for five years in the landwehr. No substitution is allowed. The emperor is the commander of the entire German army in time of war, and, with the exception of the Bavarian troops, also in time of peace. All the German troops are bound to obey unconditionally the orders of the emperor; the Bavarian troops have this duty only in time of war. The emperor appoints (except in the Bavarian army) all the higher officers, orders the erection of fortresses in any part of the empire (in Bavaria and Würtemberg with certain reservations), and in case of threatened disturbance of order can declare any country or district in a state of siege. The army of the empire is made up of the following contingents: 1, the army of Prussia, with which, in virtue of special military conventions, the troops of Oldenburg, Schwarzburg-Sondershausen, Lippe, Schaumburg-Lippe, Waldeck, Lübeck, Bremen, and Hamburg have been incorporated; 2, the contingents of Baden, Hesse, Saxe-Weimar, the three Saxon duchies, Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt, and the two principalities of Reuss and that of Anhalt, the troops of which states are likewise by special conventions most closely united with the Prussian army, and have all their officers appointed by the emperor; 3, the contingents of the two grand duchies of Mecklenburg, whose officers are likewise appointed by the emperor; 4, the contingent of Brunswick; 5, the contingent of Saxony, forming a separate army corps; 6, the contingent of Würtemberg, one corps; 7, the contingent of Bavaria, two corps. In time of war several corps are formed into an army, each army embracing from two to four corps. The army corps, both in peace and war, is subdivided into divisions, brigades, regiments, and battalions. In 1873 the army on the peace footing embraced 17,036 officers and 401,659 rank and file, with 96,158 horses and 1,198 guns; divided into 148 regiments of infantry, 26 battalions of chasseurs, 93 regiments of cavalry, 35 regiments of field artillery, 13 regiments of foot artillery, 19 battalions of engineers, 18 battalions of train, and 293 battalions in depots of landwehr. On the war footing the army numbered 31,006 officers and 1,276,526 rank and file, of whom 676,486 were field troops with siege train, 245,793 reserve troops, and 354,247 garrisons. The fleet of war of the empire consisted of 42 steamers (of which 5 were ironclads), of 45,070 horse power and carrying 277 guns, and 5 sailing vessels, with 94 guns; 8 additional steamers were in course of construction. The navy was manned by 3,840 seamen and boys, and officered by 1 admiral, 1 vice admiral, 3 rear admirals, 44 captains, and 237 lieutenants. Germany has four ports of war, Kiel, Dantzic, and Stralsund on the Baltic, and Wilhelmshaven in the bay of Jahde on the North sea.—Protestantism is professed by 62.3 per cent, of the population, Roman Catholicism by 36.2. The Protestants of the state churches, who are divided into Lutherans and German Reformed church, or united under the name of Evangelical church, in 1871 numbered 25,581,709; the free Protestant churches, as the Baptists, Methodists, Moravians, Free congregations, Irvingites, &c., number 114,000. In Prussia, the Protestants constitute 65 per cent. of the total population; in Alsace-Lorraine, 17; in Bavaria, 27; in Baden, 33; in Würtemberg and Hesse, 68; in Oldenburg, 76; in Hamburg, 91; in all the other states, from 96 to 99. The Catholics have thus a majority in only three states, Bavaria, Baden, and Alsace-Lorraine. Of the German princes two, the kings of Bavaria and Saxony, are Catholics. The number of Old Catholics was estimated in 1873 at 55,000. The Jews number 499,000, or about 72 per cent.; they are most numerous in Hamburg, where they constitute 4.4 per cent.; they are 3.1 per cent. in Hesse, 2.7 in Alsace-Lorraine, 1.8 in Baden, 1.3 in Prussia, from 1 to 1.3 in Bavaria, Lippe, Waldeck, Anhalt, Lübeck, and Schaumburg, and less than 1 per cent, in all the other states. The Protestant state churches in all the larger and most of the smaller states have now a synodal constitution; only in a few of the latter the government still clings to the consistorial constitution, in virtue of which the church is wholly ruled by consistories appointed by the state governments. There has been since 1846 a bond of union for all the states (inclusive of Austria) in the Evangelical church conferences, consisting of delegates of the several church governments, who meet biennially for the discussion of the common interests of the German Protestant churches. An agitation for the convocation of an imperial synod (Reichssynode) has begun, and is gaining ground. The Roman Catholic church has five archbishops (Cologne, Posen, Munich, Bamberg, and Freiburg), 20 bishops, and three vicars apostolic. At the general meetings of the German bishops, the archbishop of Cologne presides. The Old Catholics in 1873 elected a missionary bishop for the German empire, who was recognized by the governments of Prussia, Baden, and Hesse as a bishop of the Catholic church.—There are 20 universities: Berlin, Bonn, Breslau, Erlangen, Freiburg, Giessen, Göttingen, Greifswald, Halle, Heidelberg, Jena, Kiel, Königsberg, Leipsic, Marburg, Munich, Rostock, Strasburg, Tübingen, and Würzburg. Each of these has the four faculties of theology, law, medicine, and philosophy. Breslau, Bonn, and Tübingen have two theological faculties, Catholic and Protestant; in Munich, Würzburg, and Freiburg, the theological faculty is Catholic, in all the others Protestant. Among the universities is sometimes also reckoned the academy of Münster, with two faculties, Catholic theology and philosophy. Munich, Würzburg, and Tübingen have each a faculty of political economy, and Tübingen one of natural sciences. Altogether the German universities in 1873 had 1,637 professors and 17,463 students. Germany has 10 polytechnic institutes, a number of theological schools, agricultural colleges, mining academies (Freiburg, Berlin, and Clausthal), and other special schools of every kind. There are 330 gymnasia, 14 Realgymnasien, 214 progymnasia and Latin schools, and 485 Realschulen and Bürgerschulen of a higher grade. Together, these secondary schools have 177,000 pupils. The number of normal schools is 190; of public primary schools, 58,000, with 5,900,000 pupils. On an average there are 150 pupils to every 1,000 inhabitants; this proportion is considerably exceeded in Brunswick, Anhalt, Oldenburg, Saxony, and the Thuringian states, but it is not reached in Mecklenburg and Bavaria. In all German states the attendance of all children at school for at least five years is made compulsory by law; and in some states, especially in central Germany and in Würtemberg, those who are unable to read and write are very rare exceptions. Nearly all the capital cities have large public libraries, museums of art, scientific collections, &c. Anatomical and mineralogical museums, zoölogical and botanical gardens, observatories, &c., are connected with most of the universities. The number of associations of scholars in all the different sciences is very great. The fine arts are as carefully fostered as science. Not even Italy is in advance of Germany in musical composition, many of the greatest composers of modern times being Germans, as Handel, Gluck, Mozart, Haydn, Mendelssohn, Beethoven, Weber, Meyerbeer, and Richard Wagner. In the art of painting the members of the two principal German schools, of Munich (Cornelius, Kaulbach, Piloti), and of Düsseldorf (Schadow, Lessing, Bendemann), rival the best artists of all times. In sculpture Rauch, Danneker, and Rietschel take rank with Thorwaldsen and Canova. German literature is exceedingly prolific, and contains a very great number of works of sterling merit. The number of new publications exceeded 9,000 annually from 1860 to 1868, and 10,000 from 1868 to 1873.—Of the earliest history of Germany no records remain. The Romans before the time of Julius Cæsar knew little or nothing of the people living E. of the Rhine and N. of the Danube, though some German tribes had invaded the Roman empire toward the end of the 2d century B. C. At the time of the conquest of Gaul, the Romans learned that the country beyond the Rhine contained a numerous people, who, although barbarians according to the standard of civilization of that time, had fixed settlements and were agriculturists. They were called Germani, either, as Strabo asserts, because they were nearly related (brothers german) to the inhabitants of Gaul, or, which is more probable, from the weapons they carried (ger, spear, mann, man). They were tall, light-haired, blue-eyed, warlike, and fond of independence, intoxicating liquors, and gambling, in which they often staked their personal liberty. Their chief occupations were hunting, care of cattle, and the use of arms. They were divided into nobles, freemen, and serfs. They paid peculiar respect to their women and the aged, and honored chastity not less than valor. They elected their chiefs, whom the Romans often call kings. They had priests, bards, and sacred groves, and worshipped or feared gods, demigods, and giants. Woden and his wife Fria or Frigga, Ziu, and Fro, were among their chief divinities. They believed in the immortality of the soul, or in life in Walhalla. Their sacrifices consisted of domestic animals, including horses, and sometimes of human victims. They had no cities, but mostly lived in hamlets, or small communities, which held several species of property in common. They were divided into more than 50 tribes, of which the following principally (though not simultaneously) figure in the history of the Romans: the Teutons, Ubii, Chauci, Catti, Rugii, Batavi, Usipii or Usipetes, Tencteri, Bructeri, Angrivarii, Tribocci, Cherusci, Longobardi, Suevi, Goths, Marcomanni, Hermunduri, Burgundians, Vandals, Gepidæ, Franks, and Alemanni. These tribes did not all live within the limits of the Germania proper of the Romans, which was bounded by the North sea and the Baltic, the upper Elbe, Danube, and Rhine. The districts S. of the Danube and W. of the Rhine, which became Roman provinces under the names of Rhætia, Vindelicia, and Noricum, and Germania Prima and Secunda (in Gaul), were mostly inhabited by non-German tribes, and often exposed to the incursions of the Germans. One of these incursions was headed by Ariovistus, who was driven from Gaul by Cæsar, in the first year of his Gallic campaigns. Cæsar and the generals of Augustus nominally subjected Germany; but when the Romans attempted to convert their nominal dominion into real possession of the country, they were ignominiously defeated, and Germany was liberated by the chief of the Cheruscan tribe, Arminius, A. D. 9. The subsequent expedition of Germanicus was of little avail. From that time the history of Germany is in part lost in vague traditions and in part connected with the history of the Roman empire for several centuries, until the country, over which the whole torrent of the great migration of nations had swept, became gradually united with the great Frankish empire of Clovis (481-511) and his successors. Among these Charlemagne, or Karl the Great (771-814), consolidated the empire by subjecting the Saxons, the last German tribes who had until then succeeded in maintaining their independence, and was in 800 proclaimed Roman emperor by the pope and the people of Rome. Charlemagne's rule extended from the Ebro in Spain to the Elbe in the northeast, the Raab (Hungary) in the east, and beyond the Po in Italy. He compelled the Saxons to become Christians, and introduced among them a feudal aristocracy and a strong temporal power of the clergy. The contest between these and the imperial power fills the history of Germany for centuries. The feeble successor of Charlemagne was unable to keep the vast empire together. In 843 it was divided between his three sons, Italy falling to the share of Lothaire, France to Charles the Bald, and Germany to Louis. The German kingdom was at that time bounded W. by the Rhine, E. by the Elbe, the Saale, and the Bohemian Forest, and S. by the Danube. The sons of Louis subdivided Germany into three lesser kingdoms, but these were reunited by Charles the Fat, and for a brief time even France was once more joined to Germany (882-887). Arnulf, a nephew of Charles, was elected German king, and was succeeded (899) by his son Louis, surnamed the Child, with whom the Carlovingian dynasty became extinct (911). Germany at that time consisted of a number of great territories (duchies), the rulers of which, together with their most powerful vassals, elected the king, whose power, however, depended very much upon the good will of the dukes. The Franconian, Conrad I. (911-918), unsuccessfully endeavored to make his authority respected by the mighty Saxon duke Henry, and on his deathbed entreated his subjects to elect the duke his successor. Henry I. (919-936) restored the empire by victories over the Danes, Slavs, and Magyars. His son Otho I. (936-973) extended the boundaries beyond the Elbe and Saale rivers, defeated the Magyars, who had invaded the country, so completely (955) that they never ventured to return, and conquered Lombardy. From that time the conquest of Italy became one of the principal aims of nearly all rulers of Germany. For many of them the barren honor of being crowned by the pope emperor of the Roman empire became the chief object of all their desires, to obtain which they allowed their power in Germany to be encroached upon more and more by the vassal princes. The Saxon dynasty ruled till 1024 (Otho II. 973-983, Otho III. 983-1002, Henry II. 1002-'24), and was succeeded by the Franconian. Conrad II. (1024-'39), an energetic and well-meaning man, conquered Burgundy for the German empire. His son, Henry III. (1039-'56), extended the German influence over the Slavic countries and Hungary, and succeeded for a time in maintaining the royal authority against all attacks of the aristocracy and hierarchy. But the youthful Henry IV., who succeded to the throne in 1056, was unable to resist the power of the papacy, then at its zenith under Gregory VII., and was obliged to yield some of the most important prerogatives of the crown. His son, Henry V. (1106-'25), was the last ruler of the Franconian dynasty. After the brief reign of Lothaire II., the dynasty of the Hohenstaufen (Swabians) succeeded to the throne, and gave to the country five sovereigns: Conrad III. (1138-'52), Frederick I. (1152-'90), Henry VI. (1190-'97), Frederick II. (1215-'50), and Conrad IV. (1250-'54). Between Henry VI. and Frederick II., Philip of Swabia and Otho IV. of Brunswick reigned as rival kings, and after the death of Philip Otho alone. The reign of the Hohenstaufen dynasty represents the most glorious period of German history during the middle ages. Frederick I., surnamed Barbarossa (der Rothbart), still figures in the popular songs and traditions of Germany as the ideal emperor, the representative of German national power and splendor. To conquer Italy and to break the temporal power of the pope were the great objects of the emperors of this house. After a gigantic struggle, lasting nearly a century, they succumbed. From 1250 to 1273 anarchy prevailed in Germany. Several rival kings were elected (William of Holland, Richard of Cornwall, Alfonso of Castile, and Henry Raspe), but none of them obtained any authority. At last, in 1273, Count Rudolph of Hapsburg was elected king, and, by vigorously suppressing the feuds of the knights and barons, reëstablished at least the semblance of royal authority. At the same time he obtained for his family several important territories (Austria, Styria, Carinthia, Carniola, and Tyrol). After his decease (1291) Adolph, count of Nassau, was elected king by the dukes, who were jealous of the growing power of the Hapsburgs; but Albert, Rudolph's son, wrested the crown from him. Under Albert's reign (1298-1308) the Swiss cantons declared their independence of Austria. His successors were Henry VII. of Luxemburg (1308-'13), Louis IV. of Bavaria (1313-'47), Charles IV. of Luxemburg (l347-'78), who by a sort of written constitution (golden bull) defined and increased the power of the prince electors, Wenceslas or Wenzel (1378-1400), so miserable a ruler that it was found necessary to dismiss him, Rupert of the Palatinate (1400-'10), and Sigismund, brother of Wenceslas. During the reign of the latter the attempt of [[Huss to reform the doctrines of the church was the principal event. Huss was burned at the stake (1415), at the council of Constance, the emperor having ignominiously broken his pledge to protect him during his stay at Constance. This treachery provoked the bloody war of the Hussites. After Sigismund's decease (1437), the royal or imperial crown of Germany (the title of Roman emperor having gradually supplanted that of German king) remained continuously with the Hapsburg family. The energetic and liberal Albert II. (1438-'39) was succeeded by the inert and feeble Frederick III. (or IV., as Frederick the Fair, the rival of Louis the Bavarian, had borne the title of king as Frederick III.), who bore the royal title for more than half a century (1440-'93). His son, Maximilian I. (1493-1519), a chivalrous man of noble impulses, but lacking perseverance, organized the empire more systematically than had ever been attempted, but was unsuccessful in his efforts to establish a national army. Under his reign the reformation of the church was begun by Luther (1517). Once more Germany became the ruling power of Europe under Charles V., grandson of Maximilian, who united the crowns of Spain, the Netherlands, Germany, and Naples, and vigorously opposed the efforts of France to obtain control of Italy. But even during his reign the germs of civil and political dissension contained in the reformation of the church began to be developed in Germany. A formidable insurrection of the peasants, who longed for civil as well as religious liberty, was quelled with difficulty by the princes under the sanction of Luther, who was only too ready to scout the idea of an amelioration of the political condition of the people. The Protestant princes of northern Germany leagued themselves against the imperial authority, and though Charles defeated them (1547) by the aid of Maurice of Saxony, he was compelled by his former ally to grant important privileges to the Lutheran church (1552). In the mean time the bishoprics of Toul, Metz, and Verdun had been wrested from the German empire by France. Disgusted with the successes of his adversaries, Charles resigned the crown. He was succeeded by his brother Ferdinand I. (1556-'64). The imperial authority was rapidly sinking to utter insignificance. France in the west and Turkey in the east were hovering on the borders of Germany, ready on every occasion to foster the internal dissensions of the empire and to conquer from it valuable possessions. The feeble Maximilian II. (1564-76), the visionary Rudolph II. (1576-1612), and his brother Matthias (1612-'19), were unable to arrest the political decay. The thirty years' war (1618-'48), which devastated and impoverished Germany, destroying all industry and commerce, left the imperial authority completely shattered, and Germany cut up into a multitude of petty states, whose rulers were absolute monarchs in fact, if not in name. The persecutions perpetrated by Ferdinand II. (1619-'37) on his Protestant subjects almost equalled those of Philip II. of Spain. The peace of Westphalia (1648), concluded by Ferdinand III. (1637-'57), tore Alsace from the German empire. Under the pedantic and feeble-minded Leopold I. (1658-1705) Germany took part in the coalition against the rising power of France, but, although successful in war, did not obtain any signal advantages by the peace. From that time the title of German emperor appeared only as an empty surname of the rulers of Austria (Joseph I., Charles VI., Francis I., the husband of Maria Theresa, whose enemy, Charles Albert of Bavaria, was also crowned as Charles VII., &c.). In fact, Germany was merely a maze of little despotisms, among which a few larger states were endeavoring to obtain a voice in the councils of Europe. Prussia (a kingdom since 1701), through the genius of Frederick the Great, established a great Protestant power, able to cope with Austria, but at the same time anxious to prevent the reconstruction of a great united empire. Thus the attempts of the emperor Joseph II. (1765-'90, or rather 1780-'90, when he reigned himself) to reëstablish the imperial authority in southern Germany were baffled by Prussia. At last the tempest of the French revolution prostrated the tottering fabric of the German empire. Vanquished by the armies of France, the emperor Francis II., son and successor (1792) of Leopold II., ceded by the treaties of Campo Formio (1797) and Luneville (1801) the country on the left bank of the Rhine. The petty rulers who lost their possessions in this way were indemnified with the territories of ecclesiastical princes. In 1805 several states seceded from the empire and became allies of France; and when at last, in 1806, a number of German states formed the Rhenish confederation under the protectorate of Napoleon, the emperor Francis resigned the German crown, and the empire was formally dissolved. A number of the smaller territories were annexed to the larger states, and most of the free cities, which while under the nominal authority of the emperors had enjoyed a sort of republican government, lost their independence. The efforts of Prussia to oppose to this confederation a North German league having been frustrated, nearly the whole of Germany, with the exception of Austria and Prussia, was reduced to a state of French vassalage. The minions of the emperor Napoleon ruled the country with an iron rod, and if they removed many of the most glaring remnants of feudal despotism, they introduced in their stead all the abuses of an irresponsible military régime, and carried their extortions to a frightful extent. The sums drawn from Germany by Napoleon under the designation of contributions or subsidies must be counted by hundreds of millions. The independence of the country was reëstablished by the coalition of Austria, Russia, Prussia, Sweden, and Great Britain (1813-'15). A reconstruction of the old empire having been rendered impossible by the position which Prussia had assumed, a confederation was formed by all those states which had contrived to maintain their sovereignty during the Napoleonic troubles (June 8, 1815). Their number, which had exceeded 300 at the time of the dissolution of the empire, had then been reduced to less than 40, and a further reduction was made afterward by the extinction of several petty dynasties. The enthusiastic hope of the German people that Germany would once more appear as a powerful united nation was sorely disappointed. The diet, being only a permanent convention of the representatives of princes, all jealous of their individual sovereignty and unwilling to recognize the claims of the nation, became an abject tool of political oppression, and a harmonious coöperation of the states existed only in regard to repressive measures against all progressive movements. Wherever the people of a single state endeavored to obtain free institutions, the diet found occasion to interfere in favor of absolute monarchical power. None of the promises contained in the act of confederation in regard to a general tariff legislation, a common currency and postal system, &c., were fulfilled. Whatever was attained in this respect was due to the efforts of single states. Thus the Prussian Zollverein united a large portion of the German states on the basis of common material interests, and, by the great advantages it secured to its members, kept alive the longings for a still more complete national union. The French revolution of 1830 found an echo in some of the smaller German states, whose rulers were compelled to grant written constitutions to their subjects. A vigorous political life began to be developed in the southwestern states, and after the accession to the Prussian throne of Frederick William IV. (1840), in northern Germany also the demands of the people became more distinctly defined, while in Austria all popular aspirations were suppressed by the despotic rule of Prince Metternich. Immediately on the downfall of the Orleans dynasty in France (Feb. 24, 1848), insurrections broke out in all the German states. The princes, unable to resist these movements, hastened to yield to the popular demands. A national congress of representatives of the people (German parliament) was convoked by a provisional self-constituted assembly (Vorparlament), and met at Frankfort, May 18, 1848. It formed a provisional national government, consisting of a vicar of the empire (Reichsverweser) and a ministry. Archduke John of Austria was elected vicar, June 29; but in spite of his professions of zeal for national liberty and union, it soon became evident that his principal aim was the frustration of all energetic action on the part of the parliament. Distracted by the troubles in Holstein, which Denmark endeavored to wrest entirely from its connection with the German confederation, the parliament made but slow progress in framing a national constitution. When at last the bill of rights had been agreed upon (December, 1848), the counter-revolution had already been victorious in Austria and Prussia, and it became apparent that these great powers would not submit to a constitution framed by the popular congress. Then a strong party began to advocate the exclusion of Austria from the new empire. This party, whose principal leader was Gagern, prevailed in the parliament, and elected the king of Prussia German emperor (March 28, 1849); but he declined the honor. Despairing of success, a number of members of parliament resigned their position, thus giving a majority to the democratic party, who elected a provisional regency of the empire, consisting of Raveaux, Vogt, Schüler, H. Simon, and Becher. Reduced to less than one third of its original number, the parliament adjourned to Stuttgart, May 30, 1849, and endeavored to raise a popular revolution in favor of the new national constitution. But only the people of Baden, a small part of Würtemberg, and the Palatinate (Bavaria) followed the example of Saxony, which had already risen in revolution. The insurrection at Dresden had been suppressed after a sanguinary battle by Prussian soldiery; and the revolution in Baden, although successful for a few weeks, was likewise crushed in a brief campaign by the Prussian army (June). The rump parliament of Stuttgart had in the mean time been forcibly dissolved by the government of Würtemberg. Having thus got rid of all revolutionary support, the Prussian government attempted to obtain the mastership of Germany on its own account. Austria, almost prostrated at the time by the Hungarian war, would have been able to offer little or no resistance to such a movement if carried on energetically and rapidly; but the Prussian government was no match for the bold and shrewd Prince Schwarzenberg, at that time the soul of the Austrian government. In March, 1850, Prussia assembled at Erfurt a new parliament of representatives of those petty states which were too powerless to resist its demands, and a sort of federal constitution was adopted by it, but never obtained any real existence. To cut short all further attempts of Prussia, Austria convoked the old diet, which had been formally dissolved in 1848. Prussia refusing to recognize the diet, a hostile conflict between Austria and Prussia seemed almost inevitable. The armies of both were marching to Hesse-Cassel, and a skirmish of the outposts had taken place near Bronzell (Nov. 8, 1850), when suddenly the Prussian government lost courage and submitted to all the demands of Austria. The first fruits of the restoration of the diet were the intervention in Schleswig-Holstein in favor of Denmark, the abolition of the national bill of rights and of free constitutions in several of the smaller states, and the sale by auction of the national navy which had been created by voluntary contributions of the people during the revolution. While in these questions the influence of Austria prevailed, Prussia balanced its loss of political power by the enlargement of its commercial influence. Hanover became a member of the Zollverein (September, 1851), and was soon followed by Oldenburg and Schaumburg-Lippe. The efforts of Austria to enter the Zollverein, in order to destroy the Prussian influence even there, were successfully resisted by Prussia, but a postal and telegraph union of all German states was accomplished. During the eastern war (1853-'6) the German confederation followed a vacillating policy, swaying to and fro between Austria and Prussia. In April, 1854, those two powers concluded a treaty of alliance, guaranteeing to each other their respective possessions against all enemies whatever. The diet joined in this treaty July 24, and in December added another clause, promising the assistance of all Germany to Austria if its army of occupation in the Danubian principalities should be attacked. Preparation for war was resolved upon by the diet, Feb. 8, 1855. After that the position of Prussia toward Austria became more reserved, and Austria, despairing of active assistance on the part of the confederation, was compelled to relinquish its intention to take part in the war against Russia. In November, 1856, the diet adopted a resolution promising to assist Prussia in its attempts to reconquer Neufchâtel, but the proffered assistance was not required. In 1857 the interference of the diet was requested against the attempts of Denmark to merge the duchies of Holstein and Lauenburg completely in the Danish kingdom. After long hesitation and delay a resolution was adopted in 1858, by which the Danish government was compelled to submit its project of a new political organization to the legislative assemblies of the duchies. When, in the beginning of 1859, difficulties arose between France and Austria on account of the state of Italy, a violent anti-Napoleonic feeling manifested itself in Germany. The Prussian government, though willing to defend Austria's German provinces, and even the Lombardo-Venetian kingdom, under certain restrictions, would not stir unless it should obtain the military leadership of all Germany, irrespective of all limitations contained in the act of confederation. After long and angry discussions the leadership was conceded to Prussia by the smaller states. A circular despatch of the Russian government, covertly threatening Germany if it should interfere in the Italian war, had no effect but the assumption by Prussia of a more defiant attitude toward France, and the issue of an order by the prince regent to mobilize two thirds of the Prussian army (June, 1859). A few days later, the Prussian delegate in the diet moved that two federal army corps under the command of Bavaria be stationed on the upper Rhine, and one Prussian corps on the Main, and that the 9th and 10th federal army corps be united with the Prussian army. This motion was followed by another, to the effect that the diet should appoint a commander-in-chief of the non-Prussian and non-Austrian army corps. Thus the German confederation appeared to be on the very point of waging war against France, under Prussian leadership, when all at once Austria, unwilling to sacrifice its preponderating influence in Germany to the doubtful project of preserving its Italian provinces, introduced in the diet a resolution to mobilize the whole federal army, and to appoint the Prussian prince regent commander-in-chief, subject to the control of the diet, or rather of Austria, the latter being always certain of a majority in the diet. This movement at once neutralized all advantages Prussia had obtained. And when the preliminaries of peace were agreed upon by the emperors of France and Austria at Villafranca, July 11, the dissension and jealousy between Austria and Prussia, those great impediments to German unity, were more apparent than ever before. A passage in the Austrian emperor's proclamation of peace, in which he asserted that his natural allies had forsaken him, and that the neutral powers would have imposed upon him less favorable terms of peace than were offered by his adversary, gave rise to an acrimonious correspondence between the Austrian and Prussian governments. The latter succeeded in proving that the assertion of the emperor had no foundation in fact, and that he had been purposely misled by false representations of the French ruler at the interview of Villafranca. This singular discovery did not render the feeling of Austria any more friendly toward Prussia. A paper war was carried on by the presses of southern and northern Germany, and while the governments of those petty states who had been the most forward in their hostile demonstrations against France were eagerly courting the favor of Napoleon III., the most sinister threats against Prussia came from Vienna, Munich, and Carlsruhe. The opinion became prevalent that, Austria having been humbled by France, if a war for the conquest of the left bank of the Rhine should be waged by France against Prussia, the latter would not obtain any assistance either from Austria or the smaller German states. The hostility of the two great sections of Germany manifested itself in sanguinary riots in the mixed Prussian and Austrian garrison of the federal capital (Aug. 6-8). Feeble movements were initiated by the liberal party to arrest the progress of disunion, and to prompt the Prussian government to take the lead in reforming the federal constitution. But Prussia, disheartened and unwilling openly to oppose the influence of Austria, declined the destiny which the liberal party pressed upon it, and would promise nothing more than the promotion of liberal institutions by the power of its example. Austria, on the other hand, made some show of concessions to the popular wishes, in order to divide the current of the sympathies of the popular party in Germany. A committee was appointed by the emperor (August) to draw up a constitution on the basis of provincial representation for the Austrian empire. At the same time another movement was initiated in Bavaria, the object of which was the creation of a separate confederation of the central German states, as a third great power within Germany. The same idea had been promoted by Bavaria in 1850, and then led to confusion and disunion. Notwithstanding the discouraging conduct of the Prussian government, the liberal party of Germany on Sept. 16 established a national association, the Nationalverein, to agitate and promote in all the particular states the conversion of the confederation (Staatenbund) into one compact federal state with a national representation (Bundesstaat), under the headship of Prussia. Prussia in no way expressed approval of this project, but it soon took occasion to oppose in the federal diet the policy of Austria and its allies. It moved on Oct. 10 that the liberal constitution of Hesse-Cassel of 1831, which in 1852 had been abolished by the elector in an illegal way, be restored. The legislature of Hesse-Cassel fully approved of this proposition, but in the federal diet the Austrian influence led to its rejection. In May, 1860, the motion of Prussia for a reform of the military constitution of the German confederation was likewise rejected. The dissatisfaction which this attitude of Austria caused among the liberals of the central and southern states was somewhat mitigated by the publication of the new fundamental law in Austria, on Oct. 20, 1860, which appeared as a concession to constitutional principles. Prussia, on the other hand, greatly offended the liberals by the, ultra-conservative principles professed by King William I., who on Jan. 2, 1861, succeeded his brother Frederick William IV. In December the Saxon minister Von Beust, one of the most ardent champions of greater national unity, presented to Prussia a new project of the federal constitution, according to which a representation of the German nation at the federal diet was to be created by the establishment of an assembly of delegates chosen by the diets of the several states. Austria declared its readiness to accept this project, which gave to Austria and Prussia an equal number of delegates, if she should be allowed to enter the confederation with her entire territory. Prussia in a note of Dec. 20 declared it to be impracticable, and instead advocated the establishment of a federal state, on the plan which had been tried ten years before. This idea was promptly rejected by all the middle states in February, 1862, on the ground that it would involve the loss of their sovereignty. In August they united with Austria in submitting another plan of reform, according to which an assembly of delegates of the several German diets was to be convoked at Frankfort for the special purpose of deliberating on some reforms in the civil and commercial legislation of the German states. An assembly of liberal German deputies, held in September at Weimar, declared against this plan as wholly unsatisfactory, while on the other hand it was approved by the new national reform association (Reformverein), which in October was organized at Frankfort as the organ of those who unconditionally opposed the exclusion of Austria from Germany and the establishment of a Prussian leadership. In the federal diet, in January, 1863, it was defeated by a small majority. In the mean while the incessant conflicts between the Prussian liberals and their ultra-reactionary government had led, in September, to the entrance into the ministry of Otto von Bismarck, who soon after became its president and minister of foreign affairs. The uncompromising firmness with which he opposed the views of the Prussian diet on a reduction of the military budget filled even the Prussian friends of national unity with despair. Little was known of the ultimate plans of Bismarck with regard to German unity; but it was apparent that Prussia desired to be emancipated from the federal diet, and that her plans would henceforth be pushed with greater energy than at any previous time. The union movement was steadily gaining among the German people, and Austria made a bold bid for the continued headship in a reconstructed Germany. Francis Joseph invited the princes of all the German states, as well as the ruling burgomasters of the free cities, to a diet of princes (Fürstentag), to discuss the question of a new constitution. This assembly sat at Frankfort Aug. 17 to Sept. 1. The king of Prussia declined to attend it. The great majority of princes assented to the project of the emperor of Austria, according to which a directory of five princes (Austria, Prussia, Bavaria, and two others) was to be at the head of the nation, assisted by a federal council and a federal assembly of 300 members, which was to meet every third year. Although Prussia was to have an equal number of deputies in the federal assembly, the presidency in the directory and federal council was to remain with Austria. The reform association declared for accepting the new constitution as a step in advance; while all the liberal parties of Germany decidedly rejected it. Soon a foreign complication turned the attention of all parties from the conflict of their schemes of reconstruction to a common defence of the German nationality. Frederick VII. of Denmark, in union with the predominant party of the country, had issued in March, 1863, a patent separating the duchy of Holstein from the common Danish monarchy, in order to unite Schleswig (which until then had been united with Holstein under one constitution) with Denmark proper. The federal diet summoned the Danish government to repeal the patent, as it encroached, upon the right of Holstein, and thus of Germany, and threatened, in case of refusal, a “federal execution.” On Nov. 15 Frederick VII. died, and was succeeded, according to the stipulation of the London conference of 1852, by Christian IX., who on Nov. 18 proclaimed the incorporation of Schleswig with Denmark. But as the federal diet had never recognized the London conference, the people of the duchies, as well as a number of the smaller German states, recognized Prince Frederick of Augustenburg as duke of Schleswig-Holstein. Public opinion throughout Germany strongly sympathized with this view, but Austria and Prussia decided to stand by the stipulations of 1851 and 1852, and insisted on carrying out the federal execution. The federal diet on Dec. 7, by 8 votes against 7, acceded to their demand and intrusted the execution to Hanover and Saxony. The German troops entered Holstein on Dec. 23, and the Danes withdrew without offering resistance. Prussia and Austria on Dec. 28 moved in the federal diet the occupation of Schleswig, in order to enforce the repeal of the law of Nov. 18. The motion was rejected, because the majority believed the question of succession would be prejudged by its adoption. In defiance of this resolution, Austria and Prussia declared that they would now act in the matter, not as members of the confederation, but as great powers of Europe, and at once (February, 1864) marched their troops into Schleswig. On Feb. 5 the Danes evacuated the strong Dannevirke, and withdrew behind the intrenchments of Düppel, which were stormed by the Prussians on April 18. A peace conference of representatives of the great powers, which met in London on April 25, remained without result. The Danes evacuated Jutland and confined themselves to the islands; but when the Prussians on June 29 occupied Alsen, they gave up all further resistance, and in the preliminary peace concluded in July ceded Schleswig, Holstein, and Lauenburg to Austria and Prussia. The cession, which was confirmed in the definitive peace of Vienna, Oct. 30, was based entirely on the right of conquest, the question of the lawful succession in the duchies and the claims of the federal diet being ignored. When Prussia after the conclusion of peace called upon Hanover and Saxony to withdraw their troops from Holstein, Saxony showed some intention to resist by force. A collision was averted by a resolution of the federal diet, which in accordance with the demand of Austria and Prussia declared the execution to be ended. The disagreement between Austria and Prussia now began to widen. Austria desired to have the administration of the duchies transferred to Prince Frederick of Augustenburg; Bismarck entered into negotiations concerning the annexation of the duchies to Prussia. The federal diet took an unavailing interest in the cause of Prince Frederick, and finally confined itself to a protest against the illegal solution of the Schleswig-Holstein question, while the crown jurists of Prussia undertook to prove that Christian IX. of Denmark was the lawful duke of Schleswig-Holstein, which therefore, in virtue of the peace of Vienna, belonged to Austria and Prussia. A better understanding between Austria and Prussia appeared to be established when the latter power, in April, 1865, concluded a commercial treaty with the Zollverein. On Aug. 14 the Gastein convention gave Austria the exclusive occupation of Holstein, to Prussia that of Schleswig, and annexed Lauenburg to Prussia. The resolution of another general assembly of deputies of all the German states, which was held at Frankfort in October, and which demanded the convocation of the diet of Schleswig-Holstein, was entirely disregarded by the two great powers. Soon a new difficulty sprang up between Austria and Prussia. The permission given by the Austrian governor of Holstein, Gen. von Gablenz, to hold an anti-Prussian meeting at Altona, Jan. 23, 1866, led to a very angry exchange of diplomatic notes. Austria warned the other states against the ambitious schemes of Prussia in a circular note of March 16, and began to arm. As the states of the second rank did not conceal their entire sympathy with Austria, Prussia in April strengthened her position by an alliance with Italy, and also began to arm. At the same time Prussia made a bid for the sympathy of the masses of the people in the smaller states by moving in the federal diet, on April 9, the convocation of a general national assembly, to be elected by direct and universal suffrage. An understanding arrived at between Prussia and Austria to begin the disarmament on April 25 and 26 failed, as Austria refused to withdraw her army from the Italian frontiers. A peace congress, proposed by England, France, and Russia, likewise failed, because Austria demanded the exclusion of all negotiations concerning the extension of the territory of either disputant. On June 1 Austria transferred the decision of the Schleswig-Holstein question to the federal diet. This was regarded by Prussia as a termination of the Gastein convention; her troops were at once marched into Holstein, and the Austrian governor of Holstein was invited to reënter into the joint occupation of Schleswig. Austria denounced this act as a violation of the federal constitution, and on June 14 the federal diet, by a majority of 9 against 6, adopted the view of Austria and ordered the mobilization of the entire federal army, except the troops of Prussia. The states voting for this resolution were Austria, Bavaria, Saxony, Hanover, Würtemberg, Hesse-Cassel, Hesse-Darmstadt, Nassau, and the small states forming the 16th class. The representative of Prussia at once declared that the majority of the federal diet had exceeded its authority, and that Prussia, regarded the confederation as dissolved. On the following day, the governments of Hanover, Saxony, and Hesse-Cassel were requested by Prussia to take back their vote of the preceding day, to disarm, and to enter into a new confederation with Prussia, which in that case would guarantee their sovereignty; in case of refusal, the immediate opening of hostilities was announced. The three governments on the same day refused this demand, and on June 16 their territory was occupied by Prussian troops. The brilliant campaign of the Prussians (see Prussia) against the Austrians, who had been joined by the Saxon troops, in Bohemia and Moravia (June 23 to July 22), and against the other federal troops in Thuringia and in the region of the Main (June 27 to the beginning of August), completed the dissolution of the confederation and secured the reconstruction of Germany on an entirely new basis. The preliminary peace of Nikolsburg, July 26, which was confirmed by the definitive peace of Prague, Aug. 23, excluded Austria from Germany, and provided for the establishment of a new confederation of the states N. of the Main. The states S. of the Main, Bavaria, Würtemberg, Baden, and Hesse-Darmstadt, were left at liberty to establish a South German confederation. Schleswig-Holstein, Hanover, Hesse-Cassel, Nassau, and Frankfort were incorporated with Prussia. Even before the conclusion of the definitive peace Prussia had entered into offensive and defensive alliances with Würtemberg (Aug. 13), Baden (Aug. 17), and Bavaria (Aug. 22). On Aug. 24 the last representatives of the old German confederation, who from Frankfort had removed to Augsburg, declared the work of the federal diet to be at an end. The North German confederation (Norddeutscher Bund) was established by treaties between Prussia and the smaller states during the period from Aug. 18 to Oct. 21. On Dec. 15 an assembly of plenipotentiaries met in Berlin to draft the constitution of the confederation, which was then submitted to the constituent North German Reichstag, which met in Berlin on Feb. 24, 1867, and on April 16 adopted by 230 against 53 votes the draft submitted to it. The king of Prussia, as president of the confederation, appointed Bismarck federal chancellor, and on July 1 the constitution went into operation. In February the South German states had held military conferences in Stuttgart to promote a greater conformity of their army organization with that of Prussia. Baden favored the adoption of the entire Prussian system; and when the other three states declined to go so far, though they admitted the desirability of greater uniformity, Baden concluded a special military convention with Prussia. Next to the adoption of the federal constitution, the most important event in the constituent Reichstag was an interpellation of Herr von Bennigsen, one of the leaders of the liberal party, concerning the right of Prussia to garrison the federal fortress of Luxemburg. The grand duchy of Luxemburg, which formed a part of the old German confederation, showed the most decided opposition to entering the new North German, and Prussia had given her consent for the grand duchy to remain outside of the reconstructed Germany. Soon after negotiations had been begun between France and Holland for a sale of the grand duchy to France, Prussia had entered an emphatic protest against this scheme, and on March 30 the king of Holland had officially denied any intention to sell Luxemburg. The full details of these negotiations only became known officially in consequence of the interpellation of Benningsen, and created an extraordinary excitement throughout Germany. The expression of public opinion against the transfer of Luxemburg to France was no less decided in the south of Germany than in the north. The grand duchy of Hesse concluded in April a military convention with Prussia, in virtue of which its military system was reorganized according to the Prussian, and the Hessian troops were placed under the chief command of the king. Würtemberg also introduced several features of the Prussian system. No doubt could be entertained that, in case of war, northern Germany might safely rely on the support of all the South German states. But a conference of the powers which had signed the London treaty of 1839 found a peaceable solution for the Luxemburg question. The grand duchy was declared neutral territory under the guarantee of all the powers represented at the conference; and the federal fortress was to be razed. This peaceable solution was hastened by the declaration of Bismarck that if the result of the conference should not be favorable to the preservation of peace, he would at once mobilize 900,000 men. On May 28 the ministers of the South German states were invited by Prussia to come to Berlin in order to put the Zollverein's treaty on a safe basis. An agreement was arrived at, according to which, for the legislation on affairs of the Zollverein, the South German states would send a specified number of members to the North German federal council, and order the election of a proportional number of deputies, who in union with the North German Reichstag would constitute the customs parliament. A new attempt of Napoleon to meddle in the progress of German reconstruction by demanding that, in accordance with one article of the treaty of Prague, the people of northern Schleswig be allowed to express by a plébiscite their preference for Denmark or Germany, was sharply repelled by Prussia, Bismarck declaring that Prussia was unwilling to recognize the right of France to watch over the fulfilment of the treaty of Prague. An interview of Napoleon with the emperor of Austria in August was looked upon as a threatening movement against Germany, and not only the North German states, but even the Germans of Austria, strongly expressed themselves against the endeavors of France to interfere in any way in the internal affairs of the German nation. In the grand duchy of Hesse, the second chamber demanded that the entire grand duchy, instead of only the northern portion as hitherto, be admitted into the North German confederation. In Baden both the government and the chambers expressed a wish to enter the confederation. Bismarck issued a circular note on the demonstrations of public opinion, which he declared to be significant proofs that the national feeling of the Germans would never brook a foreign interference in German affairs, and would never allow the development of the affairs of the German nation to be guided by any other considerations than the national interests of Germany. But while South Germany gave no encouragement to the schemes of Napoleon against the progress of German unity, there remained a widespread dissatisfaction with the policy of Prussia, and an unwillingness to tighten the bonds of union. At the election for the first German customs parliament, the South German party, which opposed any advances toward a closer union, elected 50 out of 89 South German deputies. Even in the grand duchy of Baden it met with an unexpected success. When, in reply to the opening speech of the king of Prussia, the national liberal party moved an address which asked for an enlargement of the functions of the customs parliament, and distinctly hinted at the complete union of north and south, the ultra-conservative feudal party of Prussian deputies, the radical party of progress (Fortschrittspartei), the Catholic party, and the socialists united with the South German party and caused its rejection by 186 against 150 votes. The conciliatory but firm attitude of the Prussian government prevented the progress of the centrifugal sentiments in South Germany. The governments of Bavaria and Würtemberg, although disinclined to make further concessions on the union question, were on the other hand no less unflinching in the observance of the treaties which regulated their relation to northern Germany. Baden, on May 25, 1869, concluded a new military convention with Prussia, which established an entire uniformity between the armies of Baden and Prussia. The North German Reichstag expressed a decided opinion in favor of restricting the right of particular states and enlarging the functions of the central authorities. The first six months of the year 1870 were unusually quiet, and it was the common opinion that great changes in the relation of the four South German states to the North German confederation were not likely to be made for a long time to come, when suddenly the action of France precipitated the final solution of the German question. The Spanish crown having been offered to Prince Leopold of Hohenzollern, and rejected, the emperor Napoleon demanded the guarantee of Prussia against its acceptance at any time thereafter by any prince of its house. This being scornfully refused, war was at once declared by France (July 19, 1870), and, after a brilliant series of victories for the Germans and almost uninterrupted defeats for the French, was in effect concluded by the preliminary peace of Versailles, Feb. 26, 1871. (See France.) In this war all the states both of North and South Germany, except Austria, participated; and in view of the common danger through which all had passed, and the common victory which all had won, the governments and the people of South Germany now waived any further opposition to a consolidation of all the German states under the leadership of Prussia. On Nov. 15, 1870, a treaty was concluded between the North German confederation, Baden, and Hesse concerning the establishment of the German confederation (Deutscher Bund); on Nov. 23 the entrance of Bavaria into the confederation was regulated by treaty; on Nov. 25, that of Würtemberg. Bavaria asked and received important concessions, which to many unionists appeared to be going too far in favor of particularism; but the treaty was unanimously ratified by the federal council of the North German confederation, and by the Reichstag by 195 against 32 votes. On Dec. 3 the king of Bavaria invited the king of Prussia to restore the dignity of German emperor; most of the other governments gave their assent to the proposition before Dec. 8. In the name of the federal council the federal chancellor on Dec. 9 moved in the Reichstag, and the motion was adopted on the following day, that the German confederation assume the name German empire, and the king of Prussia, as president of the confederation, the title emperor of Germany. On Jan. 18, 1871, the restoration of the imperial dignity was solemnly proclaimed by the king of Prussia at Versailles; on March 21 the first German Reichstag assembled at Berlin, and was opened by the emperor in person. On April 14 this Reichstag ratified the constitution of the German empire, with but three dissenting votes; and on May 4 the constitution went into operation. By the peace of Versailles Germany recovered the province of Alsace and the German-speaking district of Lorraine. The definitive peace was concluded at Frankfort on May 10, and on June 9 the new Reichsland of Alsace-Lorraine was proclaimed as incorporated with Germany. The majority of the Reichstag, in full harmony with the imperial government and the majority of the federal council, was intent upon consolidating the new empire by centralizing the legislation and extending the functions of the central authorities. As two German states, the grand duchies of Mecklenburg-Schwerin and Mecklenburg-Strelitz, were still without a constitutional government, the Reichstag on Nov. 8 adopted the resolution of the deputy Büsing that every German state must in future have a constitutional form of government. On Nov. 15, on motion of Lasker, it was resolved to embrace the whole of the civil law within the sphere of the imperial legislation. Of the political parties which opposed the advancing consolidation of the empire, by far the most powerful was the Catholic, or the centre, as it was called from the central seats which its representatives occupied in the Reichstag. On the opening of the first session of the Reichstag, in March, 1871, they moved an amendment to the address by which the Reichstag was to reply to the speech from the throne, asking for the protection of the temporal power of the pope. On this question the other parties united against them almost unanimously, and the address moved by the majority of the Reichstag was adopted by 243 votes against 63, the minority consisting of the Catholic party and a few socialists. The conflict between them and the imperial government became more intense in 1872. One expression in a speech which the pope had made on June 25 was regarded by the majority of Germans as a direct wish for the overthrow of the empire, and intensified the sore feelings which had been produced by the pope's rejection of the cardinal prince Hohenlohe, whom the German government wished to appoint as minister at the papal court. As it was a common opinion that the religious excitement prevailing in the Catholic districts of Germany was largely due to the influence of the Jesuits, the Reichstag and federal council adopted in June a law which provided for the suppression of all the houses of the Jesuits and of affiliated orders. This law, which toward the close of the year 1872 was gradually executed, did not define which other religious orders were comprised within its terms; but the Redemptorists, Lazarists, ladies of the Sacred Heart, and a few others shared at once the fate of the Jesuits. The bishops of Germany assembled in November in a general conference at Fulda, and bitterly complained of this persecution; and the pope, in an allocution made in December, in terms still more severe, denounced the impudence of the anti-Catholic legislation, to which the imperial government of Germany replied by breaking off all diplomatic intercourse with the papal court. Thus the relation between the Catholic church and the imperial government at the beginning of 1873 was one of open war. This was particularly the case in the kingdom of Prussia, where the relation between church and state was regulated by a number of new laws which all the bishops positively refused to obey. The government then imposed heavy fines upon the bishops, and in many cases withdrew the support which the ministers and institutions of the church had received from the state government. An interesting correspondence on the subject took place between the pope and the emperor. The pope expressed the hope that the cruel laws against the church did not meet the approbation of the emperor, and asked for his personal interference in behalf of the church; to which the emperor replied that in a constitutional state like Prussia every law required the sanction of the sovereign, and that the former peace between the different Christian churches had been wantonly disturbed by the unlawful conduct of the bishops. A germ of new difficulties between the state governments and the Catholic church was the legal position claimed by the Old Catholics, who maintained that the pope and the bishops who adhered to the decree of the Vatican council had abandoned the Catholic church, and that they alone were entitled to be regarded as the true representatives of that Catholic church which in Germany until 1870 was regarded as one of the state churches. Although the state governments, in view of the comparatively small number of the Old Catholics, declined to accept their view of the ecclesiastical situation, they at the same time refused to treat them as seceders from the Catholic church, and took the ground that the movement was an internal affair of that church, with which the state had no right to meddle. In Prussia, the missionary bishop of the Old Catholics was accordingly recognized in October, 1873, as a bishop of the Catholic church, and as such he at once received a salary from the state. The political changes in France greatly encouraged the hopes of the Catholic opposition in Germany, and in several southern districts of Bavaria led to threatening demonstrations against the very existence of the German empire. As a similar effect was produced by the political attitude of the French government in Italy, the visit of the king of Italy to Berlin was enthusiastically hailed by the liberal parties, both in Italy and in Germany, as an indication that the two governments intended to act in full concert against the common enemy. The relations between the governments of the smaller states and the emperor up to the close of 1873 were friendly, and no serious discrepancy of opinions on any important subject was shown in the deliberations of the federal council.—Among the best historical works on Germany are K. A. Menzel's Geschichte der Deutschen (8 vols., 1815-'22), and Neuere Geschichte der Deutschen (12 vols., 1826-'48); Luden's Geschichte des deutschen Volkes (to the 13th century, 12 vols., 1829-'39); and Giesebrecht's Geschichte der deutschen Kaiserzeit (vols. i.-iii., 3d ed., 1862-'8).