Passants, cette terre est libre / Vorübergehende, dieses Land ist frei.
(From billboard posted in a Liberty Pole along the Rhine and in Mainz. Later the official motto of Hannover-Westphalia)
Niemand ist mehr Sklave, als der sich für frei hält, ohne es zu sein. (Die Wahlverwandtschaften, Johannes Goethe)
Wir handeln, wie wir müssen. So lasst uns das Notwendige, mit Würde, mit festem Schritte tun. (Wallensteins Tod II,2 / Wallenstein, Friedrich Schiller)

Marshall of the Republic Lazare Hoche. Commander-in-chief of the Army of the Rhine. Victor of the Rhine and chief promoter of the Confederation of the Rhine
Germania or Germany during and after the Revolutionary Wars changed its political makeup in the establishment and merger of new states. The first consequence of the revolutionary wars was the dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire. in its place a more effective, but with fewer members, the Confederation of the Rhine, was formed. It also marked the surge of new regional powers outside this alliance such as Prussia, Austria and Saxony.
However, the tensions between liberalism (Rhenania) and absolutism/conservatism (Prussia) would not be completed settled down and the spread of the ideas German nationalism in its liberal, romantic or authoritarian variants would led to the German Revolutions.
Contents
The Revolutionary Wars in Germany
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The main stages of the Revolution Wars in Germany are: Campaign for the Defense of the Republic and the occupation of Flanders and Dutch Republic. The republic of Mainz simultaneously proclaimed by local German republicans. Mainz was fraternally helped (occupied) by the advancing French armies under the command of Lazare Hoche, the Victor of the Rhine[1]. Several military campaigns through to the Elbe River Prussian and Austrian armies. Bavaria settles for peace and alliance. In 1805, the Holy Roman Empire (HRE) is proclaimed as dissolved by Hoche, a month later Francis II renounced to his title as Holy Roman Emperor dissolving the HRE.
The Despotism of freedom (Despotismus der Freiheit 1805-1807) that consisted in the reorganization of occupied Germany by French Commissioners and local German revolutionaries. It also marks the start of Terror in Germany. The Rhenanian and Mainz republics are firmly established as the first Modellstaat later followed by the the process of Reformstaaten in the rest of the German states. Saxony, a former Electorate and now Kingdom, allies with France and gives passage for the mobilization toward Poland-Lithuania. It also includes the French intervention of Switzerland (later the Helvetic Republic).
The Campaign against the Second Coalition. The battle of Magdeburg establishes a de facto limit of French occupation, to the West of the Elbe river. The Peace of Paris of 1805 is signed and leads to the creation of the Confederation of the Rhine.
The Northern Campaign reopens hostilities between France and Britain. The creation of the United Kingdom Kingdom of Denmark, Sweden and Norway — establishing the short-lived Scandinavian Republic. British Navy and Marines fight along the North Sea, the Baltic and Jutland defeating French and German revolutionary armies and navy.
A joint French-German-Scandinavian expedition pushes a military action to the north of the Baltic into the Neva river were a Novgorod Republic is proclaimed. In less than a year it is reoccupied by Russia, dissolved and its leaders are either executed or exiled.
The Third Coalition (Russia, Prussia and Britain) open the Elbe front against France and allied German States.
The Southern campaign against Austria ends in the Battle of Innsbruck were the French Armies assisted by troops from Italy and Germany defeat the Austrian-Prussian Army, leading to the armistice of Salzburg. However this displacement of the French Army of Italy would open an offensive by the British Army in Italy and along the Dutch and Flemish lands.
The Agreement of Stockholm prevented a major escalation into a full war between the United Kingdom and Prussia over the former territories of the Swedish Pomerania and the duchies of Mecklenburg. The disputed territories become the Republic of Pomerania created along the line of a Modellstaat under diplomatic pressure from Britain.
Several campaigns in Central Germany between France and Prussia that lead to the change of sides of Saxony in favor of the latter. The main allies Prussian, Austrian and Saxony showing signs of war exhaustion and internal disorder open diplomatic overtures that would end in the Peace of Vienna. Britain also joins following exhaustion and change of the internal politics and foreign affairs under Protector Spencer along the open willingness of the Consul Bonaparte to end the War in line with his goal of rebuilding France and bringing internal stability and development.
The Peace of Vienna settlement recognized the de facto limits of the armistice in Europe, India and Australia, recognition of the Confederation of the Rhine and its states, the creation of neutral buffer states such a Pomerania, Poland-Lithuania and unwillingly Saxony, under pressure of being annexed or partitioned by Prussia, being declared non allied country in the future. In its final Act it established the Congress System to deal with unsolved or arising problems within Europe. This issue was lobbied by Britain in order for its overseas territories, including the ones of the Netherlands, not becoming bargain chips. It also benefit Royalist Louisiana and Haiti.
After the Peace of Vienna
The long lasting effects of intervention of French revolutionary armies was the spread of French revolutionary ideas and ethos, commercial links with France and the Reformstaaten, a model for a democratic German state. However this was restricted to the members of the Confederation of the Rhine.
To the East it started the dominance of Prussia, and to a lesser degree that of Saxony. Prussia also began its expansion toward the lands of the former Commonwealth of Poland-Lithuania. Bavaria followed its own path of alliances. The multinational Austrian Empire had its own issues with the realms of the Hapsburgs.
Confederation of the Rhine
The Confederation of the Rhine (German: Rheinbund; French: officially États confédérés du Rhin ("Confederated States of the Rhine"), but in practice Confédération du Rhin) became the major regional alliance of Germany. The Rheinbundakte of 1805 signed between France and the members that broke away from the Holy Roman Empire (HRE), stated its purpose for a new alliance (i.e., Confederation).
- Its Beginnings
During the European Revolutionary Wars calls from radical German republicans for reforms and a new union or closer federation covering a third of Germany against Prussia and Austria failed to be carried out because it clashed with the recently given independence of new states like Württemberg, Rhenania and Bavaria and also unfulfilled territorial demands.
Under the leadership of French Marshall Lazare Hoche a meeting of the German states west of the Elba was called in order to establish a new polity after the French ultimatum to the Emperor of the HRE to dissolve itself. Most princes and dukes were cajoled by the presence of French troops to go or send plenipotentiary envoys to Paris in the first months of 1805.
The Rheinbundakte of 1805, that became the statute and also elevated some states to the rank of kingdom[2], grand duchy[3] and principalities[4], sketched out the basic institutions (Protector, Presidency, Chancellorship and Diet), its seat is in Frankfurt, several territorial arrangements, obligations and duties of its members, financial and military contributions of its members and the prohibition to make alliances with non members. It also proclaimed the right of full sovereignty and internal autonomy of the member states. The HRE would be officially declared dissolved the month later by the last Emperor and now sovereign of the Austrian Empire.
Bavaria signed it and agreed with most of the statute and application of it, though it postponed its membership for the future. One point it did not agreed was on the vagueness of the powers and nomination of the Protector of the Confederation.
- Basic Institutions
Although the Confederation was a French creation, after the Treaty of Paris (1810) it was considered a valuable instrument to keep the balance of Europe by Britannia and France. The foreign relations of the Confederation centered on a strong military, political and historical link to France and an alliance of interest with Britannia.
Each member state of the Confederation have their own governments. Whilst the government of the Confederation is in control of the main roads and canals, post, semaphores and telegraphs, and foreign trade and defence. Its members states use the Rheinmark as a common unit of account. However, the most widely used currency is the Rhenanian thaler (RT).
The Diet (Bundestag) is the permanent meeting of the deputies of the member states. It elects its President and names the Chancellor. It proposes, debates and votes mandatory and voluntary resolutions, negotiate the interests of its member states and settle disputes. It also approves resolutions for the execution of the duties of the Chancellor and its Cabinet. A Supreme Court of Justice, elected by the Diet, was created to help in the application the French Civil Code.
- Building on Peace
The Confederation after the Peace of Vienna (1810) begun the process of economic reconstruction. Being the main battleground of French and Prussian-Austrian-Russian armies had ravaged fields and destroyed roads and bridges. Of the member states Rhenania, Württemberg and Baden were the first to rebuild fast with Rehanian relying on loans from France. Acquiring capital and technology from France and later the Netherlands and the Commonwealth did the industrial region of Ruhr valley began to exploit its coal and run numerous iron and steel mills exceeding the output of all German lands by the 1880s. Several workshops and later large factories were established. Joint regulations negotiated and promulgated by member state established a Uniform Commercial Code and a Joint Patent Office facilitated business. Several purchases and fusions led to the establishment of large regional banks began to finance local business and railroads.
However, and like in the industrial areas of the Commonwealth, the peasant migrated to the cities as commons lands were parceled, workshops and factories paid better wages but urban pauperism increased with malnutrition, the lack of housing and sanitary conditions and the lowering of living conditions of the working classes. In turn massive urbanisation and the rise of new cities took the rural lands. Though the main states started to establishes primary school, created technical schools (following the example of the Commonwealth's mechanical schools) and enlarge universities.
The main seal of the offices of the Confederation was their advocacy and advancement of political and economic liberalism. Though political liberalism had its limitations due to the majority of states applied census suffrage, plural voting or limiting suffrage according to economic, social and educational status. The republican or liberal member states of Confederation became the refuge for liberals or adversaries of the conservatism and reactionary policies of Prussia and other eastern or non liberal German states.
- Main Executive Offices of the Confederation
The Protector guarantees the sovereignty and defense of the Confederation and is the Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces. Protector: Marshall Lazare Hoche (1805-1811), vacant since 1811. Power by all practical means during the vacancy rests in the Chancellorship and Presidency.
The Chancellor is named by the Diet by a majority of its delegates. Chancellors have being: Karl Theodor Anton Maria von Dalberg (1805-1812), Andreas Joseph Hofmann (1812-1827), Karl Friedrich Nebenius (1827-1838), Friedrich von Römer (1838-1848). The office of President, annually elected by the Diet, directs the sessions and the administration of the Diet.
- Member states
Its members states are, with their votes in the Diet of the Confederation, the following:
Rhenanian Republic (Rhenania) two votes
Free State of Hannover-Westphalia two votes
Kingdom of Württemberg two votes
Kingdom of Hesse two votes
Grand Duchy of Würzburg two votes
Grand Duchy of Baden two votes
Duchy of Brunswick one vote
Principality of Hohenzollern one vote
Principality of Liechtenstein one vote
Principality of Lippe-Detmold one vote
Principality of Schaumburg-Lippe one vote
Principality of Waldeck-Pyrmont one vote
Free City of Frankfurt one vote
- Former member states
Republic of Mainz two votes (voted for its union to Rhenania)
Principality of Isenburg one vote (mediatized to Hesse)
Principality of Leyen one vote (sold to Baden)
Principality of Hohenzollern-Hechigen one vote (mediatized to P. of Hohenzollern)
Principality of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen one vote (mediatized to P. of Hohenzollern)
- Observer state adhering to the Rheinbundakte
Notable German states
Bavaria
The Kingdom of Bavaria (Königreich Bayern) succeeded the former Electorate of Bavaria in 1805. The crown is being held by the House of Wittelsbach.
Bavaria is a constitutional monarchy that has implemented the majority of the norms of Modellstaat, making it more precisely a Reformstaaten, by its own political process and without French guidance and supervision.
Bavaria is an observer of Confederation of the Rhine. The Kingdom has been know to follow an independent foreign policy, having been one of the few German states to establish diplomatic relations with the Italian Republic.
The Kingdom mints and issues its own currency, the Bavarian gulden. The kingdom is mainly and agricultural based economy with its main industrial center being located in Munich and Augsburg.
The Bavarian Army provides the Wittelsbach dynasty with sufficient scope of action, in the context of effective alliance politics. The establishment of a standing army was taken a sign of nation-statehood and an important tool of foreign policy after the Revolutionary War.
Bavaria is divided in the following government districts (Kreise):
- Altmühlkreis (Eichstätt)
- Isarkreis (Munich)
- Lechkreis (Augsburg)
- Obermainkreis (Bamberg)
- Oberdonaukreis (Ulm)
- Regenkreis (Straubing)
- Rezatkreis (Ansbach)
- Unterdonaukreis (Passau)
Hannover-Westphalia
Motto | |||||
Anthem | "Heil dir, Hannover-Westfalen" | ||||
Capital (and largest city) |
Hannover | ||||
Religion main |
Lutheran and Calvinist Protestantism (state religion) | ||||
others | Roman Catholic and Judaism (All officially recognized) | ||||
Government | Directorial republic | ||||
legislature | National Assembly (Nationalversammlung) | ||||
First Consul | Hartmut Boehler | ||||
Established | 1805 | ||||
Currency | Westphalian thaler, Hamburg mark. Lubeck thaler and Bremen thaler | ||||
Organizations | Confederation of the Rhine (member, two votes), Fraternity of Nations (member, two votes) and Congress System (guest). |
The Free State of Hannover-Westphalia (Freistaat Hannover-Westfalen), the last established German republic was the result of the union of lands of Hannover and Westphalia under the aegis of Rhenania and France. Its creation was the result of a policy to establish a potential rival against Prussia-Brandenburg.
Hannover-Westphalia is a democratic unitary representative republic (i.e., Modellstaat). Its State organs are: a) the Consulate a three member elected executive assisted by a council of ministers b) an elected National Assembly (Nationalversammlung) and c) High Court of Justice.
The Free State is mainly and agricultural based economy with its main industrial center being located in Hannover. It has a customs and traffic of cargo agreements with the city states of Bremen, Hamburg and Lubeck that function for all purposes as the ports of Hannover-Westphalia. The city states complement their industrial output with the supply of foodstuffs from Hannover-Westphalia.
Hannover-Westphalia as a large conscript army to ward off threats from Prussia-Brandenburg.
The administrative division of Hannover-Westphalia are département (under the direction of Präfekten), distrikte (Sous-Préfet) and kantone (Bürgermeister and Gemeinderat the Municipal council). The departments of Hannover-Westphalia are the following:
- Aller (Hannover)
- Elbe (Magdeburg)
- Fulda (Kassel)
- Harz (Heiligenstadt)
- Leine (Göttingen)
- Saale (Halberstadt)
- Werra (Marburg)
- Weser (Osnabrück)
Rhenania
Motto | |||||
Anthem | "Liedes freier Landsleute" | ||||
Capital (and largest city) |
Cologne | ||||
Other cities | Darmstadt, Aachen, Koblenz, Mainz, Trier, Saarbrücken, Bonn and Wiesbaden | ||||
Religion main |
Secular state | ||||
others | Catholicism, Protestantism, Judaism, Deism (Cult of Reason) and Atheism | ||||
Demonym | Rhenanian | ||||
Government | Directorial republic | ||||
legislature | National Assembly (Nationalversammlung) | ||||
First Director | |||||
Established | 1794 | ||||
Currency | Rhenian thaler (RT) | ||||
Time Zone | UTC +1 | ||||
Organizations | Confederation of the Rhine (member - two votes) and Congress System (guest) |
The Rhenanian Republic (Rhenanische Republik) located along both banks of the Rhine river. It was proclaimed in 1794 on the Left Bank of the Rhine under French occupation. It gained territories of the Grand Duchies of Berg and Hesse-Darmstadt, Duchy of Nassau (Usingen and Weilburg) and the former french department of Lippe.
The Republic of Mainz (791-1792, 1802-1806), the first modern republican polity of Germany, voted its union to Rhenania.
Rhenania is a democratic unitary representative republic (i.e. Modellstaat). Its State organs are: a) the State Directory (Staats Direktorium, five members), elected by a joint session of the National Assembly for a five year term. The position of First Director or President rotates among the five directors on a yearly basis. b) The Minister of State and ministers of the State Council (Staatsrat) attends meetings of the State Directory, and execute its policy and activities. All members are named at pleasure of the State Directory, c) National Assembly (Nationalversammlung) An elected legislative assembly. Its deputies have an five year mandate and are elected by electoral assemblies (district and cantons) and d) High Court of Justice.
Rhenania is the main industrial zone of Germany. Although the Industrial Revolution came very late to Rhenania, due in part to the chaos and uncertainty of the Revolutionary Wars, its coal and iron deposits and investments led rapidly to the establishment of a large heavy industry. Mineral zones and industrial centers were favourable connected by railroads and canals. Its currency, the Rhenian thaler (RT) is also widely used across the Confederation of the Rhine.
The administrative division of Rhenania is département, distrikte and kantone. There is a Regierungspräsidium (department government) headed by a Regierungspräsident (district president).
The departments of Rhenania are the following:
- West-Ruhr Département (Aachen)
- Saardépartement (Trier)
- Département Rhein-Mosel (Koblenz)
- Département Donnersberg (Mainz)
- Ost-Ruhr Département (Dusseldorf)
- Ems-départment (Munster)
- Wiesbaden-départment (Wiesbaden)
- Starkenburg-départment (Darmstadt)
League of Thuringian States
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Capital | Weimar (Administrative) and Jena (Judiciary) | ||||
Largest city | Weimar | ||||
Other cities | Jena, Gera, Coburg, Reuss and Altenberg | ||||
Religion main |
Lutheran and Calvinist Protestantism (state religion) | ||||
others | Roman Catholic and Judaism (All officially recognized) | ||||
Government | Confederation | ||||
First Minister-President | |||||
Established | 1812 | ||||
Currency | Conventionsthaler and Saxon thaler replaced by the Thuringian thaler |
The League of Thuringian States (Bündnis der Thüringer Staaten), is a confederation of the Thuringian States. It is also a customs and trade association (Zoll- und Handelsverein der Thüringischen Staaten). The highly fragmented Thuringian Kleinstaaterei before the Peace of Vienna rarely agreed with one another. However their vicinity with the powerful and centralized states of Saxony and Prussia-Brandenburg and not be caught in territorial exchanges, moved them to establish a loose alliance and customs unions.
The Thuringian States have their main administrative seat at Weimar were the First Minister-President (Erster Ministerpräsident) has also his offices. The First Minister-President is elected by an assembly of plenipotentiaries of the member states. They also established the High Regional Court (Oberlandesgericht) of Jena responsible for all the Thuringian states and a means to standardized civil and penal laws and procedures. The Thuringian States jointly finance the University of Jena, enlarged after the dissolution by Prussia of the University of Erfurt.
Like many of the central German states the region contained a significant number of fostered cottage industries, crafts, and a more independent and self-reliant spirit less closely linked to the government. In line with Industrialization a joint stock railway company monopoly (Thüringische Eisenbahn-Gesellschaft) was established and given the capacity to plan, built and charge for the service of cargo and passengers.
The government of its member states ranges from Absolute, Enlightenment and Constitutional rulers. Its member states are:
- Duchy of Saxe-Coburg
- Duchy of Saxe-Gotha
- Duchy of Saxe-Hildburghausen
- Duchy of Saxe-Meiningen
- Duchy of Saxe-Weimar
- Principality of Reuss-Ebersdorf
- Principality of Reuss-Greiz
- Principality of Reuss-Lobenstein
- Principality of Reuss-Schleiz
- Principality of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt
- Principality of Schwarzburg-Sondershausen
Prussia (Brandenburg-Prussia)
Motto | |||||
Anthem | "Preußenlied (Anthem), Heil dir im Siegerkranz (Royal anthem)" | ||||
Capital (and largest city) |
Berlin | ||||
Religion main |
Protestant (Lutheran and Reformed; since 1817 the Prussian Union of Churches) | ||||
others | Roman Catholic and Judaism (All officially recognized) | ||||
Demonym | Prussian | ||||
Government | Absolute monarchy | ||||
legislature | Prussian Landtag (Preußischer Landtag) | ||||
King | Frederick William III | ||||
Royal house: | Hohenzollern | ||||
Minister-President | (named by the King) | ||||
Established | Duchy 1525, Kingdom 1701 to date | ||||
Currency | Prussian thaler and Reichsthaler. | ||||
Organizations | Congress System (Great Power) |
The Kingdom of Prussia (Königreich Preußen) is a German kingdom constituted by the union of the Margraviate of Brandenburg (Berlin) and the Kingdom of Prussia (Königsberg). The kings of Prussia are from the House of Hohenzollern. The Kingdom of Prussia is an absolute monarchy.
Prussia became the major power east of the river Elbe after the Revolutionary Wars, constrained by the French victory of the Campaign of Elbe and the Battle of Jena. Its elevation to regional power and successfully expanding its size by way of an unusually well-organised and effective army (Royal Prussian Army / Königlich Preußische Armee). After the Revolutionary Wars, Prussia started a program of modernizing its army with steam powered vehicles, like the French ones. It also created its first steam powered and armoured navy, until then not an effective force against the ones of the British or France. However it did provided a military advantage against the Three Nations and a deterrent against Russian and Austrian interests in Central Europe.
Following the Congress of Vienna (1810), Frederick William III and his advisers were in three major goals: centralize and reform the State and Army, establish a national educational system, and unify the Protestant churches (Prussian Union of Churches).
The landed nobility in Prussia (Junkers) owns large estates that were maintained and worked by peasants with few rights. They are an important factor in Prussian military, political and diplomatic leadership. Being the bulwark of the ruling House of Hohenzollern, the Junkers controlled the Prussian Army, leading in political influence and social status, and owning immense estates, especially in the provinces of Brandenburg (Pomerania, Silesia, West Prussia, East Prussia and Posen).
The extended iron ore and black coal deposits of the Silesian Coal Basin, allowed a considerable industrialization and urbanization. Providing a strong push for a further trade and industrial development.
The provinces of Prussia are:
- Brandenburg (Potsdam)
- East Prussia (Königsberg)
- Posen (Posen)
- Silesia (Breslau)
- West Prussia (Danzig)
Pomerania
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Capital (and largest city) |
Rostock | ||||
Other cities | Schwerin | ||||
Religion main |
Lutheran and Calvinist Protestantism (state religion) | ||||
others | Roman Catholic and Judaism (All officially recognized) | ||||
Government | Presidential republic | ||||
legislature | Pomeranian Landtag | ||||
President | |||||
Established | Agreement of Stockholm 1808 | ||||
Currency | Prussian thaler and Reichsthaler. | ||||
Organizations | Fraternity of Nations (observer) and Congress System (observer) |
The Republic of Pomerania (Republik Pommern) is a state that occupies the region on the southern shore of the Baltic Sea that were the former lands of the Swedish Pomerania and part of Mecklenburg. The Agreement of Stockholm besides creating the new republic it also modeled its institutions as Reformstaaten on the insistence of British diplomacy.
As a Reformstaaten, but not a member of the Confederation of the Rhine, it is a democratic unitary representative republic. Its creation was part of the final settlement between the United Kingdom of Scandinavia and Prussia that established a neutral state in the Baltic that would guarantee an access to sea for Prussia. It took over the lands of the Duchy of Mecklenburg-Schwerin and part of the Duchy of Mecklenburg-Strelitz.
Britain later secured an agreement to use its ports for its Navy along a clause that excluded its use by the Navies Russia and Prussia-Brandenburg.
Traditionally former lands of Mecklenburg has always been one of the poorer German areas. The reasons for this may be varied, but one factor stands out: agriculturally the land is poor and can not produce at the same level as other parts of Germany. Most of economy is centered on the Baltic either in the fisheries, shipyards or sea shipping. However the University of Rostock enjoys certain prestige in northern Germany.
The counties of Pomerania are:
- Demmin (Demmin)
- Güstrow (Güstrow)
- Ludwiglust (Ludwigslust)
- Müritz (Waren)
- Nordwestmecklenburg (WIsmar)
- Ostvorpommern (Anklam)
- Parchim (Parchim)
- Rostock (Rostock)
- Stettin (Stettin)
- Stralsund-Rugen (Stralsund)
- Bad Doberan (Bad Doberan)
- Mecklenburg-Strelitz (Neustrelitz)
Saxony
Motto | |||||
Anthem | "Gott segne Sachsenland (State anthem) and Sachsenlied (Royal anthem)" | ||||
Capital | Dresden | ||||
Largest city | Leipzig | ||||
Other cities | Chemnitz | ||||
Religion main |
Protestant (Lutheran and Reformed) | ||||
others | Roman Catholic and Judaism (All officially recognized) | ||||
Government | Absolute monarchy -> Constitutional monarchy | ||||
legislature | Landtag of Saxony | ||||
King | |||||
Royal house: | Wettin | ||||
Minister-President | (named by the King) | ||||
Established | Duchy of Saxony 804, Duchy of Saxe-Wittenberg 1296, Electorate 1356, Kingdom 1805 | ||||
Currency | Saxon Thaler and Reichsthaler. | ||||
Organizations | Fraternity of Nations (observer) and Congress System (Guest) |
The Kingdom of Saxony (Königreich Sachsen), is after Prussia, the second largest state east of the Elbe river. Previously it had risen its status from an electorate to an independent kingdom with the support of France, then the dominant power in Central Europe, during the Revolutionary Wars. Thought after the Peace of Vienna, and because of the the lobby of Prussia and Austria, it was not allowed to become a member of the Confederation of the Rhine.
After the Revolutionary Wars Saxony experienced a huge industrial boom. The country was the first real industrial region in Central Europe. Fortunate to have coal fields near its main urban centers, Leipzig, Chemnitz and Dresden, it could easily industrialize thereby have autonomy over its more powerful neighbours to the north (Prussia) and south (Austria). This helped Saxony rise to a leading industrial and commercial state in Central Europe, thanks to its sales successes and the economic dominance of Saxon industry and the rapid establishment of a powerful long-distance railway network.
The Royal Saxon Army (Königlich Sächsische Armee), other than Prussian, was one of the firsts to implement military reforms of French usage. Instead of advertising in Germany for recruitment it establish a nationwide recruiting circuit with commissions. Soldiers were enlisted for fixed period of service of eight to ten years.
The district (Kreis) of Saxony are the following:
- Dresdener Kreis (Dresden)
- Kurkreis (Belzig)
- Erzgebirgischer Kreis (Chemmitz)
- Leipziger Kreis (Leipzig)
- Meissnischer Kreis (Meissen)
- Neustädtischer Kreis (Neustadt)
- Niederlausitz (Kottbus)
- Oberlausitz Kreis (Bautzen)
- Thüringer Kreis (Freyburg)
- Vogtländischer Kreis (Olsnitz)
German States Customs Unions
After the Peace of Vienna (1810) that ended the European Revolutionary War (1790-1810) there were a series of actions to reorganize the political map of the former Holy Roman Empire in Germany. Rivalries left over from the Revolutionary Wars between the German states led to the establishment of three major blocs:
- a West bloc composed of Rhenania and Confederation of the Rhine, All close allies of France and integrated by the more liberal north western states of Germany
- the East and Central group made of Prussia, Sachsen and the Thuringen states. All of them Protestant, mostly independent and more focused in eastern Europe in their foreign policy.
- a Southern bloc of Bavaria and Austria, an alliance based on the geographical and historical links of the southern Catholic German states.
- and finally a loose northern association of the city states of Bremen, Hamburg, Lübeck and the republic of Pomerania that was based on mercantile interest and their closeness to the UK of Scandinavia.
These blocs expressed themselves in trade and customs unions. Some of these unions more or less coordinated and managed tariffs and economic policies within the territories of their member states.
- Zoll- und Handelsverein der Thüringischen Staaten: A trade and customs union of the Thuringian States. A supplementary treaty added a monetary and the coinage union of the Convention of Coburg (Thuringian thaler);
- Westdeutscher Zollverein: A trade, customs and monetary agreement between the members of the Confederation of the Rhine;
- Preussisch-Sächsische Zollverein: A trade and customs treaty between Prussia and Sachsen;
- Südliche Zollverein: A trade and customs treaty between Bavaria and Austria; and
- Nord Allianz: A port, shipping and transport agreement of Bremen, Hamburg, Lübeck, Pomerania and Prussia with Scandinavia.
German states during and after the European revolutions
Flag | Coat of Arms | Country | Regime | Capital | Established | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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Rhenanian Republic | Directorial republic
(First Director) |
Cologne | 1794 to date | Confederation of the Rhine / Modellstaat | |
Austrian Empire | Absolute monarchy
(Emperor) |
Vienna | 1805 to date | |||
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Kingdom of Prussia (Brandenburg-Prussia) | Absolute monarchy - Constitutional monarchy 1840s
(King) |
Berlin | Duchy 1525, Kingdom 1701 to date | ||
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Free State of Hannover-Westphalia | Directorial republic
(First Consul) |
Hannover | 1805 to date | Confederation of the Rhine / Modellstaat |
Kingdom of Württemberg | Constitutional monarchy
(King) |
Stuttgart | County 1083, Duchy 1495, Kingdom 1805 to date | Confederation of the Rhine / Reformstaaten | ||
Grand Duchy of Baden | Constitutional monarchy
(Gran Duke) |
Karlsruhe | Margraviate 1112, Grand Duchy 1805 to date | Confederation of the Rhine / Reformstaaten | ||
Kingdom of Hesse | Constitutional monarchy
(King) |
Marburg | 1805 to date | Confederation of the Rhine / Reformstaaten | ||
Grand Duchy of Oldenburg | Constitutional monarchy
(Grand Duke) |
Oldenburg | County 1101, Duchy 1774, Grand Duchy 1810 to date | |||
Kingdom of Saxony | Absolute monarchy - Constitutional monarchy 1830s
(King) |
Dresden | Duchy of Saxony 804, Duchy of Saxe-Wittenberg 1296, Electorate 1356, Kingdom 1805 to date | |||
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Kingdom of Bavaria | Constitutional monarchy
(King) |
Munich | Duchy 555, Electorate 1623, Kingdom 1805 to date | Confederation of the Rhine (Observer) / Reformstaaten | |
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League of Thuringian States | Constitutional and absolute monarchies
(First Minister-President[5]) |
Erfurt | 1812 to date | Kleinstaaterei |
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Republic of Pomerania | Presidential republic
(President) |
Rostock | 1808 to date | Reformstaaten | |
Grand Duchy of Würzburg | Constitutional monarchy
(Gran Duke) |
Würzburg | 1805 to date | Confederation of the Rhine / Reformstaaten | ||
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Free City of Frankfurt | City-State
(First Mayor) |
Frankfurt am Main | 1372 to date | Confederation of the Rhine / Reformstaaten | |
Republic of Mainz | Directorial Republic
(First Director) |
Mainz | 1791-1792, 1802-1806 Voted union to Rhenania | Confederation of the Rhine / Modellstaat | ||
Principality of Erfurt | Absolute monarchy
(Prince-Bishop) |
Erfurt | 1802-1811 Established by the exiled Prince-Bishop of Mainz. Annexed by Prussia | Kleinstaaterei | ||
Free Hanseatic City of Bremen | City-State
(First Mayor) |
Bremen | 1186 to date | |||
Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg | City-State
(First Mayor) |
Hamburg | 1189 to date | |||
Free and Hanseatic City of Lübeck | City-State
(First Mayor) |
Lübeck | 1226 to date | |||
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Duchy of Anhalt-Bernburg | Absolute monarchy
(Duke) |
Bernburg | Inherited in the Duchy of Anhalt / Kleinstaaterei | ||
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Duchy of Anhalt-Dessau | Absolute monarchy
(Duke) |
Dessau | Inherited in the Duchy of Anhalt / Kleinstaaterei | ||
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Duchy of Anhalt-Köthen | Absolute monarchy
(Duke) |
Kothen | Inherited in the Duchy of Anhalt / Kleinstaaterei | ||
Duchy of Anhalt | Absolute monarchy
(Duke) |
Dessau | Kleinstaaterei / Union of Anhalt duchies | |||
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Principality of Hohenzollern-Hechigen | Absolute monarchy
(Prince) |
Hechingen | Mediatized to P. Hohenzollern | Confederation of the Rhine / Kleinstaaterei | |
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Principality of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen | Absolute monarchy
(Prince) |
Sigmaringen | Mediatized to P. Hohenzollern | Confederation of the Rhine / Kleinstaaterei | |
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Principality of Hohenzollern | Absolute monarchy
(Prince) |
Sigmaringen | Confederation of the Rhine / Kleinstaaterei | ||
Principality of Isenburg | Absolute monarchy
(Prince) |
Isenburg | Mediatized to Frankfurt | Confederation of the Rhine / Kleinstaatere | ||
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Principality of Leyen | Absolute monarchy
(Prince) |
Leyen | Sold to Baden | Confederation of the Rhine / Kleinstaaterei | |
Principality of Liechtenstein | Absolute monarchy
(Prince) |
Vaduz | Confederation of the Rhine / Kleinstaaterei | |||
Principality of Lippe-Detmold | Absolute monarchy
(Prince) |
Detmold | Confederation of the Rhine / Kleinstaaterei | |||
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Principality of Schaumburg-Lippe | Absolute monarchy
(Prince) |
Bückeburg | Confederation of the Rhine / Kleinstaaterei | ||
Principality of Waldeck-Pyrmont | Absolute monarchy
(Prince) |
Arolsen | Confederation of the Rhine / Kleinstaaterei | |||
Duchy of Brunswick | Absolute monarchy
(Duke) |
Braunschweig | Confederation of the Rhine / Kleinstaaterei | |||
Duchy of Saxe-Lauenburg | Absolute monarchy
(Duke) |
Ratzeburg | Kleinstaaterei | |||
Grand Duchy of Mecklenburg-Strelitz | Absolute monarchy
(Grand Duke) |
Neustrelitz |
Glossary
Kleinstaaterei (small-state-ery) is a pejorative German word, mainly used to denote the territorial fragmentation in Germany and neighboring regions during the Holy Roman Empire (especially after the end of the Thirty Years' War). It refers to the large number of virtually sovereign small and medium-sized secular and ecclesiastical principalities and Free Imperial cities, some of which were little larger than a single town or the grounds of the monastery of an Imperial abbey. Estimates of the total number of German states at any given time during the 18th century vary, ranging from 294 to 348 or more. Furthermore, many German states were composed of two or more non-contiguous parts, often politically united through a marriage. Most states had at least one or two enclaves or exclaves, and some considerably more. A major reduction of their number came by the Mediatisierung, forced annexations during the Revolutionary Wars and several treaties at the time of the creation of the Confederation of the Rhine.
Modellstaat (Model state)is an state that under direct guidance and supervision of the French as adopted the policies of a Reformstaaten.
Mediatisierung (Mediatization) was the major territorial restructuring that took place in Germany and the surrounding region (the Holy Roman Empire and Confederation of the Rhine) by means of the mass mediatization and secularization of a large number of Imperial Estates: ecclesiastical principalities, free imperial cities, secular principalities and other minor self-ruling entities that lost their independent status and were absorbed into the remaining states.
Reformstaaten (reformed state) refers to State that as a republican constitution, elected legislative and executive, independent judiciary, civil code, common citizenship, charter of liberties and freedoms and universal suffrage or similar, completely abolished feudalism, emancipation of Jews, at least a public primary school system, economic liberalism and is secular state or has an official reformed church.
See also
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