Germany Assignment 4

This economic cycle is like the cycle that Germany went through during this time in history.

The expansion of land in Prussia between 1616 and 1740.

             When looking at how and why Germany became a nation, there is a trend that cycles through. Each trend gets cycled through multiply times before the divided German states are able to rise up and become one nation. In chapters three and four of Germany: A New History, the reader can clearly see the cycles that Germany went through ending with one political figure’s last push that allowed Germany to become one nation in the end of chapter 5.  The cycles for how and why can be described as two alternating cycles or one that intertwines with another.

The land Prussia had before Napoleon invaded.

The start of the cycle is a time when the land is in a period of decline. The first period of decline was in 1667 after the Thirty Years War. During this time the population was declining and the principalities were poverty stricken. Economically the states could not get a foothold in the trade industry. Not having one uniform trade between the all of the principalities hindered trade and wealth from coming into the land (Schulze 70).  Their poverty, led outside countries to believe them to be weak and easily conquerable. 

The next part of the cycle is war brought on by an outside force and ending in the outside force gaining some of the principalities. In this cycle it was French king Louis the Fourteenth who sent troops into the far north and eastern lands (71).  The war ended with the Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire signing a treaty that allowed the French to keep all of the land they conquered (72).  

The next part is the people joining together as an entity that might be able to operate as a country. During this time the people gave credit for the treaty to Austria and not the Empire, raising the spirits of the people to support the lands inside the Empire. Another power that rose during this time was the Hohenzollerns family with the Brandenburg-Prussia Empire (78).

The land Napoleon gained in his conquest.

The last part of the cycle is increasing the power and/or land of the empire. This was accomplished in the Seven Year War that lasted until 1763. Prussia used their military power against great odds defeating Austria, France, and Russia (83). In return, Prussia gained recognition as a great power in Europe and for holding claim of Silesia (84).

Prussia after the fall of Napoleon.

A picture of Napoleon Bonaparte.

The cycles started again in the last third of the eighteenth century when bad harvest all over Europe caused people to rebel (92). Then German Principalities ceded to Napoleon Bonaparte in 1797 (96). This left only sixteen principalities in the Holy Roman Empire, which ceded to Napoleon in 1806. A month later the Holy Roman Empire fell for good to Napoleon (99). Austria and Prussia also fell to France around this time leaving nothing left of the German lands. During this time under France changes were made to the government that would allow a nation to develop later on. Soon after being conquered the German people started a national movement formed by people who felt that the government they had before was “weak and dishonorable” and that if they were a nation they would be stronger (104).  In 1813, the King of Prussia had a call to arms and with the help of Austria, England, Russia and Sweden they were able to push Napoleon back to Paris before he abdicated. With this outcome Prussia gained areas along the Rhine and part of Saxony (107).

A picture of Otto von Bismarck.

During the next period between the cycles Germans learned about two challenges they would face in their fight to become a nation. The first is they would not be able to form a nation without the consent of rest of Europe (127).  The second is that there were two different ideas of what Germany should be (125).

The end of these cycles came when Otto von Bismarck became prime minister. Bismarck came up with a strategy that would allow the German land to become a nation during the next up rise (139). In 1870, the opportunity came about with the beginning of the Franco-Prussian war. During this war Prussia was able to reclaim the last bit of land held by the ancient Germans (144). At the end of the war it was not just the common people, but also the princes who wanted a strong unified nation, therefore allowing Germany to come into existence (145).

The land covered in the German Empire.

One identifying characteristic of Germany is its strong military emphasis throughout this whole period and even today (79). What I find interesting, though, is that they had to keep losing before coming back later as one unit to fight and win against their opponents. The principalities fought to stay separate even though the people did not like thought of being weak. This fact reminds me of the phrase “an enemy of an enemy is a friend,” because the only time they would try to work together was when they were try to get back land from their enemy.