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.
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