The German Question, Part Forty-Eight

"Bismarck" Part Two "Prelude To Austrian-Prussian Reckoning"

German unification came about with what many historians call, "The (German) Wars of Unification," a series of three wars. I've already covered the war carried out jointly by Prussia and Austria against Denmark in Parts 45 and 46, in this series. Now I'll get into the real crux of the matter; that is, the day of reckoning between Prussia and Austria over political dominance of German affairs. I suppose I'd have to say that the long build up to a major showdown between the two German "super states" is more important than even its aftermath, since this confrontation set in motion the inevitability of German unification (in my opinion).

First, a recap:
For centuries, Austria was the leading German state among literally hundreds (at times, thousands) of German states. The Habsburg family rulers, which ruled Austria, were also chosen for centuries as the emperors of an increasingly weak German Empire.* Over time, however, the Habsburgs expanded their holdings to areas of eastern and southeastern Europe where Germans were either a distinct minority, if even present at all. The Protestant Reformation brought the spread of Protestantism, primarily Lutheranism, to much of the northern German lands, where Protestants often became a majority. Austria and the other southern German states remained heavily Catholic. Prussia, a north German state, largely Protestant, and ruled by the Hohenzollern family, gradually became a military power, challenging Austrian power over German affairs. Napoleon defeated the Germans and dissolved their weakened empire, occupying many of the German lands, and even annexing some German territory to France. This all began to build a sense of German national patriotism, rather than the regional patriotism long in place in the German states, and culminated in the defeat and ouster of Napoleon from the German territories. While many Germans wanted a new unified German nation formed after Napoleon's defeat, the rulers of the various states sought to keep their own local and regional power. A confederation was formed among the German states, but with little power over truly "German" affairs. Austria headed this confederation. In the effort to truly unite Germans, many Germans wanted Austria to relinquish control over a large portion of their non-German lands, something which the Habsburgs refused to do. Prussia formed a "customs union" ("Zollverein") to expedite trade among an increasing number of the states, but without Austria.

The Revolutions of 1848 brought demands for German unification and constitutional law, but what looked to be a sure thing, proved to be illusory, although the ideas put forward during that time did not all die. The Revolutions, while they essentially failed, also showed the strains on the Habsburg holdings, as their non-German subjects rose in revolt in many places. While order was restored, it seemed only a matter of time before the Habsburgs would have to grant some degree of independence to their non-German subjects, giving Germans the increased hope that Austria would then either lead (mainly preferred by "South" Germans), or become a part of, a newly united Germany. Later still, Austria had to confront a developing threat from their Italian holdings in northern Italy, as Italians, like the Germans, were increasingly pressing for a unified nation, and part of what many Italians saw as that unified nation included the Austrian holdings.** This forced the Habsburgs to deploy considerable military resources in that area; a fact clearly noted by Bismarck and his advisers in Prussia. By 1861, Italians declared Victor Emanuel II (Vittorio Emanuele, in Italian) as King of Italy, although not all areas desired by Italians were included in the new nation, including, interestingly, ROME!!! The Austrian possessions also remained outside of Italian control, but Austria was well aware of Italian designs on these areas, where the Austrians continued to maintain substantial military forces.

Railroads began to develop throughout the German states beginning in the 1830s. This faster means of travel helped to further unite Germans, in both travel and trade, as many Germans began to pay tourist-type visits to areas far beyond their old regional homelands. Visits to old castles, battlefields, and other historical venues began the development of a whole new industry in the German economy, and gave Germans a sense of common pride and history.

To be continued.... (A Word History is below the notes)

* In this case, I'm not only meaning weak in military power, but also weak in structure and the emperor's ability to get Germans to act in concert with his wishes.

** This was "sort of" a reverse of the situation in northern Germany with Schleswig and Holstein, which were seen by Germans as part of Germany, but were controlled, to varying degrees, by the King of Denmark.

WORD HISTORY:
Ale-This goes back to the Indo European root "alu," which had the notion of "magic, possession, intoxication." This gave Old Germanic "alu(th)," which then gave Old English "ealu," which meant "ale," or just "beer." Interestingly, English had both words, "ale" and "beer," and they were interchangeable, or perhaps regional, but "beer" (which I'll be covering in a future Word History) did not develop a distinct meaning until the 1500s, when hops began to be used in the brewing process. Forms of the word in English's closest West Germanic relatives (German, Dutch, Frisian) have died out in the standard languages, as they now only use forms of the word "beer," although I wouldn't be surprised that forms survive in dialects, and I did find "aal" for Dutch and some Low German versions, but whether this is truly used very often in modern times, I don't know. But English's North Germanic relatives still use their own forms: Danish and Norwegian have "øl" and Swedish and Icelandic have "öl." By the way, an interesting side note; "ale" also meant "a celebration, with lots of ale." This still survives in the last part of the compound word "bridAL," which meant a "celebration of a wedding, wedding feast." Poor woman, she just got married and her husband's stewed to the gills! ("Hic!...Ah...'scuse me.")