by the King of Denmark could be bolstered by liberal notions of freedom,
independence and self-determination, Bismarck made use of the situation both
for Prussian aggrandisement and as a pretext for conflict with Austria. After a
complex course of diplomatic and military developments in the spring and
summer of 1864, by October 1864 (following the Danish defeat in July) a treaty
gave Austria and Prussia joint administration of the duchies. Frictions over this
provided the pretext for the next conflict, the Austro-Prussian War of 1866. The
Confederation had effectively fallen apart, with radical Prussian proposals not
being accepted, and eventual Prussian withdrawal providing the final spark to
ignite a German war. Despite widespread expectations of an Austrian victory
(which would have resulted in a restoration of the Confederation), Prussian
economic and military superiority gave her a decisive victory over Austria at
Königgr¨atz in July 1866. As a consequence of Austrian defeat, Austria was
effectively excluded from any further involvement in German affairs.
A very new sort of political entity replaced the Confederation. The new
North German Confederation was a federal state (
Bundesstaat
) rather than a
federation of states (
Staatenbund
). It excluded not only Austria but also the
south German states: Bavaria, Baden, Württemberg, Hesse-Darmstadt. Prussia
was further enlarged by annexing Schleswig-Holstein, Hanover, Hesse-Kassel,
Frankfurt and Nassau. The constitution of the North German Confederation,
designed by Bismarck, allowed territorial rulers to continue to manage their own
internal affairs while the head of the Confederation, the King of Prussia, was in
charge of foreign affairs and army matters. A largely powerless parliament
(
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