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Y314: The Challenge of German Nationalism 1789–1919

Depth study: Nationalism and Unification 1867–1871 — the Confederation and the war of 1870

  • 3 things to know
  • Unit group 3

Overview

Recall questions on Germany in 1867, the North German Confederation, the customs parliament elections, the Luxembourg crisis, the Spanish candidature, the Ems telegram, the declaration of war, reasons for victory and Sedan.

What you need to know

Answer each one before you reveal it.

Your recallNot started
Numbers

What was the Luxembourg crisis of 1867?

Evaluation

Who declared war in 1870, and why did that matter?

Key term

What was the position in Germany in 1867?

Questions from this subtopic

Each one with the model answer underneath.

  1. 1

    What was the position in Germany in 1867?

    Model answer

    Austria had been excluded, the North German Confederation united the states above the Main under Prussian leadership, and the four southern states remained independent but were tied to Prussia by secret military alliances and by membership of the customs union.

  2. 2

    Why was the constitution of the North German Confederation important?

    Model answer

    Drafted largely by Bismarck, it gave the King of Prussia the presidency and command of the army, made the Chancellor responsible to him alone and created a Reichstag elected by universal male suffrage; it was carried over almost unchanged into the constitution of the Empire.

  3. 3

    What did the customs parliament elections of 1868 reveal?

    Model answer

    Southern voters returned a majority of anti-Prussian and particularist deputies, showing that economic union was not producing enthusiasm for political union and that Bismarck could not expect the south to join voluntarily.

  4. 4

    What was the Luxembourg crisis of 1867?

    Model answer

    Napoleon III tried to buy Luxembourg from the Dutch king as compensation for Prussia's gains of 1866; German national opinion protested, Bismarck let the outcry block the sale, and the affair deepened Franco-Prussian hostility while binding the south to Prussia.

  5. 5

    How did the Spanish throne provoke the crisis of 1870?

    Model answer

    The offer of the vacant Spanish crown to Prince Leopold of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen, a Catholic relative of the Prussian king, was promoted secretly from Berlin, and France reacted furiously to the prospect of a Hohenzollern on her southern frontier.

  6. 6

    Explain how Bismarck used the Ems telegram.

    Model answer

    He edited and published the report of the king's polite refusal to give further guarantees to the French ambassador so that it read as a curt rebuff, which inflamed opinion in both countries and made a French declaration of war almost certain.

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