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| Map of Prussia |
Germany
wasn’t a country for the longest time; it took until January 18, 1871 to become
unified. Before that Germany started as the Holy Roman Empire, then the Kingdom of
Prussia took over the
history books. Multiple wars and treaties were signed during those years. One
such example is when French troops took over the city of Strasburg so the emperor
had to sign a humiliating truce in Regensburg in 1684 that allowed the French
to keep anything they had conquered. Over the years European countries jumped
ownerships like kids with Pokémon trading cards. Many countries over the years
split up, conjoined or became independent, especially after the fall of the
Holy Roman Empire.
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| Pokemon cards |
Germany:
A New History stated, “Prussia was dirty poor. It had practically no natural
resources and a relatively small number of inhabitants. Around 1700 the
Prussian states had a population of 3.1 million, Russia approximately 17
million, and France, the most Populous country in Europe, 20 million.” (Page
79) So this begged the question how did Prussia last for so long and become so
large? I mean someone had to be at the helm. In the beginning I’d say that man
was Fredrick II who won both the Silesian War (1740-1742) and the 2nd
Silesian War (1744-1745). Also Fredrick earned the title “Great” by winning the
Seven Years War (1756-1745) with his “tactical genius, suicidal determination
and phenomenal good luck.” (Page 83) After Fredrick many invaders such as
Napoleon led Europe through wars, enlightenment, renaissances and even times of
peace.
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| Hall of Mirrors in Versailles Palace |
During
this time Germany still wasn’t a country but in the 7th and 8th
centuries “German” was beginning to become a common language spoken. It was
becoming more and more popular so writers and poets were all publishing works
in German as well as French seeing as the French were constantly taking chunks
out of Prussia. It all was thanks to the printing press that text was becoming
more available to the public and Luther’s works as well as the Bible were some
of the most read pieces of literature in Europe. Writer Wilhelm Raabe wrote,
“Where ancient custom places the mythical name Germany on the map, where the
most upright people on earth have lived honestly and faithfully since the time
immemorial, and have given their original creation from the primal clay.” (Page
117) This quote basically meant
that Germany even though it had yet to be named was there in culture and
language. People tended to identify within their territories or emperors rather
than Prussia or Germany. But finally Germany was given its name and King
William I of Prussia became the German Emperor on January 18, 1871 in the Hall
of Mirrors at Versailles. I found that interesting seeing as Versailles is in
France, which was not apart of Prussia at the time; it made sense though
because allowing the coronation to take place there allowed a cementing of
alliances between France and the German Empire.
It
took years for Germany to actually be unified by taking west and east Germany
and making it into a whole. The book states, “From the very beginning
therefore, the legitimation of the new German Empire was twofold: It had
received the approval of the second estate and, the nobility, and had also been
confirmed by parliamentary votes and plebiscites.” (Page 145) Germany has gone
through different ownerships, leaders and political models and yet it has
prospered. This German-speaking population was finally a whole, which is sad
because years later the Berlin wall will go up splitting Germany once again.
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