Prussia: Encyclopedia II - Prussia - Imperial Prussia

Prussia - Imperial Prussia

In 1862 Prussian King William I appointed Otto von Bismarck as Prime Minister of Prussia. Bismarck was determined to defeat both the liberals and the conservatives, by creating a strong united Germany but under the domination of the Prussian ruling class and bureaucracy, not the western German liberals. He achieved this by provoking three successive wars, with Denmark in 1864 (second war of Schleswig), which gave Prussia Schleswig-Holstein, with Austria in 1866 (Austro-Prussian War), which allowed Prussia to annex Hanover and most other north German territories who had sided with Austria, and with France in 1870 (Franco-Prussian War), which allowed him to force Mecklenburg, Bavaria, Baden, Württemberg and Saxony to accept incorporation into a united German Empire (which excluded Austria, however), of which William I assumed the title of Emperor (Kaiser).

This was the high point of Prussia's fortunes, and had the state continued to have wise leaders, Prussia's economic power and political status might have peacefully made her the centre of European civilization. However, Wilhelm II, who became Emperor in 1888 after the 99-days-rule of Frederick III, was a man of limited experience, narrow and reactionary views and poor judgement. After dismissing Bismarck in 1890 he embarked on a program of militarisation and adventurism in foreign policy that eventually led Germany into the disaster of World War I. As the price of withdrawing from the war, Russia was forced to concede control of large regions of the western Russian Empire to Germany, some of which bordered Prussia, in the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk (1918). However German control of these territories only lasted for a few months.

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "Imperial Prussia", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki