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German Unification of 1871 This paper will discuss the process of the unification of Germany. It will also discuss how the unification of Germany affected western civilization as a whole and individually. German Unification was the merging of the states in the North German Confederation and other German states to form the German Empire. The North German Confederation was formed in 1867 under the leadership of Prussia, and the initiative of Otto von Bismarck whom was appointed by William I, King of Prussia. It was a compilation of 22 German states. Under the North German Confederation, each state could retain its own government, but its military forces were controlled by the Confederation. It took three wars to achieve the Confederation. The Danish War, fought in 1864, was over the control of Schleswig-Holstein. This area was and had been controlled by Denmark since the late 15th century. Bismarck believed that by expanding his territory, he would be able to gain more control. He thus decided to take back Schleswig-Holstein. War broke out on February 1, 1864. Prussia and Austria defeated Denmark who had no help from any great powers. After the defeat, a negotiation was established called the Convention of Gastein. This negotiation was signed in August of 1865. Under this negotiation, Austria was in charge of Holstein and Prussia was in charge of Schleswig. Bismarck had more goals in mind than just the addition of territory. He wanted Austria to relinquish its influence in northern Germany. Bismarck set out to persuade Napoleon in his wars efforts. Napoleon wanted to make France the major power of Europe but did not know how.
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