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The German Empire was proclaimed at the Palace of Versailles, with the Prussian king, William I, as Kaiser of Germany, 18th January, 1871. German unification was a long process that can be attributed to factors such as the Crimean War and the Wars of Unification, the ideas of nationalism and liberalism, Prussia’s economic strength, and the role of Otto von Bismarck. The Crimean War (1854-6), as Bruce Walker says, “gave Bismarck his first important opportunity” to unify Germany, and it would have certainly been more difficult to achieve had the Crimean War not occurred. This conflict realigned the great powers of Europe and, with Russia’s withdrawal from European diplomacy, Prussia had become dominant. As Bismarck commented in 1862: “It all began with the Crimean War”. By the end of the Crimean War, Prussia was intent on initiating territorial changes that Austria was powerless to resist. The Crimean War and consequent Russian defeat meant the withdrawal of Russia into a period of diplomatic isolation and their connection with Austria was cut. Deprived of Russian help, Austria was vulnerable to Prussian ambitions in Germany. The territorial changes began not long after with the first War of Unification. In 1864 Prussia allied itself with Austria to go to war against Denmark over control of the provinces of Schleswig-Holstein. The conflict was brief and was won easily by the allied forces. It was not very significant in terms of steps towards unification, rather, it was a tactic to draw Austria into a later dispute against Prussia over control of these provinces. This occurred in 1866. The authors of Key Features of Modern History state that “The war between Prussia and Austria was intended to unite northern Germany behind Prussia”.
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