Question

Describe the 4 stages of the Unification of Germany.

Answer 1

Hint: The Treaty of Verdun in 843 established a confederated kingdom of German princedoms that had existed for over a thousand years. However, before 1800, there was no emergence of German national identity, owing to the autonomous existence of princely states; most residents of the Holy Roman Empire identified themselves primarily with their prince, rather than with the Empire as a whole.

Complete answer:
On January 18, 1871, at the Versailles Palace's Hall of Mirrors in France, Germany was legally unified into the German Empire, a Prussian-dominated nation-state with federal elements. During the Franco-Prussian War, princes of German nations assembled there to proclaim King Wilhelm I of Prussia Emperor of the German Empire.

The 4 stages of the unification of Germany are –
i) Nationalist sentiments were widespread among Germans in the middle classes. In the year 1848, these middle-class Germans attempted to combine the several districts of the German confederation into a nation-state.
ii) Following that, Prussia assumed command of the national unification drive. With the support of the Prussian army and administration, the chief minister Otto von Bismarck oversaw the entire process of this architect.
iii) Over the course of nearly seven years, three wars were waged against France, Austria, and Denmark. This conflict was eventually terminated by a Prussian triumph. As a result, complete the unification process.
iv) In a ceremony conducted in Versailles in January 1871, Prussian King William I was proclaimed German Emperor. The new German empire, led by Kaiser Wilhelm of Prussia, was declared later.

Note: Prior to 1803, there were over 300 governmental entities in German-speaking Central Europe, the majority of which were part of the Holy Roman Empire or the enormous Habsburg hereditary dominions. They fluctuated in size from the princely Hohenlohe family branches' modest and convoluted holdings to large, well-defined areas like the Kingdoms of Bavaria and Prussia.