Napoleonic
Germany
© by V. Rozn (edited by
Guy Stair Sainty)
Central Europe in 1812
(click
on image for larger scale)
[©From Shepherd's Historical Atlas, by William R.
Shepherd, George Philip & Son Ltd, London 1967]
Immediately
after its creation, the Confederation of the Rhine started to gain new members.
The first to join was Archduke Ferdinand, Prince-Elector of Würzburg (former
Grand Duke of Tuscany) on September 25, 1806 [13].
After
the Prussian Army was routed at Jena(in October of 1806) Napoleon I extended his
influence to North Germany. Several rulers were dispossessed because they had
fought against France on the Prussian side [14]; other rulers had to join the
Confederation. By the end of 1808 all but four former Imperial Estates, which
had not lost sovereignty, were members of the Confederation [15]. In 1807
Napoleon created a new kingdom of Westphalia in north west Germany and gave it
to his brother Jérôme,
who immediately joined the Confederation. There
was no massive mediatization in North Germany and most of the rulers preserved
their independent status [16].
In
December of 1810 some lands along the North Sea coast were incorporated in
France to support the Continental Blockade. As a result, four members of the
Confederation were dispossessed [17]. In 1813 the Confederation of the Rhine
fell apart.
The
Congress of Vienna
After
the downfall of Napoleon I the
Congress of Vienna (1814-1815) restored 5 dispossessed rulers [18] and
also restored the sovereignty of the Landgraf of Hesse-Homburg, but did not
change the status of mediatized houses. Karl-Theodor von Dalberg, Grand Duke of
Frankfurt, the main ally of Napoleon I in Germany lost his throne. His
two relatives were mediatized [19]. The Congress also upgraded titles of some
rulers' [20].
In
1815 37 German sovereigns and 4 free cities, which had survived the Napoleonic
wars, united in the German Confederation (Deutsche Bund)
[21]. The new German Confederation did not include Savoy or the South
Netherlands, which had formally belonged to the Holy Roman Empire.
The
New German Empire
Central Europe in 1866 (click
on image for larger scale)
[©From Shepherd's Historical Atlas, by William R.
Shepherd, George Philip & Son Ltd, London 1967]
By
a series of seizures of territory following the defeat of those states who sided
with Austria
in 1866 Prussia incorporated several countries-members of the German
Confederation [22]. The new German Empire (Deutsches Reich) subsequently
created by Prussia in 1871 included only 22 sovereigns and three free cities
[23]. Not included were Austria, Luxembourg or Liechtenstein (which enabled the
latter two to survive the debacle of 1918).
APPENDIX
Footnotes:
[13]
Ferdinand of Würzburg mediatized the Count of Ortenburg-Tambach and some Imperial
Knights.
[14]
Three rulers lost their thrones in October of 1806:
Elector
of Hesse-Kassel Duke of Brunswick-Wolfenbütel and Prince of Nassau-Orange (as
ruler of Fulda and Korvey, his other lands were mediatized in July of 1806).
The
Dukes of Oldenburg, Saxony-Coburg-Saafeld and Mecklenburg-Schwerin also
dispossessed in 1806, were restored by the treaty of Tilsit, in July of 1807,
because they were relatives of Alexander I, Emperor of Russia.
[15]
The former Imperial Estates, which did not join the Confederation, were the
same time foreign kings:
Brandenburg
- King of Prussia,
Austria
- King of Hungary,
Pomerania
- King of Sweden,
Holstein
- King of Denmark.
[16]
The following rulers lost their sovereignty in 1807-1809:
Prince
of Kaunitz as Count of Rietberg (1807)
Emperor of Russia as Lord of Jever (1807)
Count
of Bentinck as Lord of Knyphausen (1807) Count Bentheim-Tecklenburg as Lord of
Rheda (1808) Count of Stollberg-Wernigerode as Lord of Schwarza (April 1809)
[17]
The members of the Confederation dispossessed in December of 1810:
Duke
of Oldenburg Duke of Arenberg Prince of Salm-Salm and Prince of Salm-Kyrburg.
[18]
The Congress of Vienna restored the houses of
Hesse-Kassel,
Nassau-Orange in Luxembourg, Brunswick-Wolfenbütel, Brunswick-Hanover
and
Oldenburg.
[19]
The
Congress of Vienna mediatized Princes of Isenburg-Berstein and
Leyen-Hohengeroldseck.
[20]
The
Congress of Vienna upgraded titles of
Duke
of Brunswick-Hanover to King; Duke of Saxony-Weimar to Grand Duke; Duke of
Mecklenburg-Schwerin to Grand Duke; Duke of Mecklenburg-Strelitz to Grand Duke;
and Duke
of Oldenburg to Grand Duke.
The
Prince of Nassau-Orange became Grand Duke of Luxembourg and Duke of Limburg.
The
Elector
of Hesse-Kassel received the title of Grand Duke of Fulda but his main title was
'Elector of Hesse'.
[21]
The
German Confederation in 1815 included:
1.
Emperor of Austria,
2.
King of Prussia,
3.
King of Bavaria,
4.
King of Hanover (1866 incorporated in Prussia),
5.
King of Württemberg,
6.
King of Saxony,
7.
Grand Duke of Saxony-Weimar,
8.
Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin,
9.
Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Strelitz,
10.Grand
Duke of Oldenburg,
11.Grand
Duke of Baden,
12.Grand
Duke of Hesse-Darmstadt,
13.Grand
Duke of Luxembourg (King of Netherlands),
14.Prince-Elector
of Hesse-Kassel(1866 incorporated in Prussia),
15.Duke
of Holstein (King of Denmark)(1866 incorporated in Prussia),
16.Duke
of Nassau-Usingen (1816 became extinct, united with Nassau-Weilburg),
17.Duke
of Anhalt-Dessau,
18.Duke
of Anhalt-Köthen(1847 became extinct),
19.Duke
of Anhalt-Bernburg(1863 became extinct),
20.Duke
of Saxony-Coburg-Saafeld (1826 Saxony-Coburg-Gotha),
21.Duke of Saxony-Meiningen,
22.Duke
of Saxony-Gotha-Altenburg (1825 became extinct)
23.Duke
of Saxony-Hildburghausen (from 1826 Saxony-Altenburg),
24.Duke
of Brunswick-Wolfenbütel,
25.Prince
of Waldeck,
26.Prince
of Lippe-Detmold,
27.Prince
of Schaumburg-Lippe,
28.Prince
of Nassau-Welburg (1816 Duke of Nassau)(1866 incorporated in Prussia),
29.Prince
of Hohenzollern-Hechingen (1849 went to Prussia),
30.Prince
of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen (1849 went to Prussia),
31.Prince
of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt,
32.Prince
of Schwarzburg-Sonderhausen,
33.Prince
of Reuss-Greiz,
34.Prince
of Reuss-Schleiz ,
35.Prince
of Reuss-Lobenstein (1824 became extinct),
36.Prince
of Reuss-Ebersdorf (1848 went to Reuss-Schleiz),
37.Prince
of Liechtenstein,
38.Landgraf
of Hesse-Homburg joined in 1819 (1866 became extinct).
[22]
In
1864-1866 Prussia incorporated :
Holstein,
Hanover, Hesse-Kassel, Nassau, and the free city of Frankfurt.
[23]
The new German Empire in 1871 included lands of:
1.
King of Prussia,
2.
King of Bavaria,
3.
King of Württemberg,
4.
King of Saxony,
5.
Grand Duke of Saxony-Weimar,
6.
Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin,
7.
Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Strelitz,
8.
Grand Duke of Oldenburg,
9.
Grand Duke of Baden,
10.Grand
Duke of Hesse-Darmstadt,
11.Duke
of Anhalt-Dessau,
12.Duke
of Saxony-Coburg-Gotha,
13.Duke
of Saxony-Meiningen,
14.Duke
of Saxony-Altenburg,
15.Duke
of Brunswick-Wolfenbütel,
16.Prince
of Waldeck,
17.Prince
of Lippe-Detmold,
18.Prince
of Schaumburg-Lippe,
19.Prince
of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt,
20.Prince
of Schwarzburg-Sonderhausen,
21.Prince
of Reuss-Greiz,
22.Prince
of Reuss-Schleiz.
