h. Central Europe. 2001. The Encyclopedia of World History

The Encyclopedia of World History. 2001.

(See March 28)


h. Central Europe


1. Germany
1849–50

After the failed 1848 revolution, Frederick William of Prussia and adviser Radowitz pushed for more German unity with loose ties to the Habsburg monarchy. A Prussian Union scheme (May 26, 1849) won agreement from several North German states, and a National Assembly at Erfurt (Oct. 19) was confirmed. Austrian opposition grew, however, and war threatened.	1

1850, Nov. 29

Olmütz Proclamation. The Prussian president, Manteuffel, and the Austrian prime minister, Schwarzenberg, agreed to joint action in Hesse and Schleswig (dispute between Elector and Parliament) and called for a conference to determine future action among German states. Liberals considered the proclamation a humiliating surrender of Prussian power, but most conservatives, including Otto von Bismarck, accepted it. It set the stage for the growing animosity between Austrians and Prussians over the grodeutsch and kleindeutsch question. The Prussian Union was abandoned and the old Germanic Confederation restored at a conference in Dresden.	2

Dec.–1851, March

A Dresden conference on German affairs. Revival of conservatism around the newspaper Kreuzzeitung (founded in 1848).	3


The Encyclopedia of World History, Sixth edition. Peter N. Stearns, general editor. Copyright © 2001 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Maps by Mary Reilly, copyright © 2001 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.