84 PREUSSENMap 3. The Prussian Partition, (1773-1918)the Congress of Vienna in 1815, Prussia was reconstituted, and emerged as a
serious challenger to Austria's traditional supremacy in the German world. It
played a prominent role in the German League, and the Zollverein. Under
Frederick-William IV (1840-61), it passed from a period of conservative reac-
tion to Reform and Revolution, and to the imposed constitution of 1850. Under
Wilhelm I (1861-88), and in the hands of Bismarck, it became the organizer and
central bastion of the German Empire. After 1871, though it retained its separ-
ate structure, many historians would argue that its separate interests and iden-
tity were effectively submerged in those of Germany as a whole. Certainly, the
imperialism and chauvinism of Wilhelm II (1888-1918) were quite at odds with
the older, more sober Prussian tradition.
Within the changing Prussian framework, the Polish element knew no settled
existence. In 1800, when Warsaw was in Prussia, the Poles formed over 40 per
cent of the total population. The prospect of a German-Slav state was briefly
very real. After 1815, however, the Polish percentage dropped dramatically.
Despite the steady growth in the absolute number of Poles, their relative
strength against the German population steadily declined. By 1905, three mil-