502 Chapter 25
abolished. Several of the north German states (includ-
ing Hanover) were absorbed into an enlarged Prussia.
All other German states north of the Main River (in-
cluding Saxony) were brought into a new confedera-
tion under Prussian domination, the North German
Confederation. A few southern states (Baden, Würt-
temberg, and Bavaria) retained their independence, al-
though Bismarck brought them into the Zollverein and
military alliances with Prussia.
Bismarck resisted the desires of army leaders and
the king to annex Austrian territories because he
wanted Austrian support in the future. Franz Joseph had
other urgent problems. Fearing that civil war could fol-
low the humiliation of Königgrätz, the Austrian gov-
ernment reached a compromise (Ausgleich) negotiated
by the Hungarian statesman Francis Deák. Deák, a
moderate liberal who had resisted Kossuth’s radicalism
in 1848–49, sought only the restitution of the ancient
Hungarian constitution granting self-government in
domestic affairs. In accepting the Ausgleichof 1867, the
Austrians converted the empire into a dual monarchy
known as the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Vienna con-
tinued to control the western half of the empire, but
the Magyars now controlled the east, cheerfully accept-
ing the task of keeping the Slavic peoples of the empire
subordinated.
The Seven Weeks’ War created a crisis in Franco-
Prussian relations. One month after the battle of
Königgrätz, Napoleon III reminded Bismarck of their
Biarritz agreement. He requested, for the promised
compensation, that France receive her eastern frontiers
of 1814 plus additional territory such as Luxembourg.DENMARKSWEDENNETHERLANDSBELGIUMFRANCESWITZERLANDAUSTRIAPRUSSIARUSSIAN
EMPIRELUXEMBOURGHamburg
AmsterdamBrusselsSedanVerdunStrasbourgMunichTrier
FrankfurtCologneWeimarOlmützEisenach
EmsLeipzig
Dresden
BreslauBerlinDanzigViennaMemelWarsawCracowPrague
KöniggrätzNurembergMainzKönigsbergALSACELORRAINEBADENWÜRTTEMBURGHESSE -
CASSELEAST
PRUSSIA
WEST
PRUSSIASCHLESWIG
HOLSTEINOLDENBURG
HANOVERSAXONYMECKLENBURGBAVARIAHESSE -
DARMSTADTBa
lt
ic
Se
a
WeserR.Rh
ineElbeR.Oder
R.Vistula
R.Danu
be R.Main R.
R.0 100 200 Miles0 100 200 300 KilometersPrussia, 1862
United in 1866–67 as
North German Confederation
United in 1871
Annexed in 1871 after
Franco-Prussian WarMAP 25.4
The Unification of Germany, 1866–71