The Unification of Germany^665
Map 17.2 The Unification of Germany, 1866-1871 The unification of Ger
many by Prussia included territory acquired after the Austro-Prussian War (1866)
and the Franco-Prussian War (1870-1871).
German Confederation, whereas both German and Danish speakers lived
in Schleswig, which was not part of the Confederation. In 1848, the king
of Denmark had declared the union of Schleswig with Denmark, and rev
olution broke out in both duchies. The Danish army occupied Schleswig.
During the summer, a Prussian army on behalf of the German Confeder
ation intervened in defense of the revolutionary provisional government
in Holstein, which demanded autonomy. International opinion (particu
larly in Britain and Russia) rallied to the cause of the Danes. After some
fighting, the Prussian forces withdrew. Following Swedish mediation, the
provisional government of Holstein was dissolved by the Armistice of
Malmo (August 1848). Although they were administered by a Danish
German commission, the two duchies essentially retained their former
status. Prussia’s defeat seemed a defeat for the cause of German nation
alism. A small war followed in 1849-1850 between Prussian and Danish
troops, ended by another armistice that left the status of Schleswig and
Holstein up in the air.