Confederation Of The Rhine Flag
GERMAN CONFEDERATIONFLAGS OFTHE MEMBER STATESTheFrench Revolution sounded the death knell of the HolyRoman Empire, the loose association of states, usuallyunder a Habsburg monarch, that had ordered the affairsof Germany since ancient times. With over 300 membersranging from large kingdoms, electorates and dukedoms to minisculeprincipalities and free cities, the Empire's lack of astrong central authority was a fatal handicap.
It wasdissolved by Napoleon in 1807 and replaced by theConfederation of the Rhine, a collection of consolidatedclient states. The Confederation of the Rhine in itsturn collapsed with the defeat of Napoleon in 1814,leaving the Congress of Vienna with the daunting task ofcreating a new German polity.It wasaccepted that many of the changes dictated by Napoleoncould not be undone. The Holy Roman Empire was gone forgood, along with scores of petty dukedoms,principalities, bishoprics and free holdings. The newGerman polity, simply titled the German Confederation ( DeutscherBund), was to consist of just 40 states. Fewer thana dozen of these were substantial states and two—theAustrian Empire and the Kingdom of Prussia—were by farthe most powerful. The Bund had no executive headand in the Federal Assembly votes were apportioned amongthe member states based on their size.
flag of the Holy Roman Emperor 1402-1806; 1402 - 1806; Holy. 25 Jul 1806 Confederation of the Rhine founded (under French; rule). 6 Aug 1806 Holy. Sep 14, 2012 - The Confederation of the Rhine (1806–1813) (Napoleonic Wars) Client states of the French Empire (Napoleonic Empire) Had a Population of.
The larger stateswere given one vote apiece; 23 smaller and tiny statesshared five votes and the four free cities shared onevote. A common army was provided for, with each statecontributing forces according to its size.The designof the Bund reflected the desire of Europe'sconservative statesmen to provide Germany with anorganizing principle while preventing any one power fromdominating the country. Up to 1848 it was generallyconceded that Austria was the leading German state;thereafter tensions between Austria and Prussia steadilyundermined the Bund. Over the years there weresome changes in membership, e.g. Due to theconsolidation of the Saxon duchies. On this page arepresented the flags of the member states as they stoodin 1848. In that year of revolution hopes were raisedthat the weak Bund could be transformed into atrue German nation under the black-red-gold flag ofliberal nationalism, but these hopes were soon dashed.The Bund came to an end in 1866, after Prussia'svictory in the Austro-Prussian War.
The peace settlementexcluded Austria from the management of German affairs,enlarged Prussia by the annexation of Hanover and otherterritories, created a North German Confederationdominated by Prussia, and set the stage for theunification of Germany in 1871.Note on Flags andFlag Proportions:Most of the states of the Deutscher Bund had flags of simpledesign based on their Landesfarben (state colors), usuallyderived from the state or princely coat of arms. Sometimes inaddition to the Landesfarben flag there was a state flag foruse by authorities; I have illustrated some of these.I have chosen to depict most of these flags in 2:3 proportionsthough probably sizes and proportions varied with the whims of flag makers.Where unusual proportions are known to have been specified, I haveshown these.Other Flags of the German Confederation: Seefor thenaval flags of the Bund used from 1848 to 1852. The old Electorate of Hanover, whichsince 1714 had been united in personal union with Great Britain, wasabolished by Napoleon in 1806. Its territory became part of the newKingdom of Westphalia, a Napoleonic client state within theConfederation of the Rhine. But in 1814Hanover was reestablished as a kingdom with the British monarch,George III, restored as its king.
Confederation Of The Rhine Flag Lyrics
This personal union continueduntil the accession of Queen Victoria in 1837. Under the laws ofinheritance prevailing in Germany she could not inherit the crown ofHanover and it passed to Ernest Augustus, Duke of Cumberland, theoldest surviving son of George III. The state flag with the crownedarms of Hanover was introduced in the year of his accession.GRAND DUCHY OFBADENELECTORATE OFHESSEDUCHY OFBRUNSWICK. MECKLENBURG-SCHWERINMECKLENBURG-STRELITZGRAND DUCHY OFOLDENBURGANHALT DUCHIESMecklenburg-Schwerin and Mecklenburg-Strelitz were both grandduchies whose rulers belonged to different branches of the samefamily. Their flags, whose colors derived from the family coat ofarms, were identical.
The Anhalt duchies—Anhalt-Dessau,Anhalt-Bernburg and Anhalt-Kothen—were also ruled by differentbranches of the same family and used the same flag. In 1863 theywere merged into a single Duchy of Anhalt.GRAND DUCHY OFSAXE-WEIMAR-EISENACHDUCHY OF SAXE-COBURG& GOTHADUCHY OF SAXE-MEININGEN. TheSchwartzberg principalities were ruled by different branches of thesame family and used the same flag. The rulers of the Hohenzollernprincipalities were related to the Prussian royal house but wereCatholics.
The two principalities used the same flag. In 1850 theirrulers sold the principalities to their relative, the King ofPrussia. The territories were united and became a province ofPrussia, called the Hohenzollern State.PRINCIPALITY OF WALDECK-PRYMONTPRINCIPALITY OF SCHAUMBERG-LIPPEPRINCIPALITY OF LIPPE.
Napoleon BonaparteBefore the campaigns of Napoleon, Germany was divided into hundreds of independent states and cities. Although the people were Germanic, they had little sense of national identity.The Napoleonic WarsIn the last decade of the 18th century, war broke out between France and the rest of Europe.French Emperor Napoleon’s forces were strong enough to conquer and control the whole of mainland Europe, including the numerous German states.Napoleon reorganised Germany into 39 larger states. He also established the Confederation of the Rhine, a league of 16 German states. This brought further unification to Germany.Napoleon was defeated firstly at Leipzig in 1813 and then at Waterloo in 1815, bringing an end to the Confederation of Rhine.
Effects of the Napoleonic WarsFollowing Napoleon’s subjugation of Europe and the formation of the Confederation of the Rhine, the German states realised that being small and politically divided meant being vulnerable to strong aggressors. The states realised they needed each other for common defence.The German princes stirred up nationalistic feelings in the German population to help raise armies to drive Napoleon's forces out of German territory. This was aided by the development of nationalist societies within the German universities.Allied victory at the Battle of Leipzig in 1813 was partially a result of successful political and military cooperation between the German states.The lessons learned by the defeat of Napoleon and the strong nationalism that was stirred up to finally drive him out, helped strengthen the sense of a common German identity.