Was Germany A Meaningful Concept By 1815

Prior to 1815 Germany was not a meaningful concept but rather it was spilt in over 300 states and ruled over by Austria which was then the centre of the Holy Roman Empire. However it can be argued that a sequence of significant and influential events that took place assisted towards transforming Germany into a meaningful concept. These events were the reign of Frederick the Great, the enlightenment, the French Revolution and the Napoleonic wars.

It is quite clear that some of the actions taken by Frederick the great had led to a greater sense of nationalism which in fact eventually led to unification. Frederick the great had inherited an army of 83,000 men however within a year Frederick had managed to increase its size by two folds, it now stood at 190,000 men strong. As a result of this the people of Prussia saw its territories increase thus causing a rise in nationalism and unity. Therefore this shows that Frederick willingly or unwillingly did help for the unification of Germany. As well as that Frederick was able to gain and attract over 300,000 new settlers to Prussia. This shows that Frederick was creating a state where other German speaking citizens from all the smaller states wanted to live therefore encouraging unity and nationalism. As well as that it is clear from records that with a large army there were large needs. This led to a larger market being created for arms and clothes for the soldiers. This consequently meant that other smaller German speaking states began to trade with Prussia thus leading to an increase in commonalties. This also meant that more people travelled to and from Prussia which also increased their relationships among people. Therefore an increasing trade led to better relations and understanding and increase in common beliefs and ideas which as a result led to greater unity and nationalism.

Furthermore, Frederick the Great was prolific writer on History and politics, which thus allowed ideas to spread quickly. This would have then led to provoking the thoughts of how people live and how society was thus leading to more liberal ideas spreading and allowing people to learn and understand much more. This is further reinforced by the fact that Frederick the great was known to invite the leading intellects of Europe to Prussia one if the many intellects he invited was the French philosopher Voltaire whom brought with himself liberal ideas therefore showing that Frederick the great was open to new ideas and encouraged free thinking thus leading to more people questioning the status quo. Also it is quiet noted that Frederick the great was tolerant for the time he lived in as he promoted religious tolerance by building a church for the Catholics (Frederick was protestant) thus he promoted unity and nationalism. Frederick the great welcomed the Jesuits as teachers in Silesia, warmiaand thenetze district after their supersession by the pope. Fredrick's intention was to invite Jesuits for educational purposes and Jews to bring merchants and bankers to Prussia. Therefore he wanted unity and for Prussia to economically prosper. Frederick's religious tolerance goes to the extent of accepting countless protestant weavers from Bohemia who were fleeing from the catholic rule of Maria Theresa. Frederick granted them freedom from taxes and military service. He also states in his book 'Testament Politique' that 'nationality and religion were no concern to him.'

Therefore it is absolutely clear that he was promoting unity and nationalism through tolerance. Frederick also strove to provide education to as many people as possible, this is evident as he was able to structure a universal primary education system which would be implemented throughout Prussia thus encouraging unity once again, but also leading to a set standard of education for the masses thus enabling them to understand new ideas that were to spread from France to Germany in the years to come. This is also once again reinforced by his construction of 750 schools throughout Prussia which again encouraged education and thus enabling and encouraging new ideas such as liberalism.

However, Frederick the Great in many ways did not promote or help toward the unification Germany. This is evident as Frederick only revered French Culture; he promoted French as he spoke it and wrote in it. He only used German whenever necessary. Therefore it is clear that he did not encourage unity or nationalism; but rather he hindered unity and helped to build further divisions by openly admiring only French culture and language. The fact that he hated the German culture and language shows, that he had no intention of unifying Germany, if he aided the growth of German nationalism and unity it was clearly unintentional.

Furthermore, the enlightenment was period of time where new idea flourished; Philosophers such as Voltaire and Rousseau thrived in spreading their ideas. The enlightenment had led to questions being raised throughout Europe, and the epicentre of this enlightenment was France. France was where a combination of intellectuals and flighty nobility, as well as a boom in middle-class literacy, had led to people becoming liberal and questioning institutions and the framework of society. The enlightenment ideas of liberalism spread from neighbouring France to Germany thus leading to intellects and the middle classes to question the very fabric of society. Philosopher Rousseau developed the idea of popular sovereignty, the notion that the government is only legitimate if it has the express consent of the people. Many ideas spread throughout Europe during this period; such as replacing catholic intolerance with religious tolerance, freedom of speech and press instead of censorship. These ideas were then spread throughout the German states.

However, the political, social, and cultural layout of Germany hindered much of the Enlightenment ideas that took place in France. Germany was divided into a number of smaller states, most of which were ruled by despots who stifled intellectual development. The rate percentage literate people within the country were extremely low. As well as that, communication is German states was limited to newspapers which in reality were limited. This resulted in the dispersion of other enlightened works and ideas difficult. This led to little education of the masses of the German sates thus showing that liberalism as a notion had fallen on deaf ears. Furthermore France unlike Germany had intellects that were constantly pondering and questioning the frame work of society. Germany unlike France did not have popular discontent with religion or the church. As a result, many German intellectuals refuted the French liberal ideas thus leading to no change. Therefore it is quiet explicit that Germany was not a meaningful concept even after the ideas of the enlightenment spreading.

As well as the Enlightenment, factors such as the French Revolution also assisted to bring Germany together as a concept and a nation. The French revolution led to high nationalistic feelings in Germany as its neighbours masses had rallied together to overthrow a monarch whom they believed was acting in their interest but rather in his own. The French people were able to stand up against a hierarchal system where peasants made up 97% of the population; they paid the most tax with little representation. The nobility owned 40% of the land and lived of the labour of the peasants. This inspired nationalistic feelings throughout Europe and in German states it allowed there Germans to see it as beacon of hope.

However, the French revolution quickly turned for the worst when Robespierre led a faction who believed that not enough had been done, and further action required in order to stabilise and bring justice. Justice to Robespierre terror was nothing other than justice, prompt, severe and inflexible. He believed that it was required to round up all those suspected to be anti revolutionist and executed. He was famously said "softness to traitors will destroy us all" with this all civil liberties were suspended and anyone suspected as being as a traitor was executed. This led to an image of anarchy and chaos being portrayed thus leading to those people who had become more nationalistic through the revolution to lose all hope. Therefore showing that clearly by 1799 Germany was not a significant notion or concept.

Additionally, it can be argued that Napoleon had assisted in German unification and making Germany a meaningful notion by; invading German speaking states where he gave the citizens a hint of what unification brought. Many German citizens found that the changes that were made by national unity made certain parts of their lives easier thus leading to higher nationalism as the people wanted to unite. As well as that, Napoleon had assisted in German unification and making Germany a meaningful notion by; invading and annexing the territories on the left bank of the Rhine land. This led to huge resentment growing against the French which in turn led to people wanting to unite and thus leading to growth of nationalism. Furthermore, Napoleon reduced the powers of landowners, by giving more say to the workers and poorer classes. As well as imposing the French legal system which resulted in liberalism and nationalism to flourish as German speaking people did not want to be ruled by the French but rather by a German. However it is important to note that they did not resent the system that came with the French therefore showing that they agreed with liberalism, but did not want it from the French, thus showing increasing nationalism. Napoleon then went further by amalgamating the 314 German speaking states in to a mere 39. This as a result led to trade increasing and reducing the barriers that existed. This led to an increase in nationalism and led to a movement towards making the term Germany and considerable notion.

On top of that, with French occupation in Germanic lands it caused an upheaval in anti-French opinion, which in turn led to the indecisive Prussian king to form a pact/ alliance with the Russia, against France. The Prussian and Russian armies were able to drive Napoleon and his armies back to France. Austria also then joined the cause and by October 1813 napoleon had been defeated in the battle of Leipzig. All of this showed the German speaking citizens that when they worked and united together they were able to achieve huge victories thus increasing nationalism and planting the seed that unification was the way forward. Therefore this shows that clearly Germany was a meaningful concept by 1815.

Conversely, the masses of the German speaking states had grown resentment towards the French. Many of the German people felt and believed that unification of Germany would only take place under French rule thus leading to much resentment towards the idea of unification as they saw it as French occupation on German lands. This shows that clearly, by 1815 Germany was in no way a meaningful concept but rather seen a notion with fear of French rule.

In conclusion, it is clear that 'Germany' was not a meaningful concept by 1815 because there were several obstacles and barriers in the path for the masses to gain the idea of unity nationalism and liberalism. During Frederick reign there was o0nly promotion of French culture and language thus leading to no concept of German unification. Similarly in the enlightenment years it is safe to say that the ideas of liberalism and popular sovereignty never really got to the German masses and if they did they could not relate to them due to different circumstances between the two countries. As well as that under the French revolution the anarchy caused by Robespierre was a direct relation to Germans being put of liberalism and national unity. This therefore shows that clearly Germany was not a meaningful concept by 1815, but rather it was a notion that would have been in reality just sprouted in German middle classes.