Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Introduction by Ian Nish
- Note on the Text
- VOLUME I THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
- VOLUME II BRITAIN
- VOLUME III CONTINENTAL EUROPE, 1
- VOLUME IV CONTINENTAL EUROPE, 2
- 61 A Survey of Russia
- 62 A Survey of Russian Railways and St. Petersburg
- 63 A Record of St. Petersburg, 1
- 64 A Record of St. Petersburg, 2
- 65 A Record of St. Petersburg, 3
- 66 A Record of Northern Germany, First Part
- 67 A Record of Denmark
- 68 A Record of Sweden, 1
- 69 A Record of Sweden, 2
- 70 A Record of Northern Germany, Second Part, 1
- 71 A Record of Northern Germany, Second Part, 2
- 72 A Record of Southern Germany
- 73 A Survey of Italy
- 74 A Record of Florence
- 75 A Record of Rome, 1
- 76 A Record of Rome, 2
- 77 A Record of Naples
- 78 A Record of Lombardy and Venice
- 79 A Survey of Austria
- 80 Travels by Rail in Austria, and a Survey of Vienna
- 81 A Record of Vienna
- VOLUME V CONTINENTAL EUROPE, 3; AND THE VOYAGE HOME
- Index
72 - A Record of Southern Germany
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 04 August 2010
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Introduction by Ian Nish
- Note on the Text
- VOLUME I THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
- VOLUME II BRITAIN
- VOLUME III CONTINENTAL EUROPE, 1
- VOLUME IV CONTINENTAL EUROPE, 2
- 61 A Survey of Russia
- 62 A Survey of Russian Railways and St. Petersburg
- 63 A Record of St. Petersburg, 1
- 64 A Record of St. Petersburg, 2
- 65 A Record of St. Petersburg, 3
- 66 A Record of Northern Germany, First Part
- 67 A Record of Denmark
- 68 A Record of Sweden, 1
- 69 A Record of Sweden, 2
- 70 A Record of Northern Germany, Second Part, 1
- 71 A Record of Northern Germany, Second Part, 2
- 72 A Record of Southern Germany
- 73 A Survey of Italy
- 74 A Record of Florence
- 75 A Record of Rome, 1
- 76 A Record of Rome, 2
- 77 A Record of Naples
- 78 A Record of Lombardy and Venice
- 79 A Survey of Austria
- 80 Travels by Rail in Austria, and a Survey of Vienna
- 81 A Record of Vienna
- VOLUME V CONTINENTAL EUROPE, 3; AND THE VOYAGE HOME
- Index
Summary
Southern Germany also used to be called the Confederation of the Rhine. With northern Germany and Austria, it is one of the three regions which constitute Germany; yet it is different from both in its customs and its politics.
The Rhine nobility always featured in the centre of French, German and Italian feudalism, having provided its foundation; they regarded intrepid rulers as an instrument to throw Germany into disorder and adapted their policies to suit the needs of the time. It was in this way that the states of southern Germany came to exert so much influence on the preservation of peace throughout Germany. Later, when the wealth and power of Louis XIV of France were at their height, the German states had sunk so low that their noble rulers, led by those of the Rhine states, took themselves to Paris and besought the friendship of the king and followed his cultural example. In 1701, when France and Austria mobilised their armies [in the War of the Spanish Succession], the Rhine states sided with France. As a result they were later treated cruelly by Austria, which gave them cause for resentment.
Meanwhile, in northern Germany Prussia was on the rise and was encroaching upon the territory of the various German states, to the point that Austria and Prussia finally came to war. Within a short time revolution had broken out in France, and Napoleon I, ambitious to become emperor of Europe, first created the Confederation of the Rhine and then eroded German power by defeating Prussia, seizing the Austrian imperial throne and proclaiming himself emperor.
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- Japan RisingThe Iwakura Embassy to the USA and Europe, pp. 376 - 379Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2009