Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- List of contributors
- Acknowledgments
- Paying for the Liberal State
- Introduction: Paying for the Liberal State
- 1 Creating Legitimacy: Administering Taxation in Britain, 1815–1914
- 2 The Development of Public Finance in the Netherlands, 1815–1914
- 3 The Apogee and Fall of the French Rentier Regime, 1801–1914
- 4 The Evolution of Public Finances in Nineteenth-Century Germany
- 5 Public Finance in Austria-Hungary, 1820–1913
- 6 The Rise of the Fiscal State in Sweden, 1800–1914
- 7 Always on the Brink: Piedmont and Italy
- 8 Public Finance and the Rise of the Liberal State in Spain, 1808–1914
- 9 Public Finance in Portugal, 1796–1910
- 10 Conclusion: The Monetary, Fiscal, and Political Architecture of Europe, 1815–1914
- Index
- References
4 - The Evolution of Public Finances in Nineteenth-Century Germany
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 05 June 2012
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- List of contributors
- Acknowledgments
- Paying for the Liberal State
- Introduction: Paying for the Liberal State
- 1 Creating Legitimacy: Administering Taxation in Britain, 1815–1914
- 2 The Development of Public Finance in the Netherlands, 1815–1914
- 3 The Apogee and Fall of the French Rentier Regime, 1801–1914
- 4 The Evolution of Public Finances in Nineteenth-Century Germany
- 5 Public Finance in Austria-Hungary, 1820–1913
- 6 The Rise of the Fiscal State in Sweden, 1800–1914
- 7 Always on the Brink: Piedmont and Italy
- 8 Public Finance and the Rise of the Liberal State in Spain, 1808–1914
- 9 Public Finance in Portugal, 1796–1910
- 10 Conclusion: The Monetary, Fiscal, and Political Architecture of Europe, 1815–1914
- Index
- References
Summary
Introduction
In contrast to many other countries of nineteenth-century Europe, Germany was not a nation-state until the unification of 1871. In 1789, Germany consisted of more than three hundred territories that were formally subjected to the emperor in Vienna but were in practice independent. Under the pressure of Napoléon, Germany was mediatized, a policy that was continued by the Congress of Vienna. The central European political landscape that emerged in 1815 was dominated by the Habsburg Empire and Prussia, followed by a number of midsize states, which were, ranked by population, Bavaria, Hanover, Württemberg, Saxony, and Baden. What was later to become imperial Germany (excluding Alsace-Lorraine) consisted of altogether thirty-five states, Frankfurt am Main, and three Hanseatic cities. Figure 4.1 depicts Germany in the boundaries that emerged after the Congress of Vienna.
In terms of public finances, a formal and a material criterion each highlight the most important differences among these states. The first is whether the public finances were based on a constitution. Although the three southern German states adopted constitutions quite quickly after 1815, most northern German states were reluctant in this respect, with Prussia being the most prominent example. Whether a state was based on a constitution roughly coincided with a specific tax structure, which might serve as an alternative, material criterion. The tax systems of the southern states – Bavaria, Württemberg, and Baden – were primarily based on impersonal taxes on land, buildings, and business, as in France.
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- Paying for the Liberal StateThe Rise of Public Finance in Nineteenth-Century Europe, pp. 103 - 131Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2010
References
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