The nineteenth century was an age marked by countless transformations. By the end of the 1800s, the patchwork of German-speaking kingdoms, principalities, and dominions had been drastically altered. Geographically, the unifying façade of the nation-state replaced the previously fragmented map of Central Europe. Economically, industrial advances succeeded the seeming backwardness of traditional agriculture. Politically, multi-party parliamentary systems took the place of individual absolute rulers. And socially, innovations in transportation, city planning, social welfare and other areas radically modernized German-speaking Europe. The population's reaction to these changing political and social conditions were manifold and often dependent on individuals' religious beliefs, social standing, regional loyalties, gender and age. Inevitably, artists supported, critiqued, escaped, and contemplated many of the transformations during “The Long Nineteenth Century” through literature, paintings, and musical compositions. This survey traces many of the political and social factors writers encountered during this period; to do so, it focuses on major historical moments between 1830 and 1899. Possible causes and relationships of political and social developments during this time-span are brought to light: the geopolitical position of the German-speaking states will resurface repeatedly as we look at links between seemingly distinct historical episodes — from the status quo in the year 1830 to the watershed 1848 revolutions, from the origins of diplomatic differences between Prussia and Austria to the series of wars between 1864 and 1870, and from the creation of the German Empire in 1871 to the coexistence of two German-speaking empires at the end of the century.