"It is not enough to conquer; one must learn to seduce" -
Voltaire, French philosopher
The German Confederation is an association of 36 German states in Central Europe, bordering Russia to the east, Prussia to the north-east, Denmark to the north, the Netherlands and France to the west, Switzerland to the south and the Austrian realms outside of the Confederation to the south and east.
The German Confederation was viewed by many as weak and ineffective prior to the Austro-Prussian War. The Confederation was weakened by the rivalry between Prussia and Austria, as well as the failure on behalf of the various states to reach agreements. However, following the Austrian victory in the Austro-Prussian War and the exclusion of Prussia from the Confederation, Austria developed a very strong hegemony over the states. This helped to make the Confederation both stronger and more unified in ideology.
The German Confederation today consists of 36 states, 3 of them with Hapsburg monarchs. The Duchy of Holstein is part of a personal union with Denmark. Many political thinkers across Europe criticise the German Confederation for simply being “an extension of Austria”, because of its very close political, economic and military ties to Austria. This could be attributed to fears across the continent (and elsewhere in the world, to a lesser extent) that the Hapsburg monarchs have developed an extensive hegemony over the German states to the point of heavily disrupting the balance in Europe.
47% of the German Confederation adhere to Roman Catholicism. (35% without Austria). Religion is typically on a north-south divide, with the south being predominantly Catholic and the north predominantly Protestant, mainly Lutheran. The population of the German Confederation, contrary to what its name would suggest, is not homogeneous. Luxembourg has a French-speaking majority (though in recent years, the population have begun to see themselves as more Luxembourgian than French), and the Austrian lands have Czech, Slovenian, Silesian, Polish and Italian minorities.
Population (1900 census): 71,076,491
Official language: German
Minority languages: Danish, Dutch, French, Italian, Slovenian, Czech, Silesian, Polish, Hungarian
Demonym: German, specific demonyms (for each state)
Capital: Frankfurt
Government: Confederation
President: Leopold I
Legislature: Federal Convention
Currency: Vereinsthaler
Flag of the German Confederation (Vereinsflagge)
A map of the German Confederation, states labeled:
A map of religion in the German Confederation (red:Catholic, blue
rotestant):
A map of voting behaviour from the different states. Dark red is Austria, red are countries that have never voted against Austria, yellow are states that have at some point voted against Austria:
Location of the Confederation within Europe: