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<1815

• What we nowadays call Germany didn’t exist; it was divided into 314 independent states and belonged to the Holy Roman Empire.
• The French Revolution and Napoleonic warsmade some ideologies such as liberty, equality and fraternity.
• When Napoleon defeated Austria (1805) and Prussia (1806) the Holy Roman Empire collapsed. The states that the empire left free formedthe new Confederation of the Rhine controlled by France.
• When Prussia was defeated by Napoleon, Baron Stein and Hardenburg took measures to "modernise" the country by emancipating serfs andimproving education.
• The situation between Prussia and Austria was very tense up to 1815 when they both signed the Vienna settlement. This benefited both of them: Prussia obtained territories such asparts of Saxony, the Rhineland, Westphalia and Pomerania. Metternich ensured that Germany would become a loose confederation of 39 states.
• The feeling of German identity started to grow in Germany(common language, culture,history and artistic/literary heritage.
• French occupation led to a national feeling of resentment that united Germany.
• Although German myths state the a nationalistmovement opposed Napoleon, this didn't actually happen.
• The German Confederation: Individually the states that formed it weren't interested in forming a central government. The aim of theconfederation was to maintain the status quo internally and externally through mutual aid in case of rebellion or invasion.

1815-48
- This years are called Vonmärz (pre-Marchdue to the March 1848 revolution in Berlin). During this period the European status quo was defended through methods like repression, as a consequence of this a nationalist opposition developed.-Absolutist monarchies were restored however states were forced to produce a constitution but this had different effects in the different areas of Germany: Southern and central Germany created elected...