James Wycliffe Headlam

“ Moreover, he held that it would be of no advantage to Prussia to create a new German state; if Denmark were to lose the duchies, he desired that Prussia should acquire them, and to recognize the Augustenburg claims would make this impossible. His resistance to the national desire made him appear a traitor to his country. To check the agitation he turned for help to Austria; and an alliance of the two powers, so lately at variance, was formed. ”

“ On the other hand, in order to secure the complete control of North Germany, which was his immediate object, he required that the whole of Hanover, Hesse-Cassel, Hesse-Nassau and the city of Frankfort, as well as the Elbe duchies, should be absorbed in Prussia. He then formed a separate confederation of the North German states, but did not attempt to unite the whole of Germany, partly because of the internal difficulties which this would have produced, partly because it would have brought about a war with France. ”

“ Napoleon, who had not anticipated the rapid success of Prussia, after the battle of Königgrätz at the request of Austria came forward as mediator, and there were a few days during which it was probable that Prussia would have to meet a French attempt to dictate terms of peace. Bismarck in this crisis by deferring to the emperor in appearance avoided the danger, but he knew that he had been deceived, and the cordial understanding was never renewed. ”

“ He then falsified all the predictions of the opposition by going to war with Denmark, not, as they had required, in support of Augustenburg, but on the ground that the king of Denmark had violated his promise not to oppress his German subjects. Austria continued to act with Prussia, and, after the defeat of the Danes, at the peace of Vienna the sovereignty of the duchies was surrendered to the two allies—the first step towards annexation by Prussia. There is no part of Bismarck’s diplomatic work which deserves such careful study as these events. ”

“ Bismarck then produced the secret treaties with the southern states, an act which was, as it were, a challenge to France by the whole of Germany. During the next three years the Ultramontane party hoped to bring about an anti-Prussian revolution, and Napoleon was working for an alliance with Austria, where Beust, an old opponent of Bismarck’s, was chancellor. Bismarck was doubtless well informed as to the progress of the negotiations, for he had established intimate relations with the Hungarians. ”

“ He would not risk a war unless he was certain of success, and for this he required the alliance of Italy and French support; both he secured during the next year. In October 1865 he visited Napoleon at Biarritz and Paris. No formal treaty was made, but Napoleon promised to regard favourably an extension of Prussian power in Germany; while Bismarck led the emperor to believe that Prussia would help him in extending the frontier of France. A treaty of alliance with Italy was arranged in the spring of 1866 ”

“ BISMARCK, OTTO EDUARD LEOPOLD VON, Prince, duke of Lauenburg (1815–1898) , German statesman, was born on the 1st of April 1815, at the manor-house of Schönhausen, his father’s seat in the mark of Brandenburg. The family has, since the 14th century, belonged to the landed gentry, and many members had held high office in the kingdom of Prussia. ”

“ Roon, who was appointed minister of war in 1861, was an old friend of his, and through him Bismarck was thenceforward kept closely informed of the condition of affairs in Berlin. On several occasions the prospect of entering the ministry was open to him, but nothing came of it, apparently because he required a free hand in foreign affairs, and this the king was not prepared to give him. When an acute crisis arose out of the refusal of parliament, in 1862, to vote the money required for the reorganization of the army, which the king and Roon had carried through, he was summoned to Berlin ”

“ In September the parliament, by a large majority, threw out the budget, and the king, having nowhere else to turn for help, at Roon’s advice summoned Bismarck to Berlin and appointed him minister-president and foreign minister.
Bismarck’s duty as minister was to carry on the government against the wishes of the Lower House, so as to enable the king to complete and maintain the reorganized army. The opposition of the House was supported by the country and by a large party at court, including the queen and crown Ministry.prince. ”

“ After his retirement he resided at Friedrichsruh, near Hamburg, a house on his Lauenburg estates. His criticisms of the government, given sometimes in conversation, sometimes in the columns of the Hamburger Nachrichten, caused an open breach between him and the emperor; and the new chancellor, Count Caprivi, in a circular despatch which was afterwards published, warned all German envoys that no real importance must be attached to what he said. When he visited Vienna for his son’s wedding the German ambassador, Prince Reuss, was forbidden to take any notice of him. ”

“ The second son, Wilhelm, who was president of the province of Prussia, died in 1901. By his wife, Sybilla von Arnim-Kröchlendorff, he left three daughters and a son, Count Nikolaus (b. 1896) .
Authorities.—The literature on Bismarck’s life is very extensive, and it is only possible to enumerate a few of the most important books. The first place belongs to his own works. These include his own memoirs, published after his death, under the title Gedanken und Erinnerungen; there is an English translation, Bismarck: his Reflections and Reminiscences (London, 1898) . ”

“ In 1839, after his mother’s death, he undertook, with his brother, the management of the family estates in Pomerania; at this time most of the estate attached to Schönhausen had to be sold. In 1844, after the marriage of his sister, he went to live with his father at Schönhausen. He and his brother took an active part in local affairs, and in 1846 he was appointed Deichhauptmann, an office in which he was responsible for the care of the dykes by which the country, in the neighbourhood of the Elbe, was preserved from inundation. ”

“ They contain full information on Bismarck’s commercial policy, including a number of important state papers. A useful general collection is that by Ludwig Hahn, Bismarck, sein politisches Leben, &c. (5 vols., Berlin, 1878–1891) , which includes a selection from letters, speeches and newspaper articles. These collections have only been possible owing to the extreme generosity which Bismarck showed in permitting the publication of documents; he always professed to have no secrets. ”