The Unification of Germany

Germany was divided into 36 states, and the main problem was the rivalry among major powers: Prussia and Austria.•

Prussia created a custom union (Zollverein), grouping the German states, except Austria.
In 1848 the King of Prussia was offered the crown of Germany, but he declined because he came from a liberal parliament.

In 1861 Willian I was on the throne of Prusia and Otto von Bismarck was the Chancelor. War was declared to the countries controlling German territories (Denmark 1864, Austria 1866 and France 1870). William I was proclaimed Kaiser of the Second Reich in 1871

 kgberger Deutsches Reich 1871-1918.png CC BY-SA 3.0