AP European History

## Learning Outcomes

- Explain how the **Zollverein** strengthened Prussia before political unification
- Identify why Prussia, rather than Austria, led German unification
- Understand how railways, coal, and iron increased Prussian military power
- Recall the key wars of unification in **1864**, **1866**, and **1870–1871**
- Analyse the extent to which industry enabled unification, rather than causing it by itself
- Use this topic in AP European History causation, comparison, and LEQ/DBQ arguments

## AP European History Syllabus

For the AP European History, you are expected to understand how Prussian economic and industrial growth helped make German unification possible, with a focus on the following syllabus points:

- Know that the **Zollverein** was a Prussian-led customs union founded in **1834**
- Identify how the Zollverein increased Prussian influence while excluding Austria
- Explain how Prussian industrialization in coal, iron, and railways strengthened the state
- Understand how economic integration differed from political unification
- Know the significance of the **Danish War (1864)**, **Austro-Prussian War (1866)**, and **Franco-Prussian War (1870–1871)**
- Explain how the **North German Confederation** advanced Prussian leadership after 1866
- Evaluate the role of **Otto von Bismarck** and **Realpolitik** in turning economic strength into political unity
- Understand why German unification changed the European balance of power after **1871**

## Test Your Knowledge

_Attempt these questions before reading this article. If you find some difficult or cannot remember the answers, look more closely at that area during your revision._

1. Why did the Zollverein help Prussia more than Austria?
2. How did railways help Prussia both economically and militarily?
3. What was the difference between economic unification and political unification in the German states?
4. Why was the Austro-Prussian War of **1866** a turning point in German unification?
5. To what extent was German unification caused by industry rather than by Bismarck's diplomacy and war?

## Introduction

In AP European History Unit 6, German unification is a classic causation topic. Students often remember Bismarck's "blood and iron" speech and the wars of the 1860s, but miss the deeper point: Prussia could lead unification because it had already become the strongest German state economically. Industry did not automatically create a German nation-state, but it made Prussian leadership far more likely.

This topic also connects directly to major AP themes in **poverty and prosperity**, **states and other institutions of power**, **national and European identity**, and **technological and scientific innovation**. The strongest essays show a chain of development: economic integration first, industrial strength next, military advantage after that, and political unification at the end.

> **Key Term: Zollverein**
> A Prussian-led customs union founded in 1834 that removed many internal tariffs among German states and created a larger common market.

### The Zollverein: economic unity before political unity

The first key idea is that Germany was not politically united before 1871, but parts of it were becoming economically linked much earlier. That distinction matters. Many students write as if Germany became united all at once. It did not. Political fragmentation continued for decades, but the **Zollverein** began to reduce the economic costs of that fragmentation.

Before the Zollverein, the German states were burdened by internal tariffs and tolls. Moving goods across multiple small states could be slow and expensive. Prussia took the lead in **1834** by creating a customs union that removed many of these internal trade barriers among participating states and established a common external tariff. This made trade easier, cheaper, and more predictable.

Why did this help Prussia so much? Because Prussia was not just participating in the union; it was leading it. Smaller German states became tied into a Prussian-centred economic system. That gave Prussia influence long before it formally ruled them.

> **Key Term: customs union**
> An agreement between states to remove tariffs between themselves while applying a shared tariff to goods from outside.

Austria was excluded from the Zollverein, and that was crucial. This was not a minor detail. Austria had long been one of the two dominant powers in the German Confederation, but it was left outside the main network of German economic integration. That weakened Austrian leadership and made a **Kleindeutsch** solution, a "Lesser Germany" led by Prussia and excluding Austria, more practical.

Students often overstate the Zollverein by saying it immediately included all German states. It did not. It began with only part of Germany. But that does not weaken its importance. Its significance lies in the direction of change: more and more states became economically linked to Prussia over time.

> **Key Term: economic integration**
> The process by which separate states become more closely connected through trade, shared markets, transport links, and common economic rules.

Economic integration also changed political expectations. If merchants, industrialists, and governments were already working inside a shared commercial system, then political unity under Prussian leadership became easier to imagine. Economic unity did not force political unity, but it made it less contentious and more believable.

> **Test Tip:** In an LEQ or SAQ, do not say "the Zollverein unified Germany." A safer and stronger claim is that it created conditions that made Prussian-led unification more likely.

### Prussian industrialization and the decline of Austrian influence

The Zollverein mattered because it supported industrial growth, and that growth was very uneven. By the mid-19th century, Prussia had industrialized much more successfully than Austria.

Prussia's strength was especially concentrated in the **Rhineland and Ruhr**. This region had rich deposits of coal and iron, the two basic resources of 19th-century heavy industry. Coal powered factories, locomotives, and ironworks. Iron, and later steel, made rails, tools, machinery, and weapons. A state with strong heavy industry could build more than consumer goods; it could build national power.

Austria, by contrast, remained more agricultural overall. It was also a multinational empire, not a mainly German state. That mattered politically. Prussia could present itself as the champion of German interests more easily than Austria could. Economic and national factors reinforced each other.

Prussian industrialization increased state revenue, enlarged the tax base, and strengthened the bureaucracy. A stronger economy gave the government more resources for military reform. This is a key AP move: show how an economic change becomes a political and military advantage.

Railways were central here. They cut transport costs and linked mines, factories, and markets. But they also had a military function. Troops, equipment, and supplies could be moved much faster by rail than by older methods. So the same infrastructure that supported growth in peacetime supported victory in wartime.

> **Key Term: railway expansion**
> The rapid growth of rail networks in the 19th century, lowering transport costs and improving both economic exchange and military movement.

This is why AP questions often connect technology to state-building. Railways were not just inventions. They changed what governments could do. A state able to mobilize faster could win short wars before rivals adapted.

A further sign of industrial power was the growth of arms production. Prussia's economy could support modern weapons and large-scale military supply. That gave practical force to Bismarck's later politics. "Blood and iron" was not just rhetoric. Without iron production, rail capacity, and state revenue, it would have been empty rhetoric.

### Bismarck and Realpolitik: turning industrial power into unification

Prussian industry enabled unification, but it did not complete it by itself. That is where **Otto von Bismarck** enters the story.

> **Key Term: Realpolitik**
> Practical, power-based politics that focuses on results rather than ideology or principle.

Bismarck understood that economic leadership gave Prussia influence, but he also knew that economic unity was not the same as a nation-state. He used diplomacy and limited war to finish what industrial growth had made possible.

The process came in stages.

First, the **Danish War of 1864**. Prussia and Austria allied against Denmark over Schleswig and Holstein. This war mattered less for nationalism than for strategy. It gave Bismarck a dispute he could later use against Austria.

Second, the **Austro-Prussian War of 1866**, also called the Seven Weeks' War. This was the decisive break. Prussia defeated Austria quickly. The speed of victory reflected military reform, better organization, and the advantages that industrial and railway development had created.

Why was 1866 so important? Because it removed Austria from German political leadership. Prussia then annexed some northern states and organized the **North German Confederation** under Prussian control.

> **Key Term: North German Confederation**
> A Prussian-dominated political union created in 1867 after the Austro-Prussian War, bringing northern German states under Prussian leadership.

This confederation was a bridge between economic alignment and full political unification. It gave Prussia direct institutional control in the north while southern German states remained outside but linked.

Third, the **Franco-Prussian War of 1870–1871**. Bismarck provoked this conflict through the Ems Dispatch crisis, making France appear the aggressor. That mattered because war against France stirred German nationalist feeling, especially in the south. Southern states that had remained outside the North German Confederation now joined with Prussia against a foreign enemy.

This shows how nationalism and Realpolitik worked together. National feeling was real, but Bismarck shaped and directed it from above. AP essays should avoid presenting unification as purely popular or purely military. It was a combination, but heavily managed by Prussian leadership.

After victory over France, the German Empire was proclaimed on **January 18, 1871**, at Versailles. The symbolism was deliberate and humiliating for France. German unity had been achieved under Prussian dominance, not liberal parliamentary leadership.

> **Test Tip:** A strong causation sentence for AP essays is: "The Zollverein and Prussian industrialization laid the groundwork, but Bismarck's diplomacy and wars converted that advantage into political unification."

### How to argue this on the exam: causation, comparison, and qualification

This topic is very likely to appear in an SAQ, DBQ, or LEQ because it lends itself to multiple historical thinking skills.

For **causation**, the best structure is a chain:

- Zollverein
- larger common market
- industrial growth and railway expansion
- stronger Prussian state and army
- victory in wars
- unification in 1871

That chain is stronger than a simple claim that "industry caused unification." AP readers reward explanation, not just naming factors.

For **comparison**, compare Prussia and Austria. Prussia had:

- customs union leadership
- stronger industrial growth
- greater railway development
- a more clearly German identity

Austria had:

- exclusion from the Zollverein
- a more agricultural economy
- a multinational empire
- declining influence in German affairs

For **qualification**, explain limits. The Zollverein did not include all German states at the start. Economic integration did not by itself produce a constitution, parliament, or emperor. The Frankfurt Parliament in **1848** had already shown that nationalism alone could fail. Liberal nationalism did not unify Germany; Prussian power politics did.

That last point is often the difference between a decent answer and a strong one. Students who say "nationalism unified Germany" are only partly right. Students who say "Prussian industry made unification inevitable" also go too far. Better to argue that industry made Prussian leadership possible, while Bismarck's strategy made unification happen.

Another useful line of reasoning is **continuity and change**. Before 1871, the German states remained politically fragmented, but they were becoming more economically linked. After 1871, that economic linkage was transformed into a nation-state under Prussian leadership. That is a major change, but the process built on earlier developments.

Finally, connect this topic to wider European history. German unification changed the continental balance of power. France lost **Alsace-Lorraine**, resented Germany deeply, and became a long-term rival. A newly strong German Empire also intensified European competition and helped shape the tensions that later fed into alliance politics before World War I.

## Key Point Checklist

_This article has covered the following key knowledge points:_

- The **Zollverein** was a Prussian-led customs union founded in **1834**
- The Zollverein reduced internal tariffs and promoted economic integration among many German states
- Austria was excluded from the Zollverein, weakening its influence in German affairs
- Prussia industrialized more successfully than Austria, especially in coal and iron production
- The **Rhineland/Ruhr** became a major centre of Prussian heavy industry
- Railway expansion lowered transport costs and improved troop mobilization
- Economic unification came before political unification in the German states
- **Otto von Bismarck** used **Realpolitik** to turn Prussian strength into political leadership
- The key wars of unification were the Danish War (**1864**), Austro-Prussian War (**1866**), and Franco-Prussian War (**1870–1871**)
- The **Austro-Prussian War** removed Austria from German political leadership
- The **North German Confederation** placed northern states under Prussian control
- The German Empire was proclaimed in **1871**, showing that industrial strength enabled unification but did not achieve it alone

## Key Terms and Concepts

- Zollverein
- customs union
- economic integration
- railway expansion
- Realpolitik
- North German Confederation


Second Wave Industrialization and Its Effects - Prussian industry enabled German unification