Zollverein

Zollverein (German for "customs union") was formed between the 38 states of the German Confederation in 1834 during the Industrial Revolution to create a better trade flow and reduce internal competition. The main contributer was Friedrich List. The Zollverein totally excluded Austria because of its highly protected industry; this would later intensify Austro-Prussian conflict. The Zollverein was dissolved in 1866 because of the south German states' support for Austria in the Austro-Prussian War, but it was re-established in 1867 with the south German states again participating. The new Zollverein was stronger, in that no individual state had a veto.

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The Zollverein had been originally established by Prussia early in the 19th century. At first it included only the close neighbours of Prussia, and was seen as a way to transport goods between the two non-contiguous parts of Prussia: Eastern Prussia and Western Prussia. The greater customs union of 38 states was the fruit of a continuous effort by Prussian bureaucrats over several decades. Its gradual inception was made against the more modest efforts of the Austrian bureaucracy to establish their own customs union with neighbouring states.

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Some economic historians such as Bohme use the Zollverein to dispute the general view of Bismarck as the unifier of Germany. They point out that, firstly, Prussia's economic dominance made unification inevitable. Economic dominance led to political and military control and once that was achieved unification was only a matter of time. Secondly, the Zollverein established an anti-Austrian tradition among the Prussians. Bismarck cannot be said to have revolutionised Prussian politics when the Zollverein had been working actively against Austria for about 30 years before he came along.

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German: German may mean:...

Customs union: A customs union is a free trade zone with a Common External Tariff. Purposes for establishing a customs union normally include increasing economic efficiency and establishing closer political and cultural ties between the member countries....

German Confederation: The German Confederation (German: Deutscher Bund) was a loose association of Central European states created by the Congress of Vienna in 1815 to organize the surviving states of the Holy Roman Empire, which had been abolished in 1806....