The unification of Germany into a politically and administratively integrated nation state officially occurred on 18 January 1871 at the Versailles Palace's Hall of Mirrors in France. Princes of the German states gathered there to proclaim Wilhelm of Prussia as Emperor Wilhelm of the German Empire after the French capitulation in the Franco-Prussian War. Unofficially, the transition of most of the German-speaking populations into a federated organization of states occurred over nearly a century of experimentation. Unification exposed several glaring religious, linguistic, and cultural differences between and among the inhabitants of the new nation, suggesting that 1871 really only represents one moment in a continuum of the larger unification processes.
Historians debate whether or not Otto von Bismarck, the Minister President of Prussia, had a master-plan to expand the North German Confederation of 1866 to include the remaining independent German states into a single entity, or whether he simply sought to expand the power of the Kingdom of Prussia. They conclude that factors in addition to the strength of Bismarck's Realpolitik led a collection of early modern polities to reorganize political, economic, military and diplomatic relationships in the 19th century. By establishing a Germany without Austria, the political and administrative unification in 1871 at least temporarily solved the problem of German dualism.
Read the rest of this article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unification_of_Germany
_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:
1126:
Emperor Huizong of the Song Dynasty of China abdicated the throne in favour of his son Qinzong. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emperor_Huizong_of_Song
1884:
Welsh physician William Price was arrested for attempting to cremate his deceased infant son; he was acquitted in the subsequent trial, which led to the legalisation of cremation in the United Kingdom. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Price_%28physician%29
1943:
As part of Operation Iskra, the Soviet Red Army broke the Siege of Leningrad, opening a narrow land corridor to the city. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Iskra
1958:
African Canadian Willie O'Ree of the Boston Bruins played his first game in the National Hockey League, breaking the color barrier in professional ice hockey. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Willie_O%27Ree
1991:
In a sting operation conducted by the FBI, Mayor of Washington, D.C., Marion Barry was arrested for possession of crack cocaine. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marion_Barry
_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:
septempartite (adj): [[divide http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/septempartite
___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:
I have always observed that to succeed in the world one should appear like a fool but be wise. --Charles de Montesquieu http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Charles_de_Montesquieu