North German Confederation Treaty

The North German Confederation Treaty (also called the North German Federation Treaty and the Treaty of 18 August 1866) was the treaty between the Kingdom of Prussia and other German states that initially created the North German Confederation, which was the forerunner to the German Empire.

Treaty signing and contents

The treaty was signed at Berlin on 18 August 1866, just five days prior to the signing of the Treaty of Prague, which formally ended the Austro-Prussian War. Initially, the treaty bound that parties into a military alliance and an agreement to negotiate the creation of a formal federation. The treaty specified that if no agreement on confederation had been reached by August 1867, the duty to negotiate would expire. In February 1867, six months after the treaty signing, the parties agreed to the creation of the North German Constitution, which formally established the Confederation as a sovereign state.

The full English-language name of the treaty is Treaty of Alliance between Anhalt, Bremen, Brunswick, Hamburg, Lippe, Lübeck, Oldenburg, Prussia, Reuss-Schleitz, Saxe-Altenburg, Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, the Grand Duchy of Saxony, Schaumberg-Lippe, Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt, Schwarzburg-Sondershausen, and Waldeck and Pyrmont, signed at Berlin on 18 August 1866.

Parties to the treaty

The Kingdom of Prussia was the dominant party to the treaty. The other parties to the treaty pledged their military forces under the command of the King of Prussia, and Otto von Bismarck alone drafted the proposed constitution.

The following states signed the treaty on 18 August and submitted ratifications on 8 September 1866:

The following states submitted ratifications or accessions to the agreement at dates later in 1866:

Notes

  1. 1 2 The two Mecklenburgs signed a separate treaty with Prussia on 21 August 1866 which allowed them to join the Confederation. Ratifications for this treaty were exchanged on 10 September 1866.
  2. ↑ The Grand Duchy of Hesse signed a treaty with Prussia on 3 September 1866 whereby Hesse agreed that its northern territories be included in the North German Confederation. Ratifications of the treaty were exchanged on 12 September 1866.
  3. ↑ Reuss-Greiz signed a separate treaty with Prussia on 26 September 1866 which allowed it to join the Confederation. Ratifications for this treaty were exchanged on 11 October 1866.
  4. ↑ Acceded to the treaty on 8 October 1866.
  5. ↑ Acceded to the treaty on 21 October 1866.

References

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