Page:A general history for colleges and high schools (Myers, 1890).djvu/777

Rh an alliance called the "German Union" was formed. Austria watched with the greatest concern this bold move of her rival for leadership in German affairs, a move whereby she was to be pushed aside entirely, and just as soon as the Hungarian trouble was composed, she made a counter-move to that of Prussia, by forming a confederation of all those states which she could persuade to accept her leadership.

The state of Germany at this moment, divided between the allies of Austria and those of Prussia, may be likened to the condition of Greece at the outbreak of the Peloponnesian War, when the Hellenic states had grouped themselves, according to their sympathies, about Athens and Sparta. It does not require a second Pericles to see war lowering in the horizon.

The Seven Weeks' War between Austria and Prussia (1866).—The inevitable war which was to decide whether Austria or Prussia should be leader in German affairs came on apace. In the year 1861, Frederick William IV. of Prussia died, and his brother, already an old man of sixty, yet destined to be for more than a score of years the central figure in the movement for German unity, came to the Prussian throne as William I. (1861–1888). He soon called to his side the now distinguished Otto von Bismarck as his prime minister, a man of wonderful energy and decision, whose policies have shaped German affairs for a quarter of a century. He saw clearly enough how the vexed question between Austria and Prussia was to be settled—"by blood and iron." His appearance at the head of Prussian affairs marks an epoch in history. He was in disposition a conservative and despot, and the liberal party distrusted and hated him.

Early in 1866 the war opened, the occasion of it being a dispute in regard to some petty Danish provinces (Schleswig and Holstcin). Almost all of the lesser states grouped themselves about Austria. Prussia, however, found a ready ally in Italy (see p. 713), which served to divert a part of the Austrian forces. Yet it seemed an unequal contest, the population of Prussia at this time not being more than one-third (19,000,000) that of the states