Page:Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition, v. 20.djvu/25

Rh GEOGRAPHY.] PRUSSIA 13 herself at the head of the liberal movement. Prussia's neutral attitude in the Austro-Italian War was the first sign of the coming storm ; and then followed the Schleswig- Holstein episode, culminating in the war of 1866 (see AUSTRIA), the successful issue of which expelled Austria from Germany and left its rival in undisputed possession. The territorial acquisitions which Prussia now made, con- sisting of Hanover, Hesse-Cassel, Hesse-Nassau, Frankfort, and Schleswig-Holstein, increased its extent by about a fifth and for the first time gave a satisfactory rounding-off to its form. The Prussian landtag, carried away by success, granted Bismarck, by a large majority, the indemnity he had the grace to ask for in regard to his previous unconsti- tutional proceeding's in the financial dispute. The war of 1866 gave the deathblow to the Germanic Confederation of 1815, and in its place appeared the North German Confederation under the lead of Prussia. The transformation was completed five years later, after the successful war with France, when the south German states also joined the union and the king of Prussia became the German emperor. The united Germany that Frederick the Great had sought in the Fiirstenbund, that Frederick William III. had tried to organize in 1806 in opposition to the Confederation of the Rhine, that Frederick William IV. had hoped to achieve in 1850, was at length an accomplished fact. In entering this union Prussia may in a sense be said to have abdicated her position as a great power in favour of Germany, but her influence within the empire, practically comprising that of all the small north German states, is so overwhelming that her identity is not likely ever to be wholly lost. Any measure increasing the power of the empire at the expense of the individual states is tantamount to an increase of the power of Prussia. Since the Franco- German War the history of Prussia has been for the outside world practically identical with that of Germany and has centred in the figure of Prince Bismarck. The policy of the imperial chancellor and Prussian premier is essentially autocratic in its nature, and seems to have for its keynote the necessity of main- taining at any price a strong central Government to cope with external emergencies. He identifies himself with no party, but generally manages by timely concessions to form such temporary parliamentary combinations as are necessary to carry the measures he has most at heart. On the other hand, he does not hesitate freely to call into requisition the royal veto on resolutions of parliament of which he does not approve. His reversion to a strong protectionist policy, which became marked in 1879, the date to which the history is brought down in the article GERMANY, has so far proved permanent, and numerous protective measures have been passed, though his favourite scheme of a Government monopoly of tobacco has been decisively rejected both by the imperial and the Prussian chambers. As a pendant to these measures may be men- tioned the laws intended to improve the position of the working classes, most of which are inspired by a spirit of state socialism. The alienation of the National Liberals, occasioned by the change in Bismarck's economic policy, has compelled him to seek his later majorities in a com- bination of Conservatives and Ultramontanes, the benefit of which has been mainly reaped by the latter. On the ac- cession of Pope Leo XIII. some conciliatory advances were made by Rome and Prussia; in 1881 diplomatic relations were reopened with the Vatican, and several important concessions were made by a measure passed in 1883. The May laws have not been repealed, but they have latterly been put in force with much less stringency, and a great many of the vacant bishoprics and pastorates have been at least temporarily filled. The Ultramontanes continue to form one of the largest " fractions " both in the reichstag and in the Prussian landtag. In spite of the continued existence of the special law passed against the socialists, which has been prolonged from time to time, their numbers have grown steadily, and in the autumnal election of 1884 they returned no fewer than twenty-four of their candidates to the reichstag, polling 550,000 votes, or about ten per cent, of the total number recorded. Their success was especially marked in Berlin, where they returned two members and polled 70,000 votes. The same election was also remarkable for the diminution of the German Liberal- ists (Deutsch- Freisinnige), a party formed by the fusion of the Progressists and Secessionists. Perhaps the most significant event in the recent history of Germany has been her entrance into the ranks of the colonial powers by the annexation in 1884 of several dis- tricts on the west coast of Africa, and among the islands of the Pacific Ocean. In this step Prince Bismarck has revived a policy that has slumbered since the time of the Great Elector (see p. 8), but there seems little reason to doubt that this new scheme of colonization will prove of more permanent importance than that of the 17th century. CHRONOLOGICAL TABLE OF THE CHIEF EVENTS IN THE HISTORY OF PRUSSIA. 930. Foundation of the North Mark, the nucleus of Brandenburg. 1134. Albert the Bear is invested with the North Mark, and founds the Ascanian line of margraves. 1230-83. Conquest of Preussen by the Teutonic Order. 1324-66. Margraves of the Bavarian line. 1356. Brandenburg definitely re- cognized as an electorate. 1373-1413. Luxemburg line of electors. 1415. Frederick of Hohenzollern becomes elector of Brandenburg. 1539. Reforma- tion proclaimed by Joachim II. 1618. Duchy of Prussia inherited by Elector John Sigismund. 1640. Accession of Frederick William, the Great Elector. 1648. Brandenburg-Prussia receives Farther Pomerania, Magdeburg, Halber- stadt, and Minden at the peace of Westphalia. 1657. Independence of the duchy of Prussia recognized. 1675. Victory over the Swedes at Fehrbellin. 1701. Elector Frederick assumes the title of "king of Prussia." 1720. Acquisition of Hither Pomerania. 1740. Accession of Frederick the Great. 1742. Acquisi- tion of Silesia at the close of the first Silesian War. 1744-45. Second Silesian War. Ros Au 1772. First partition of Poland ; acquisition'of West Prussia. 17927 War with War declared against Napoleon ; defeats of Jena and Auerstadt ; Prussia conquered by the French. 1807. Peace of Tilsit and dismemberment of the kingdom. 1808. Beginning of Stein's constitutional reforms. 1813. War of liberation; battle of Leipsic (16th to 19th October). 1814-15. Congress of Vienna ; Prussia rehabilitated ; establishment of the Germanic Confederation. 1815. Battle of Waterloo. 1850. Promulgation of the Prussian constitution. 1871. The king of Prussia proclaimed German emperor. GEOGRAPHY AND STATISTICS. Physical Features. 1 Fully three-fifths of Prussia belong to the Physical great north European plain and may be generally characterized as features, lowlands. The plain is much wider on the east, where only the southern margin of Prussia is mountainous, than on the west, where the Hanoverian hills approach to within less than 100 miles of the sea. A line drawn from Diisseldorf through Halle to Breslau would, roughly speaking, divide the flat part of the country from the hilly districts. In the south-east Prussia is separated from Austria and Bohemia by the Sudetic chain, which begins at the valley of the Oder and extends thence towards the north-west. This chain includes the Riesen Gebirge, with the highest mountain in Prussia (Schneekoppe, 5266 feet), and subsides gradually in the hills of Lusatia. The Harz Mountains, however, beyond the Saxon plain, follow the same general direction and may be regarded as a detached continuation of the system. To the south of the Harz the Prussian frontier intersects the northern part of the Thuringian Forest, which is also prolonged towards the north-west by the Weser Hills and the Teutoburgian Forest. The south-west of Prussia is occupied by the plateau of the lower 'Rhine, including on the left bank the Hundsriick and the Eifel, and on the right the Taunus, the Westerwald, and the Sauerland. Between the lower Rhenish and Thuringian systems are interposed the Vogelsberg, the Rhb'n, and other hills belonging to the Triassic system of the upper Rhine. The Silesian mountains are composed chiefly of granite, gneiss, and schists, while the Harz and the lower Rhenish plateau are mainly of Devonian and Silurian formation. To the north of the Sauerland is the important Carboniferous system of the 1 The physical features of Prussia have been already so fully de- scribed under GERMANY that it has been deemed unnecessary to give here more than the briefest recapitulation. For other points which the reader may here miss he is also referred to that article.