Martin Antonenko
A Fixture
- Joined
- Jul 11, 2008
- Messages
- 8,995
Bavaria is bought!
While the troops of the various German states were still besieging Paris during the Franco-Prussian War...
...on November 23, 1870, the Kingdom of Bavaria joins the so-called "North German Confederation" as the last German state, the preliminary stage of the desired empire set in motion by the Prussian Prime Minister Otto von Bismarck!
Except the - dominant in every way! - Kingdom of Prussia - and now also Bavaria - belong to this "North German Confederation":
- The Kingdom of Saxony
- the Grand Duchies of Hesse, Mecklenburg-Schwerin, Oldenburg, Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach, Mecklenburg-Strelitz, and Baden
Wuerttemberg,
- the Duchies of Brunswick, Anhalt, Saxe-Meiningen, Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, Saxe-Altenburg, Lauenburg,
- the principalities of Lippe, Reuss younger line (i.e. Gera-Schleiz-Lobenstein-Ebersdorf), Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt, Schwarzburg-
Sondershausen, Waldeck, Reuss older line (i.e. Principality of Greiz), Schaumburg-Lippe,
- the Free Cities of Hamburg Lübeck - and Bremen.
By the way: "Northern German" in connection with this federation did not mean "Northern Germany" but rather "Germany without Austria!".
Although Bavaria came almost too late, it was by no means punished with life, because Bismarck was now able to use almost any means to build "his" German Empire!
In dem Beitrittsvertrag ("Novembervertrag") werden den Bayern exklusive Sonderrechte, wie ein eigenes Heer, ein weiterhin eigenes Postwesen...
... and granted own railways.
In addition, Bismarck had simply bought the Bavarian King Ludwig II (and probably also members of the Bavarian government)!
The "Fairytale King"...
...who was suffering from the oppressive debts of his castle-building rage and urgently needed money, was promised - discreetly and in cash - a one-off payment in the millions as well as an annual bribe of 300,000 gold marks (which was also promised after his suicide on June 13, 1886). went to his successors); Unfortunately, the amount of the other sums is unknown.
Where did Bismarck get the money he could freely dispose of without any control?
Well: In 1866, in the Austro-Prussian War, the Guelphs had taken the wrong side, namely the side of the Habsburgs - apparently without looking at the map beforehand!
Austria was far away, Prussia close by, the troops of the Welf kingdom of Hanover...
... were literally crushed by the Prussians on June 27, 1866 in the Battle of Langensalza...
Prussia annexed the kingdom as the "Province of Hanover" and sacked the legendary "Guelph Treasure", a fortune that alone yielded 8.5 million gold marks in interest each year.
From this "Guelph treasure" Bismarck paid the bribes for the Bavarians!
Ludwig II signed the accession certificate with gnashing of teeth...
...but at the ceremonial founding of the German Empire on January 17, 1871 in the hall of mirrors of the Palace of Versailles, it was demonstratively conspicuous by its absence!
And not even the court painter Anton von Werner dared to add the Bavarian to his picture afterwards....:
The secret fund that emerged from the Welf fortune and with which Bismarck bought Bavaria's accession to the German Reich has gone down in history as the so-called "Reptilienfods" ("Reptile Fund").
This name goes back to a word from Bismarck himself, who called the Guelphs and their supporters before the Reichstag...
...once referred to as "malicious reptiles".
Well good (or rather: bad!): The German empire was founded at Versailles - and Bavaria was a part of it...:
And the word "reptile fund" means in Germany to this day a "black box"...
While the troops of the various German states were still besieging Paris during the Franco-Prussian War...
...on November 23, 1870, the Kingdom of Bavaria joins the so-called "North German Confederation" as the last German state, the preliminary stage of the desired empire set in motion by the Prussian Prime Minister Otto von Bismarck!
Except the - dominant in every way! - Kingdom of Prussia - and now also Bavaria - belong to this "North German Confederation":
- The Kingdom of Saxony
- the Grand Duchies of Hesse, Mecklenburg-Schwerin, Oldenburg, Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach, Mecklenburg-Strelitz, and Baden
Wuerttemberg,
- the Duchies of Brunswick, Anhalt, Saxe-Meiningen, Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, Saxe-Altenburg, Lauenburg,
- the principalities of Lippe, Reuss younger line (i.e. Gera-Schleiz-Lobenstein-Ebersdorf), Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt, Schwarzburg-
Sondershausen, Waldeck, Reuss older line (i.e. Principality of Greiz), Schaumburg-Lippe,
- the Free Cities of Hamburg Lübeck - and Bremen.
By the way: "Northern German" in connection with this federation did not mean "Northern Germany" but rather "Germany without Austria!".
Although Bavaria came almost too late, it was by no means punished with life, because Bismarck was now able to use almost any means to build "his" German Empire!
In dem Beitrittsvertrag ("Novembervertrag") werden den Bayern exklusive Sonderrechte, wie ein eigenes Heer, ein weiterhin eigenes Postwesen...
... and granted own railways.
In addition, Bismarck had simply bought the Bavarian King Ludwig II (and probably also members of the Bavarian government)!
The "Fairytale King"...
...who was suffering from the oppressive debts of his castle-building rage and urgently needed money, was promised - discreetly and in cash - a one-off payment in the millions as well as an annual bribe of 300,000 gold marks (which was also promised after his suicide on June 13, 1886). went to his successors); Unfortunately, the amount of the other sums is unknown.
Where did Bismarck get the money he could freely dispose of without any control?
Well: In 1866, in the Austro-Prussian War, the Guelphs had taken the wrong side, namely the side of the Habsburgs - apparently without looking at the map beforehand!
Austria was far away, Prussia close by, the troops of the Welf kingdom of Hanover...
... were literally crushed by the Prussians on June 27, 1866 in the Battle of Langensalza...
Prussia annexed the kingdom as the "Province of Hanover" and sacked the legendary "Guelph Treasure", a fortune that alone yielded 8.5 million gold marks in interest each year.
From this "Guelph treasure" Bismarck paid the bribes for the Bavarians!
Ludwig II signed the accession certificate with gnashing of teeth...
...but at the ceremonial founding of the German Empire on January 17, 1871 in the hall of mirrors of the Palace of Versailles, it was demonstratively conspicuous by its absence!
And not even the court painter Anton von Werner dared to add the Bavarian to his picture afterwards....:
The secret fund that emerged from the Welf fortune and with which Bismarck bought Bavaria's accession to the German Reich has gone down in history as the so-called "Reptilienfods" ("Reptile Fund").
This name goes back to a word from Bismarck himself, who called the Guelphs and their supporters before the Reichstag...
...once referred to as "malicious reptiles".
Well good (or rather: bad!): The German empire was founded at Versailles - and Bavaria was a part of it...:
And the word "reptile fund" means in Germany to this day a "black box"...
