GERMANY

At the close of the 2nd century B.C. Germanic tribes called Cimbri and Teutones left their homes in the Danish peninsula, and descending upon Italy were defeated by Marius at Aquæ Sextiæ (Aix in Provence) and Vercellæ in Northern Italy. The Romans did not come again in contact with the Germans till Caesar's invasion of Gaul brought on a contest with the Suevian prince Ariovistus (58 B.C.). At that time several German tribes had crossed the Rhine and settled in the district between that river and the Vosges Mountains, while others had pushed their way through what is now Belgium. The Germans on the left bank of the Rhine were soon subjugated, and two expeditions were made by Cæsar across the Rhine. Under Augustus a systematic attempt was made to subjugate the vast and little-known region Germania, extending between the Rhine and the Vistula, and from the Danube to the North Sea. Tiberius reduced all the tribes between the Rhine and the Elbe, but a few years later there was a revolt, in which three Roman legions under Varus were annihilated by Arminius, leader of the Cherusci, about 9 A.D.. The attempt to subjugate the Germans was given up by Augustus; and Germanicus, although he avenged the defeat of Varus by a succession of campaigns, failed to recover the Roman ascendancy. About this time each tribe or nation among the Germans is described as having been divided into four classes:

1.	The nobles, from whom the kings and chiefs of the districts were chosen.
2.	The freemen, who, with the nobles, had the right to choose their residence and hold heritable property, who formed the
	chief strength of the armies and voted in the popular assemblies.
3.	The freedmen, ( Roman freedmen wore a cap, or hat as a sign of freedom, and obtained the privileges of a citizen of plebeian rank. )
	a middle class between freemen and slaves, had no landed property, but farmed the land; they were not admitted to the popular assemblies.
4.	The slaves, who were entirely in the power of their masters.

In religion the Germans were polytheists. Among their great gods were Woden (or Odin), Donar (Thor), Thiu (Tyr),Frigga, &c. They erected no temples and had no idols, but believed in a future life and in eternal justice.

As the aggressive force of the Roman empire abated, it continued to be more and more subject to the incursions of the Germans, who by the end of the 5th century had overrun Gaul, Italy, Spain, and part of Africa. After this Germany itself continued in a divided state till it came under the single rule of Charlemagne. The history of the German empire properly commences with the Treaty of Verdun (843 A.D.), which separated the land of the Eastern Franks under Ludwig the German from that of the Western and Central Franks. Out of Ludwig's kingdom was developed the German nationality. Charles the Fat became emperor in 881, and three years later was also elected king of the West Franks, thus again uniting under one sceptre the Monarchy of Charlemagne. After his deposition in 887 the two territories of the Eastern and Western Franks were again separated, the former electing Arnulf as their king. He died in 899, and was succeeded by his infant son Louis, who was proclaimed King of Lorraine in 900, assumed the title of emperor in 908, and as such is designated Louis IV. He died in 911, and the German nations chose Conrad, count or duke of Franconia as his successor. He died in December, 918, of a wound received in battle with the Huns. In 919 Henry the Fowler, duke of Saxony, was elected. He was succeeded by his son Otto the Great in 936, who revived the empire of Charlemagne, receiving the crown of Holy Roman Empire from the pope in 962. He died in 973, and was succeeded by his son Otto II., who had been crowned emperor by the pope in his father's lifetime. Henry II., duke of Bavaria, surnamed the Saint, the hereditary heir of the Saxon line, was elected at Mainz, on the death of Otto in 1002, crowned emperor in Rome 1014, and died in 1024. With him ends the Saxon line of emperors.

Conrad II., surnamed the Salic, a Franconian nobleman, was chosen to succeed him. He spent several years in Italian wars, defeated the Poles, and restored Lusatia to the empire. He died in 1039. He was succeeded by his son Henry III., who had been chosen in his lifetime, and who, the imperial power being now at its highest point, exercised more despotic authority in Germany than any of his predecessors. The fruits of his policy were lost by his son Henry IV. (1056-1106), who was passionate and weak. In his reign occurred the famous quarrel with the pope regarding investitures, which ended in Henry having to humble himself before the pope at Canossa. His life was embittered by contests against rival emperors, and latterly by the defection of his own son Henry to the Papal party, by whom he was eventually deposed. Henry V. (1106-25) inherited, however, the quarrel of the investitures, took Pope Paschal II. prisoner, and was excommunicated by seven councils. At length the question of investiture was settled by the Concordat of Worms (1122). On his death there was a contested election and a civil war between Lothaire, duke of Sawny, and Conrad of Hohenstaufen, in which the former was successful.

A contest was now begun between the Saxon and Hoheustaufen (Suabian) families, in which the celebrated party names Guelf and Ghibelline originated. On the death of Lothaire in 1138 Conrad III. (of Hohenstaufen) was chosen to succeed him. Conrad died in 1152, and was succeeded by his nephew Frederick Barbarossa. His son Henry VI. began his reign with a war in Southern Italy. He conquered Sicily, and was crowned king of it in 1194. He died at Messina in 1197. Philip, brother of Henry, and Otto IV., were elected by rival factions in 1198. Philip, who was successful, was assassinated in 1208. Otto IV., the son of Henry the Lion, was recognized by the Diet of Frank-fort in 1208 as the successor of Philip. He attempted the conquest of the Two Sicilies without success, and died in 1218. Frederick II., king of the Sicilies, was elected emperor in 1212. His life passed in contentions with the popes and the Lombard cities. He died in 1250. Conrad IV., his son, had to contend against William of Holland. He died in 1254. He was the last emperor of the house of Hohenstaufen, which became extinct on the death of his son. His successor, William of Holland, was slain in Friesland in 1256.

Richard, earl of Cornwall, and Alfonso X., king of Castile, were chosen emperors in 1257; but the internal divisions of Germany had already deprived the office of all authority, and neither of them had any power. Until 1273 the German Empire had no real head.

Rudolph, count of Hapsburg and Cyburg, the most powerful prince in Helvetia, was chosen emperor (1272). He enriched his own family by his victories over the King of Bohemia, and acquired Austria, Styria, and Carinthia as imperial fiefs for his sons Albert and Rudolph. He died in 1291. Adolphus of Nassau, his successor, was deposed in 1298 by the Diet of Mainz. Albert I., son of Rudolph, was chosen emperor the same year. He is chiefly celebrated for his wars with the Swiss as Duke of Austria, which led to the independence of Switzerland. He died in 1308, and was succeeded by Henry VII. of Luxembourg, nearly the whole of whose reign was passed in Italy, where he died in 1313. In 1314 a double election took place, Frederick, duke of Austria, sometimes called Frederick III., was elected along with Louis of Bavaria. On the death of Frederick in 1330 the latter became sole emperor. He died excommunicated and deposed in 1347. Charles IV., king of Bohemia, was elected in 1346. His reign is chiefly distinguished for the Golden Bull (1356) regulating the electorate. He died in 1378. Wenceslaus, his son, was deposed for his excesses in 1400. Rupert, count palatine, elected 1400, possessed little authority. Sigismund, king of Hungary and Bohemia, son of Charles IV, was elected by a party in 1410. His reign is distinguished by the commencement of the Reformation in Bohemia, by the Council of Constance, and the condemnation of Huss and Jerome. He died in 1437. Albert II. (V. of Austria) was elected in 1438, and died in 1439. He was succeeded by Frederick III., duke of Styria and Carinthia. He was the Last emperor who was crowned in Rome. Henceforth the German emperors were always of the house of Austria. He died in 1493. His son Maximilian I. succeeded. During his reign the diet of Cologne was held, which divided the estates of the empire into ten circles for the better maintenance of the public peace.

Since its rise the empire had undergone many changes. At the extinction of the Carlovingian dynasty Germany was divided into five nations or dukedoms - Franconia, Suabia, Bavaria, Saxony, and Lorraine. Henry the Fowler and the Ottos added the marches of Austria and Misnia; Henry the Lion and Albert of Brandenburg, Mecklenburg and Pomerania. The house of Austria added Styria, Carinthia, Carniola, and the Tyrol. But Switzerland had been lost, and the old Burgundian territories of the empire, Franche Comté, the Lyonnais, and Provence, had gone to consolidate the French monarchy under Louis XI. Bohemia and Hungary, and many of the Italian cities, especially in the north, were also connected with the empire, but the connection was more formal than real, and the circles established by the Diet of Cologne (1512) represented at that time the estates of the empire, viz.:
1. Austria, 2. Bavaria, 3. Swabia, 4. Franconia, 5. the Upper Rhine (Lorraine, Hesse, &c), 6. the Lower Rhine, or the Electorates (Mainz, Trier, Cologne), 7. Burgundy (Netherlands), 8. Westphalia, 9. Lower Saxony (Brunswick, Luneburg, Lauenburg, Holstein, &c.), 10. Upper Saxony (Saxony, Brandenburg, Pomerania, &c.).

The chief political machinery of the empire was connected with the diet. The exact constitution of the early German diets is not known. In the 12th century the counts of the empire became distinguished from the princes, and lost the right of voting in the diets. The election of an emperor was at first undertaken by the whole diet. In the 13th century the number of electors was restricted to seven, to which two more were afterwards added. The diets were called by the emperor at his own pleasure, but as they had the power of granting supplies their meetings were frequent; and as their authority over the different states was partial, and their policy could only be carried out by the executive force of the emperor, they can hardly be regarded as an independent power in the state. Neither the time nor the place of meeting of the diets was at first fixed. From an early period the cities of Germany were represented in the diet. In early times they generally supported the authority of the emperor, as their interest was common with his in diminishing the power of the greater vassals. Municipalities were at first established about the reign of Frederick I., and soon began to assert their independence. The predatory habits of the nobles, besides the claims of superiority over entire cities or particular citizens asserted by the princes, involved the cities in continual warfare with the feudal nobility, and often also with their ecclesiastical superiors. The necessity of defending their privileges compelled them to enter into leagues among themselves. Among the earliest of these combinations was the Hanseatic League, formed to resist both the oppression of rulers and the depredations of land and sea robbers. A league was formed in 1255 by more than sixty cities of the Rhine, headed by the three ecclesiastical electors, to resist the depredations of the lesser nobles. The Suabian League, formed in 1376, was of similar origin. These leagues were met by counter associations of nobles and princes.

Maximilian, who succeeded to the empire in 1493, was succeeded in 1519 by his grandson Charles V. The reign of Charles, the most important in the German annals and the most brilliant in the 16th century, was divided among three great conflicts - the continued struggle between France and Germany, the conflict with the encroaching Ottoman empire, and that with the Reformation. In 1556 Charles resigned the empire to his brother Ferdinand. The Council of Trent was concluded in Ferdinand's reign. He died in 1564. Then followed Maximilian II., Rudolph II., Matthias, and Ferdinand II. By this time was begun a religious war, by which Germany was devasted for thirty years, hence called the Thirty Years' war.

The invasion of Germany by Christian IV. of Denmark in 1625, the Peace of Lubeck (1629), the invasion of Gustavus Adolphus (1630), the battles of Leipzig in 1631, of the Lech and Lutzen in 1632, of Nördlingen in 1634. the war with France in 1635. belong to the history of the Thirty Years' war. Ferdinand died in 1637, and was succeeded by his son Ferdinand III. Ferdinand III. had gained a military reputation by the battle of Nördlingen, but Banér, Bernhard of Saxe-Weimar, Torstenson, Turenne, and the Great Condé gained repeated victories over his troops. He was at length induced to enter into negotiations; and the Thirty Years' war was concluded by the Peace of Westphalia (24th October, 1648), in which the policy of France and Sweden was triumphant. The principal conditions which concerned Germany were a general amnesty and restoration of rights. France received definitively the bishoprics of Metz, Toul, and Verdun, with Breisach, Upper and Lower Alsace, and ten imperial cities in Alsace. Sweden received Rugen, and Hither Pomerania and part of Farther Pomerania, with some other territories. Greater power was given to the Protestants; and the right of the princes and states to make war and alliances among themselves or with foreigners was recognized.

The emperor died in 1657. His son Leopold I. was elected emperor in 1658. The success of Louis XIV. in his invasion of Holland led to a coalition against him, in which the emperor joined (1673). The war was continued for some years, and terminated by the Peace of Nimeguen, 1679. The League of Augsburg, in which the emperor joined, led to a protracted war with France, which was concluded by the Peace of Ryswick. In 1692 the emperor erected Hanover into an electorate, and in 1700 he permitted the Elector of Brandenburg, Frederick III, to take the title of King of Prussia. The war of the Spanish Succession, in which Great Britain, Holland, and the empire were leagued against France, was begun in 1702. To it belong the victories of Marlborough and Eugene (Blenheim, Oudenarde, Malplaquet). The Emperor Leopold died in 1705. He was succeeded by his son, Joseph I., who died in 1711. Joseph was succeeded by his brother, Charles VI. The alliance against France was dissolved by the Peace of Utrecht in 1713, to which the emperor refused to accede, and was left alone against France. After a brief campaign between Prince Eugene and Villars he acceded to the Treaty of Rastadt negotiated between these commanders, 7th March, 1714. The Spanish Netherlands, and Naples, Milan, Sardinia, and other Italian conquests were left to the emperor. Having no male heirs Charles had promulgated in 1713 the Pragmatic Sanction, regulating the succession to his hereditary dominions in favour of his daughters in preference to those of his brother, Joseph I. He died in 1740. Charles Albert, elector of Bavaria, son-in-law of Leopold I., got him. sell chosen emperor (as Charles VII.) in 1742. He laid claim to the hereditary possessions of the House of Austria, and entered into an alliance with France, Spain, Prussia, &c., against Maria Theresa, daughter of Charles VI. But he died in 1745, and Francis I., grand-duke of Tuscany, the husband of Maria Theresa, was elected emperor; thus the house of Hapsburg-Lorraine, which had succeeded to the hereditary possessions of Austria, was recognized as the head of the empire. Alter a brief interval took place the Seven Years war (1756-63), in which Austria, Russia, France, and Saxony combined against Prussia, then ruled by Frederick the Great. The Peace of Hubertsburg (15th Feb. 1763) concluded the war, Prussia retaining her acquisitions. In 1765 Joseph II. succeeded to the imperial crown, becoming at the same time co-regent with his mother of the Austrian hereditary dominions. He joined with Russia and Prussia in the first partition of Poland (1772). He was succeeded by his brother Leopold, who, having died in 1792, was succeeded by his son, Francis II. He joined in 1793 in the second partition of Poland. He took the command of his army against the French in 1794, concluded the Peace of Campo Formio with Bonaparte (l7th October,1797); joined the second coalition against France in 1799, and concluded the Treaty of Lunéville (3d February,1801); joined the third coalition in 1805, and concluded the Treaty of Presburg (26th December, 1805).

In 1804 Francis took the title of hereditary Emperor of Austria, renouncing two years later that of head of the German Empire, which, indeed, had ceased to exist, owing to the conquests of Napoleon.

The States of Germany were again united by the Treaty of Vienna (1815), in a confederation called the German Confederation (der Deutsche Bond). In 1818 a general commercial league, called the Zollverein, was projected by Prussia, and was gradually joined by most of the German states, exclusive of Austria. Revolutionary outbreaks caused great disturbances in various German states in 1830 and 1848, particularly the latter. The German diet was restored in 1851 by the efforts of Prussia and Austria, who were latterly rivals for the supremacy in the confederation. In 1866 the majority of the diet supported Austria in her dispute with Prussia respecting the disposal of the duchies of Schleswig and Holstein, whereupon Prussia withdrew from the confederation and declared it dissolved. The Seven Weeks' war between Austria and Prussia ended in the defeat of the former, the loss of her Italian possessions, and her exclusion from the German Confederation, which was re-formed by Prussia under the title of the North German Confederation.

After the Franco-German war, in which the South German States, as well as the North German Confederation, supported Prussia, the King of Prussia was proclaimed German Emperor at Versailles on 18th January, 1871. The parliament of the new German Empire met at Berlin on 21st March, and adopted the new constitution. Since the unity of the empire was attained endeavours have been made to establish a colonial empire, principally in Africa. In Polynesia Germany has acquired a portion of New Guinea, the chief Samoan islands, and other groups.

William II. developed greatly the manufacturing industries and foreign trade of the German empire, and wished to make Germany a naval power.