How important was the development of the Zollverein
to the unification of Germany?
Economic theory tells us that if internal and external barriers to entry are removed and a state of
free trade is allowed then that economy or economies within the free trade market will benefit
from this. In the history of German unification there are key points that were essential to the
unification process, the importance of a good strong economy was vital.
Therefore it can be argued that the development and even establishment of the zollverein was
very important in the development of Germany. The Zollverein was established in 1834, it replaced
a system of barriers and obstacles to trade. In the 1820’s Prussian success was obvious to many of
the bordering countries with Prussia and so an agreement to form a German Customs Union was
reached. Although not all countries joined at this point it was still a significant move. The formation
of this union meant that the internal barriers were removed and a common system of foreign
protective duties was applied. However the major step was that the members of the union all used
the same methods. Currency and the system of weights were the standard. This created a bond
between the countries but also bound them to a certain extent to the union; however it was
benefiting the countries immensely, in the space of 3 years the Bavaria customs revenue had
increased by 1.76 million florins.
In 1848 Austria remained outside the zollverein, this gave Prussia economic leadership while
Austria still had an element of control over the North German Confederation; 1864 Prussia was
indisputably dominant within the Zollverein, which now contained virtually all the German states.
This dominance was encouraging to the liberals and nationalists within Prussia and as well as other
German states. There was a stable element within the German states and this meant that many
felt there was hope of politically unity.
One of the most important causes of the zollvereins’ success was that it enabled the building of
railways within the German states. Not only did this mean that Prussia was one of the first
countries to employ the use of railways on a large scale but it also equipped them well military;
allowing rapid movement of troops that would be very important in the war against Austria in
1866. The other important factor in the building of the railways was that it linked the German
states. Although maybe not seeming like a large factor, the building of the railways was pulling
down barriers around Prussia and expanding around them. The unification process was also helped
by the fact that Berlin became the hub of activity in the zollverein and therefore the trade
processes were centralised in Prussia.
Therefore it can be seen that the zollverein was very important to the unification of Germany, it
introduced a standard currency and measuring system in the German states. It allowed those
within the union to benefit from free trade and so expand accordingly. This in turn allowed
Prussia, in particular, to advance in technology, which was used in production of railways and
weapons. The effects of the zollverein were just as important as the actual zollverein itself.
However there is an alternative view to that expressed above. It can be argued that the zollverein
in fact played a very small role in the unification of Germany. There are several examples where
we can see that the zollverein did not unite the German states as it has been suggested. In 1866
when Prussia did go to war with Austria, every member of the zollverein was opposed to the
action of Prussia, although many could take little action as Prussia’s army had hemmed them in.
another example of the lack of unity was in 1834 when Prussia deliberately used aggressive
policies to enrich them. A trade war was the outcome with rival trade zones such as the MidGerman Customs Union.