Origins of the Franco-Prussian War

Bismark was the aggresor behind the scenes, but to peopoel at the time it looked like France was.  Of course the long term consequences have to do with France hating Germany, Germany getting to powerful and thus bringing the enemies of Russia and Britain together and ruining any balance of power they may have been.

I view it more as a scheme to unify Germany and strenghten Prussia than anything specifically targeted at France.

perhaps but I still think he was duped, he wasnt exactly the France;s brightest monarch anyway, and at the end of the war he seemed to want to die, manning a gun at the front and feeling the ill effects of roiling gall stones.

yes

Originally posted by Winterhaze13 I was wondering if anyone knew anything about the origins of the Franco-Prussian war of 1870-71. This topic is largely uncertain and I myself have heard a number of different theories. Also, who could be seen as the agressor? Was it Napoleon III's France or Bismarck's Prussia? What were the consequences of this war?

That Modern European History class I took with Christopher M. Holloway at Mesa State College was 24 years ago, but I seem to recall that when the Spanish invited a Hohenzollern prince to sit on their throne, Napoleon III's France sent a telegram which was then "edited" in such a way as to inflame the German people. Basically, Otto von Bismarck needed a second good war to unite Germany. The first war, the Austro-Prussian War of 1866, knocked out the only other German principality that could compete with Prussia for hegemony in Germany. This united the Protestant north German states behind Prussia. Now Bismarck needed another good war to unite the Catholic south German states into a new united Germany, and the Franco-Prussian War just happened to be it.   

That cause was absolutely a pretext..It is said that Bismarck has used that event to provoke the French and create a good alibi for the war which would unite Germany under one flag. If Prussia had been the declarer of the war itself, that German unification might not have been that easy.

Originally posted by Justinian the french sent a telegram bismark manipulated it...france declares war. (If I am mistaken by all means let me know)

Ahem, Bismarck then used manipulated telegram to get Germans whipped up to declare war on France!

Originally posted by heikstheo Originally posted by Justinian the french sent a telegram bismark manipulated it...france declares war. (If I am mistaken by all means let me know) Ahem, Bismarck then used manipulated telegram to get Germans whipped up to declare war on France!

Originally posted by heikstheo Another interesting (and little-noticed) aspect of this whole mess was that the Hohenzollern who was chosen to become the Spanish king was of a more senior branch of the Hohenzollern family than the kings of Prussia. Thus, Prussia was in no position to dictate to this Hohenzollern prince one way or the other whether or not to take the Spanish throne.

Edited by pikeshot1600 - 25-Jul-2007 at 11:52

Originally posted by Aster Thrax Eupator My understanding of the origins of the war are the spanish asked for a german prince to become king, the hohenzollerns agreed, France got very upset, the prince in question relented and declined the spanish offer, egos and the threat of losing face got involved, besides pride, the french sent a telegram bismark manipulated it...france declares war. (If I am mistaken by all means let me know)   I always thought that In a nutshell, it was to scare the southern states into joining Prussia. They could then declare the German empire in the 1870s.

As another comment about proclaiming William I as "German Emperor," there were many German princes not that happy about it.  William himself was uneasy about subordinating Prussia to a greater Germany.  His interests consisted mostly of his kingdom, the army (the army of Frederick the Great, not western/southern Germany) and friendship with and support for Russia.  His wife, the new Kaiserin, hated the idea (she hated Bismarck like the plague anyway).