Baden History: Difference between revisions

<br>In 1462, [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_I_of_Baden Margrave Charles I&nbsp;of Baden-Baden] began a war with Elector Frederick I of the Rhine, which he lost and which resulted in the loss of some territory. However, his son and successor, [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christophe_I_of_Baden Christophe I of Baden], restored what had been lost. In 1503 the Baden-Sausenberg died out and all of Baden was united under Christophe. Unfortunately, he divided Baden among his three sons before he died in 1527. In 1533, one of the sons died childless and his territory was divided among his two brothers, Bernard and Ernest. These two lines of the family were known as Baden-Baden and Baden-Pforzheim, the latter of which was called Baden-Durlach after 1565. This division caused rivalry and ultimately open warfare between the two branches. <br>The Reformation caused tremendous upheaval in Baden. Some of the ruling families remained Catholic, while others became Protestant. To a large degree, the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:HolyRomanEmpire_1618.png northern part of Baden became Protestant, while the south remained Catholic]. By the early 17th century, much of the north had been re-catholicized. <br>The [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thirty_Years%27_War Thirty-Years War] that raged from 1618 till 1648 had enormous consequences for Germany and Baden. Marauding armies ravaged the countryside and destroyed many towns. It is estimated that Germany lost between 25% and 40% of her population ("[http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/195896/history-of-Europe/58335/Demographics#ref=ref310375 History of Europe – Demographics". ''Encyclopædia Britannica'']). Large parts of Baden are thought to have lost over 33% of their population, and some parts as much as 66%. Disease, starvation, and emigration contributed to [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Straty_ludno%C5%9Bciowe_po_wojnie_30letniej.PNG decrease in population]. It would take some areas over a century to recover from these losses. <br>Freiburg im Breisgau is thought to have had 10,000-14,000 citizens at the advent of the war, but only 2,000 by war’s end.<br>During the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/War_of_the_Palatinian_Succession War of Palatine Succession ](aka Nine Years' War–the War of the Grand Alliance, the War of the Palatine Succession, or the War of the League of Augsburg) 1688–97. Baden suffered heavily again. The French King [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louis_XIV_of_France Louis XIV] attempted to expand France to the Rhine and exert pressure on the Elector Palatine to sever ties with the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/League_of_Augsburg League of Augsburg]. The French began the policy of [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Br%C3%BBlez_le_Palatinat! “brûlez le Palatinat!"]&nbsp;whereby German towns were systematically destroyed. In 1689, Mannheim, Frankenthal, Worms, Speyer, Bretten, Maubronn, Pforzheim, Baden-Baden and numerous other towns and villages were set afire. In 1691, the French again besieged, attacked, and sacked Pforzheim. In 1692, they returned and took over the town, this time using it as a camp. From there, they set out on expeditions, looting and destroying the towns of Huchenfeld, Calw, Hirsau, Liebenzell, and Zavelstein. They also destroyed Liebeneck castle where part of the Pforzheim town archives were hidden. Another part of the town archive was held in Calw. Both sets of the archives were destroyed by fires set by the attackers. <br>

<br>At the conclusion of the Napoleonic Wars in 1815 Baden joined the newly-formed [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/German_Confederation German Confederation]. This confederation was created for several reasons, not the least of which was to provide a buffer against French expansion to the east. Unfortunately, the confederation was too weak to achieve real German unity and dissolved with the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Austro-Prussian_War Austro-Prussian War ]of 1866. <br>The [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Revolutions_of_1848_in_the_German_states Revolutions of 1848] had an impact all over the German area. Baden had had a liberal constitution from 1811, but the constitution was revoked in 1830. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leopold_of_Baden Leopold of Baden] became Grand Duke in 1830. He brought in liberal reforms in many areas of society. This liberalism set the stage for the revolution in 1848, which began in Paris. Baden was the first German state to be affected by the revolution, notwithstanding its already liberal society. Peasants took to the streets and even burned some aristocrats’ homes. A convention in Mannheim demanded a bill of rights. The movement continued to gain strength, with demands being made for further reforms, including an elected representative government and the unification of Germany. A [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frankfurt_National_Assembly convention in Frankfurt] passed sweeping reforms. However, the two representatives from Baden had already walked out of the assembly because of frustration with the slow progress being made. In the mean time, the reforms did little to quell the public outcry. Agitators continued to foment revolution. The Baden government finally took action by arresting [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Fickler Joseph Fickler], one of the leaders of the democrats. His arrest only inflamed the masses and on [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hecker_Uprising 12 April, 1848 a full-scale uprising] ensued. The government, with the aid of troops from Bavaria and Prussia, crushed the revolt. Another, smaller uprising broke out the next year, but was put down as well. As it became clear that the revolutions had failed, the German princes reasserted their authority and reactionary forces prevailed. German unification would have to wait for another generation.