Otto von bismarck biography wikipedia

Though technically deferring to William, in reality Bismarck was in charge, manipulating the king with his intellect and the occasional tantrum while using royal decrees to circumvent the power of elected officials. In Bismarck began the series of wars that would establish Prussian power in Europe. He attacked Denmark to gain the German-speaking territories of Schleswig-Holstein and two years later provoked Emperor Franz-Josef I into starting the Austro-Prussian Warwhich ended in a swift defeat for the aging Austrian empire.

At the time, Bismarck wisely declined to levy a war indemnity against the Austrians. Bismarck was less circumspect in his conduct of the Franco-Prussian War The French declared war, but the Prussians and their German allies won handily. InBismarck married Johanna von Puttkamer, who provided him with stability. It was a year of significant change in his life, when he also embraced the Christian tradition of Lutheranism, and began his political career in the Prussian legislature, where he gained a reputation as an ultra-conservative royalist.

He then served as ambassador to Russia and France. Inhe returned to Prussia and was appointed prime minister by the new king, Wilhelm I. Bismarck was now determined to unite the German states into a single empire, with Prussia at its core. With Austrian support, he used the expanded Prussian army to capture the provinces of Schleswig and Holstein from Denmark.

He then escalated a quarrel with Austria and its German allies over the administration of these provinces into a war, in which Prussia was the victor.

Otto von bismarck biography wikipedia

Prussia then annexed further territory in Germany. Johanna von Puttkamer. Unification of Germany [ change change source ]. Policy at home [ change change source ]. References [ change change source ]. Bismarck: A Life. ISBN Bismarck: a life Oxford University Press. Wikimedia Commons has media related to Otto von Bismarck. Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Otto von Bismarck.

Hidden category: Commons link is on Wikidata. Craigbelieved that "Taylor does two things excellently. He provides a long needed account in English of the main facts of Bismarck's career, an account which is at once readable, up to date In the second place, he paints a fascinating portrait of one of the most complicated personalities in an age which was filled with gifted and original minds Fritz Stern reviewed the book for the Political Science Quarterly and said that while there are many other biographies of Bismarck that are more detailed, "as a perceptive psychological sketch of this massively complex being, Mr.

Taylor's Bismarck stands unsurpassed". A German edition was not published untiland it was not much noticed there. However German historian Wolfgang Mommsen later said that Taylor's biography was better than any German synthesis. Contents move to sidebar hide. Article Talk. Read Edit View history. Tools Tools.