When was the zollverein established

The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. All rights reserved. See more Encyclopedia articles on: German History. Enter your search terms:. Friedrich List first popularized the idea of a combination to abolish the customs barriers that were inhibiting trade among the numerous states of the German Confederation.

In , Prussia abolished internal customs and formed a North German Zollverein, which in became the German Zollverein after merging with two similar unions, the South German Zollverein and the Central German Trade Union, both founded in Customs barriers of member states were leveled, and a uniform tariff was instituted against non-members. The customs at foreign frontiers were collected on joint account, and the proceeds were distributed in proportion to the population and resources of the member states.

A rival customs union, the Steuerverein of central Germany, was also organized in A series of treaties —54 joined it to the Zollverein, which then comprised nearly all the German states except Austria, the two Mecklenburgs, and the Hanseatic towns. Prussia, despite the insistence of several states, was unwilling to admit Austria to the union, but the two countries negotiated a separate tariff treaty.

Google Scholar. The first detailed discussion of the Zollverein was written by the Prussian nationalist Treitschke in the late s. Most authors writing about the Zollverein rely heavily on this original treatment, which is contained in seven lengthy volumes. Eden Paul and Cedar Paul, 7 vols. For the two principal, and highly detailed, English language accounts of the Zollverein, both of which rely on extensive primary sources, see W.

CrossRef Google Scholar. Erich Eyck, Bismarck and the German Empire , 3rd ed. Frank B. Frederick W. Prussia lost more territory after the — war; its population of 9. Treitschke, History of Germany in the Nineteenth Century , vol. MacDonald and Albert L.

Malden, MA: Blackwell Publishing, , Blackbourn, History of Germany, 48— For more on the Confederation, see Hans A. For a useful summary of the revolutions and edited original sources from the time period, see Frank Eyck, ed.

For background on the liberal movements in Germany at the time, see James J. Heath, Butler, 2 vols. William L. James J. See also Paul W.