Confederation of the Rhine

Confederation of the Rhine. During the war of 1805, so disastrous for Austria, several German princes, too weak to remain neutral, were forced to ally themselves with France. The first to do so were the Electors of Bavaria and Württemberg, who, in recompense of their services, were elevated to the dignity of kings by the peace of Presburg, 26th December 1805. Finally, at Paris, on the 12th July 1806, 16 German princes formally signed an act of confederation, dissolving their connection with the Germanic empire, and allying themselves with France, under the protectorate of Napoleon. The more important of these 16 princes were—the kings of Bavaria and Württemberg, the arch-chancellor, the Elector of Baden, the new Duke of Cleves and Berg (Joachim Murat), and the Landgraf of Hesse-Darmstadt; later, other princes followed their example, including the king of Saxony, the new king of Westphalia, and the Elector of Würzburg. In 1811 the unpatriotic confederation comprised 4 kingdoms, 5 grand-duchies, 11 duchies, and 16 principalities; covering an area of 125,000 sq. m., with a population of 14,608,877, and an army of 119,180 men. The utter ruin which overtook the French army in the Russian campaign acted like a solvent on the confederation, and the year 1813 saw it vanish like mist in the sudden outburst of German patriotism. See GERMANY.