Latest / The History of Germany: Kingdoms, War, and Rebuilding Europe — Fexingo History
The Zollverein: How Customs Union United Germany
Before Bismarck’s wars and the 1871 proclamation, a quiet revolution was already stitching the German states together—not through blood and iron, but through tariffs and rails. This episode explores the Zollverein, the German Customs Union founded in 1834. We trace its roots to Prussia’s 1818 tariff law, its expansion under the leadership of Friedrich von Motz and Peter Beuth, and its role as a template for economic unification. We meet the skeptics: Austria, excluded by design; the southern states like Bavaria and Württemberg, wary of Prussian dominance; and the free-trade intellectuals like…
The skinny
The skinny isn't ready yet — notes appear once the transcript is processed.