ABSTRACT
The principle of territorial reform had been dynastic interest: national German considerations remained secondary, and Kleinstaaterei continued. The process of legal codification and administrative reform had already begun in some states, including Prussia, before the Napoleonic invasions, but was given added impetus after 1815 as many states attempted to integrate newly acquired territories under royal authority and to collect taxes efficiently. The preservation of royal authority in the face of potentially revolutionary opposition united Austria and Prussia politically, and was a more potent force than their competition for supremacy within the Bund. The Karlsbader Beschlsse of 1819 comprised measures to control the universities and to restrict press freedom, and also established a central authority to investigate and prevent revolutionary activity. The collapse of the liberals unification hopes did not mean that national unity was a dead letter. The Prussian government still had hopes of finally achieving full dominance over the German states and unifying them on its terms.
