ABSTRACT
The fourteenth century an Englishman had referred to the multiplicity of customs barriers in Germany as miram Germanorum insaniam. The comment is equally applicable to the state of affairs in the eighteenth century when over three hundred rulers, virtually unchecked by any central authority, levied such customs and excise as they pleased. At the end of 1828 three customs unions had been formed in Germany. These unions are: the Prussia-Hesse-Darmstadt union; the Bavaria-Wurttemberg union; and the Middle Union. The Prussia-Hesse-Darmstadt union was the absorption of the smaller country into the customs system of the larger. There were many suggestions in the years that followed the Napoleonic Wars for remedying Germany’s economic difficulties by forming a German customs union. Supporters of such a proposal claimed that the establishment of free-trade in Germany, by abolishing all internal dues and by levying substantial duties on the importation of foreign manufactured goods, would provide the indispensable basis for the revival and expansion of Germany’s industries.
