ABSTRACT
Gratified Prussian statesmen might have been at the successful conclusion of the wearisome negotiations which culminated in the establishment of the Zollverein they had every reason to regard the future with some misgivings. Before the Zollverein treaties expired on January 1, 1842, Prussia had to convince not only her allies but many of her own people that the system was worth retaining. The more smuggling was reduced by the strict supervision of the Zollverein frontiers the more difficult would Baden’s position become. The customs union had survived the period of trial. Baden had taken part in the abortive Darmstadt and Stuttgart conferences of 1820–1825 but had remained aloof from the subsequent negotiations which led to the establishment of three customs unions in Germany in 1828. Commercial questions were discussed and by a preliminary convention of July 10, 1830, Baden agreed to enter into negotiations with Bavaria and Wurttemberg with a view to adhering to their customs union.
