ABSTRACT
Although the Treaty of Prague confirmed Prussian hegemony north of the Main and, by dissolving the old German Confederation, finally destroyed the basis of Habsburg influence in Germany, no permanent solution to the German problem had yet been found and so the situation remained unstable and potentially dangerous. The southern states were weak and divided and their close economic and military ties with the North German Confederation seemed to indicate that their absorption was only a matter of time, but it was also clear that any breach of the Main line would be bitterly opposed by the French. Napoleon, whose political position essentially depended on the international prestige of his regime, could not afford to tolerate any further Prussian aggrandizement unless accompanied by substantial concessions from Berlin. Bismarck, however, was coming under increasing pressure from the National Liberals and Free Conservatives to complete unification without sacrificing an inch of German territory. He was fortunate that there was still little danger of a hostile European alliance forming. The powers were distracted by the Eastern question, which had re-emerged with the Cretan revolt against Turkish rule in the summer of 1866 and remained in a state of ‘diplomatic disorientation’ (seepage 25) from each other.
