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During the Napoleonic Wars, the French emperor conducted a
radical restructuring of the minor German principalities, sweeping
away many of the inconsistencies and consolidating tiny parcels of
territory into larger kingdoms and duchies. He named his creation
the Confederation of the Rhine.
After Napoleon was defeated in 1814, the
Congress of Vienna took on board much of this vital restructuring,
and retained many of the changes. However, the resulting Confederation
of German States paved the way for the enlarged
Prussia to eventually dominate and take over all of the German
states, forcing the country towards unification in 1871 and 1918.
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