Essay On Feudalism In Germany

Germany had challenges after the Napoleonic War ended in 1815. Only the major ports of Bremen and Hamburg had clear and secure access to the North Sea. But even so, it did not had any clear access to the vibrant trade routes in the Atlantic. In addition, many medievalist economic institution remained in place, hampering the growth of agriculture and industries. Feudalism returned and continued, leading to the continuation of serfdom of many people and their obligation to provide a share of their harvest and labor to their landlords. Moreover, guild controlled much of the industries and because with their licensure policies, the establishing of factories became difficult and limited. In trade perspective, local German textile industry faced competition when the allies lifted the Continental System that blocked the entry of cheap British textile. A depression also followed in 1817 when agricultural production dropped significantly.
But the most significant challenge towards Germany’s industrial revolution was its political set up. Germany before 1871 was made of numerous German States with Prussia being biggest. And so trade was difficult and circulation of raw materials to factories was also hard. Only with the unification of Germany that she truly became an industrial powerhouse.
Among the German states, Prussia emerged as

The Tariff of 1818 became the basis of Prussia and signed commercial treaties with neighboring German states in order to form of customs union. For more than a decades, many German states thought whether to join or to form their own customs union. However, by 1834, Prussia formally created the Zollverein. Zollverein customs union provided new opportunities for industries. It opened a wider market and new sources of raw materials. Without the Zollverein an industrialized and unified Germany would not had been