This was the case of Prussia, a former duchy that in the early ... whose language and culture would deeply mark his future reign. Considering those pursuits effeminate, the king abused his son ...

But they repeatedly reversed these decisions. Apart from Austria, Prussia was the strongest German state. It was the only state that showed any real ability to unite Germany. It was clear that ...

Prussia's development as a successful, modern industrial state gave hope to German nationalists. Economically, unification through the Zollverein economic alliance of 1834 had been a success ...