This week in history: 19th July 1870
The Prussian victory over Austria in just seven weeks in 1866 asserted Prussian precedence over their German neighbours, but it was the alliance they gathered and led against the French in 1870 that led to the unification of Germany. The cause of the Franco-Prussian War centred on competing candidates for the Spanish throne and pitted French fears against German ambitions in a rivalry that would echo throughout the continent for the next 75 years.
Read more: Franco-German War (Britannica)
Added: 17th July 2023
