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84-726: The Confederated States of the Rhine , simply known as the Confederation of the Rhine or Rhine Confederation , was a confederation of German client states established at the behest of Napoleon some months after he defeated Austria and Russia at the Battle of Austerlitz . Its creation brought about the dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire shortly afterward. The Confederation of the Rhine lasted for only seven years, from 1806 to 1813, dissolving after Napoleon's defeat in

168-874: A Prince-Primate of the confederation. As such, he was President of the College of Kings and presided over the Diet of the Confederation, designed to be a parliament-like body although it never actually assembled. The President of the Council of the Princes was the Prince of Nassau-Usingen. In return for their support of Napoleon, some rulers were given higher statuses: Baden , Hesse, Cleves , and Berg were made into grand duchies , and Württemberg and Bavaria became kingdoms. Several member states were also enlarged with

252-441: A federal state , the central authority is relatively weak. Decisions made by the general government in a unicameral legislature, a council of the member states, require subsequent implementation by the member states to take effect; they are not laws acting directly upon the individual but have more the character of interstate agreements. Also, decision-making in the general government usually proceeds by consensus (unanimity), not by

336-524: A single economic market , a common customs territory , (mainly) open internal borders , and a common currency among most member-states. However, unlike a federation, the EU does not have exclusive powers over foreign affairs, defence, taxation, along with the immigration and transit of non-EU nationals. Furthermore, most EU laws , which have been developed by consensus between relevant national government ministers and then scrutinised and approved or rejected by

420-409: A "kind of confederation" by, for example, Belgian Minister of State Mark Eyskens. Canada is an unusually decentralized federal state , not a confederate association of sovereign states, the usual meaning of confederation in modern terms. In Canada , the word confederation has an additional unrelated meaning. " Confederation " refers to the process of (or the event of) establishing or joining

504-485: A 14-year-old orphan apprentice. Max Joseph donated books and directed the glassmaker to give Fraunhofer time to study. Fraunhofer went on to become one of the most famous optical scientists and artisans in history, inventing the spectroscope and spectroscopy, making Bavaria noted for fine optics, and joining the nobility before his death at age 39. He was elected a Royal Fellow of the Royal Society in 1802. As

588-643: A Europe dominated by monarchies and free trade), and it ensured peace between the different cultural entities of the area. After the Sonderbund War of 1847 , when some of the Catholic cantons of Switzerland attempted to set up a separate union ( Sonderbund in German) against the Protestant majority, a vote was held and the majority of the cantons approved the new Federal Constitution which changed

672-425: A confederation retain their sovereignty, they have an implicit right of secession . The political philosopher Emmerich de Vattel said: "Several sovereign and independent states may unite themselves together by a perpetual confederacy without each, in particular, ceasing to be a perfect state.... The deliberations in common will offer no violence to the sovereignty of each member". Under a confederation, compared to

756-430: A federation but be confederal (or the reverse), and may not show any qualities that 21st-century political scientists might classify as those of a confederation. Some have more the characteristics of a personal union , but appear here because of their self-styling as a "confederation": Maximilian I Joseph of Bavaria Maximilian I Joseph ( German : Maximilian I. Joseph ; 27 May 1756 – 13 October 1825)

840-581: A loose confederation of sovereign states (the treaty called it the États confédérés du Rhin . The " Protector of the Confederation " was a hereditary office of the Emperor of the French, Napoleon. On 1 August, as the treaty compelled them to do, the members of the confederation formally seceded from the Holy Roman Empire, and on 6 August, following an ultimatum by Napoleon, Francis II , who had already proclaimed himself Emperor of Austria in 1804, declared

924-648: A marginal role in nationwide general elections. The system in Belgium is known as consociationalism . That makes Belgium fundamentally different from federal countries like Switzerland , Canada , Germany and Australia . National parties receive over 90% of voter support in those countries. The only geographical areas comparable with Belgium within Europe are Catalonia , the Basque Country (both part of Spain ), Northern Ireland and Scotland (both part of

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1008-621: A modern country that traditionally refers to itself as a confederation because the official (and traditional) name of Switzerland in German ( the majority language of the Swiss ) is Schweizerische Eidgenossenschaft (literally "Swiss Comradeship by Oath"), an expression which was translated into the Latin Confoederatio Helvetica (Helvetic Confederation). It had been a confederacy since its inception in 1291 as

1092-642: A monarch, Max Joseph was very close to the citizens, walked freely along the streets of Munich without great accompaniment, and conversed with his people in a casual manner. Regardless, he was somewhat eccentric, like some of his descendants and successors. Maximilian married twice and had children by both marriages: His first wife was Princess Augusta Wilhelmine of Hesse-Darmstadt , daughter of Prince George William of Hesse-Darmstadt (14 April 1765 – 30 March 1796). They were married on 30 September 1785 in Darmstadt . They had five children: Maximilian's second wife

1176-559: A region in the central Andean highlands in present-day Colombia. The Hoa ruled the northern section of the confederation, while the Zipa ruled the southern portion. The Andean civilizations consisted of loose confederations, such as the Aymara kingdoms and the Diaguita , with the former being composed of distinct diarchies. In 2003, Federal Republic of Yugoslavia was transformed into

1260-492: A republican form (confederated republics) are usually called states (like states of the American Confederacy , 1861–1865) or republics (like republics of Serbia and Montenegro within the former State Union of Serbia and Montenegro , 2003–2006). Those that have a monarchical form of government (confederated monarchies) are defined by various hierarchical ranks (like kingdoms of Iraq and Jordan within

1344-483: A subsequent federal law, set forth negotiating conditions for a Canadian province (though not a territory ) to leave the Canadian federal state (addressed also by a related Quebec law ). Importantly, negotiation would first need triggering by referendum and executing by constitutional amendment using a current amending mechanism of Canada's constitution—meaning that, while not legal under the current constitution, it

1428-409: A time as Maximilian Joseph's private secretary, was the most potent influence, wholly "enlightened" and French. Agriculture and commerce were fostered, the laws were ameliorated, a new criminal code drawn up, taxes and imposts equalized without regard to traditional privileges, while a number of religious houses were suppressed and their revenues used for educational and other useful purposes. He closed

1512-570: A treaty or of a treaty amendment is required. Such a form may thus be described as a semi-intergovernmental confederation. However, some academic observers more usually discuss the EU in the terms of it being a federation. As the international law professor Joseph H. H. Weiler (of the Hague Academy and New York University ) wrote, "Europe has charted its own brand of constitutional federalism". Jean-Michel Josselin and Alain Marciano see

1596-462: A voluntary option for its future member states. Negotiations between France and the princes who had been selected by Napoleon to be members of the future alliance had been dragging on for the first six months of 1806 when Napoleon decided to rush things. On 12 July, the Paris envoys of the various princes were summoned to the ministry of Foreign Affairs to find themselves instructed by Talleyrand to sign

1680-519: A weak common president , ministerial council and parliament . The two constituent republics functioned separately throughout the period of its short existence, and they continued to operate under separate economic policies and to use separate currencies (the euro was and still is the only legal tender in Montenegro, and the dinar was and still is the legal tender in Serbia). On 21 May 2006,

1764-559: Is democratically feasible without resorting to extralegal means or international involvement. Its unique nature and the political sensitivities surrounding it cause there to be no common or legal classification for the European Union (EU). However, it bears some resemblance to both a confederation (or a "new" type of confederation) and a federation. The term supranational union has also been applied. The EU operates common economic policies with hundreds of common laws, which enable

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1848-594: The Ancien Régime in France as a colonel in the Royal Deux-Ponts Regiment , made the reconstruction of the army a priority. Maximilian's sympathy with France and the ideas of enlightenment at once manifested itself when he acceded to the throne of Bavaria. In the newly organized ministry, Count Max Josef von Montgelas , who, after falling into disfavour with Charles Theodore, had acted for

1932-526: The Belarusian government . The confederation was created with the objective of co-ordinating common action on economic integration and foreign affairs. However, many of the treaty's provisions have not yet been implemented. Consequently, The Times , in 2020, described it as "a mostly unimplemented confederation". On July 6, 2024, at the end of the first summit of the Alliance of Sahel States (AES),

2016-678: The Congress of Vienna redrew the continent's political map. Napoleonic creations such as the huge Kingdom of Westphalia, the Grand Duchy of Berg and the Duchy of Würzburg were abolished; suppressed states, including Hanover, the Brunswick duchies, Hesse-Kassel and Oldenburg, were reinstated. On the other hand, most members of the Confederation of the Rhine located in central and southern Germany survived with minor border changes. They, along with

2100-718: The EPP , the S&;D Group and Renew Europe , support a federal model for the European Union. The ECR Group argues for a reformed European Union along confederal lines. The Brothers of Italy party, led by Giorgia Meloni , campaigns for a confederal Europe. On her election as President of the ECR Party in September 2020 Meloni said, "Let us continue to fight together for a confederate Europe of free and sovereign states". In

2184-672: The Electorate of Baden and the Duchy of Württemberg benefited the most from these changes. The disappearance of ecclesiastical territories meant the emperor lost important political support. The end of the crippled Holy Roman Empire was foreseeable. Francis II took the title of Emperor of Austria in 1804 to counter the loss of prestige. When the War of the Third Coalition broke out in 1805, with Russia, Austria and Great Britain on

2268-661: The European Court of Justice in Luxembourg City as being a primary force behind the building of a federal legal order for the EU, with Josselin stating that a "complete shift from a confederation to a federation would have required to straight-forwardly replace the principality of the member states vis-à-vis the Union by that of the European citizens. As a consequence, both confederate and federate features coexist in

2352-558: The European Parliament , must be transposed into national law by national parliaments. Most collective decisions by member states are taken by weighted majorities and blocking minorities typical of upper houses in federations. On the other hand, the absolute unanimity typical of intergovernmentalism is required only in respect to the Common Foreign and Security Policy , as well as in situations when ratification of

2436-460: The Federal diet in the internal affairs of Bavaria, partly to give unity to his somewhat heterogeneous territories, that Maximilian on 26 May 1818 granted a liberal constitution to his people. Montgelas, who had opposed this concession, had fallen in the previous year, and Maximilian had also reversed his ecclesiastical policy, signing on 24 October 1817 a concordat with Rome by which the powers of

2520-633: The Flemish (Belgians who speak Dutch or Dutch dialects) and the Walloons (Belgians who speak French or French dialects). For example, in the last several decades, over 95% of Belgians have voted for political parties that represent voters from only one community, the separatist N-VA being the party with the most voter support among the Flemish population. Parties that strongly advocate Belgian unity and appeal to voters of both communities usually play only

2604-650: The Hashemite Arab Union in 1958). Many scholars have claimed that the Kingdom of Belgium , a country with a complicated federal structure has adopted some characteristics of a confederation under the pressure of separatist movements, especially in Flanders . For example, C. E. Lagasse declared that Belgium was "near the political system of a Confederation" regarding the constitutional reform agreements between Belgian Regions and between Communities , and

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2688-585: The Hôtel des Deux-Ponts . He became Count of Rappoltstein in 1776 and took service in 1777 as a colonel in the French Royal Army . He rose rapidly to the rank of major-general . From 1782 to 1789, he was stationed at Strasbourg . During his time at the University of Strasbourg , Klemens von Metternich , the future Austrian chancellor, was for some time accommodated by Prince Maximilian. By

2772-659: The Mainz Commission he was accustomed to examine himself, with the result that in many cases the whole proceedings were quashed, and in not a few the accused dismissed with a present of money. Maximilian died at Nymphenburg Palace , in Munich , on 13 October 1825 and was succeeded by his son Ludwig I . Maximilian is buried in the crypt of the Theatine Church in Munich. Under the reign of Maximilian Joseph

2856-537: The Montenegrin independence referendum was held. The final official results indicated on 31 May that 55.5% of voters voted in favor of independence. The confederation effectively came to an end after Montenegro's formal declaration of independence on 3 June 2006 and Serbia's formal declaration of independence on 5 June. Switzerland , officially known as the Swiss Confederation , is an example of

2940-559: The Old Swiss Confederacy , which was originally created as an alliance among the valley communities of the central Alps , until it became a federation in 1848 but it retains the name of Confederacy for reasons of historical tradition. The confederacy facilitated management of common interests (such as freedom from external domination especially from the Habsburg Empire , the development of republican institutions in

3024-648: The State Union of Serbia and Montenegro , a confederation of the Republic of Montenegro and the Republic of Serbia . The state was constituted as a loose political union , but formally functioned as a sovereign subject of international law, and member of the United Nations . As a confederation, the State Union of Serbia and Montenegro had very few shared functions, such as defense, foreign affairs and

3108-676: The Treaty of Lunéville , which saw the annexation of the German territories of the left bank of the Rhine occupied by France, a new order of Central European states was established. The Final Imperial Recess of 1803 led to a radical transformation within the Holy Roman Empire . Some 112 immediate territories east of the Rhine were absorbed by larger states. Over three million people were affected by this change. All ecclesiastical territories save one were secularized and most free imperial cities underwent mediatisation . Besides Prussia,

3192-551: The United Kingdom ) and parts of Italy , where a massive voter turnout for regional (and often separatist) political parties has become the rule in the last decades, and nationwide parties advocating national unity draw around half or sometimes less of the votes. The Benelux is a politico-economic union of the states of Belgium , the Netherlands , and Luxembourg bound through treaties and based on consensus between

3276-457: The University of Ingolstadt in May 1800 and moved it to Landshut . In foreign affairs, Maximilian Joseph's attitude was, from the German point of view, less commendable. He never had any sympathy with the growing sentiment of German nationality, and his attitude was dictated by wholly dynastic, or at least Bavarian, considerations. Until 1813, he was the most faithful of Napoleon 's German allies,

3360-494: The Wabanaki Confederacy , Western Confederacy , Tsenacommacah , Seven Nations of Canada , Pontiac's Confederacy , Pennacook Confederacy , Illinois Confederation , Tecumseh's Confederacy , Muscogee Confederacy , Great Sioux Nation , Blackfoot Confederacy , Warm Springs Confederacy , Manahoac Confederacy , Iron Confederacy and Council of Three Fires . The Haudenosaunee Confederacy, historically known as

3444-486: The War of the Fifth Coalition in 1809 he received Tyrol and Innviertel regions from the defeated Austria. The new King of Bavaria was the most important of the princes belonging to the Confederation of the Rhine , and remained Napoleon's ally until the eve of the Battle of Leipzig , when by the Treaty of Ried (8 October 1813) he made the guarantee of the integrity of his kingdom the price of his joining

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3528-591: The War of the Sixth Coalition . The founding members of the confederation were German princes of the Holy Roman Empire . They were later joined by 19 others, altogether ruling a total of over 15 million people. This granted a significant strategic advantage to the French Empire on its eastern frontier by providing a buffer between France and the two largest German states, Prussia and Austria (which also controlled substantial non-German lands). After

3612-537: The trade embargo with Great Britain , the Continental System . The Confederation of the Rhine collapsed in 1813, in the aftermath of Napoleon's failed invasion of the Russian Empire . Many of its members changed sides after the Battle of Leipzig , when it became apparent Napoleon would lose the War of the Sixth Coalition . Both French influence and internal autonomy varied greatly throughout

3696-516: The Allies. On 14 October, Bavaria made a formal declaration of war against Napoleonic France . The treaty was passionately backed by Crown Prince Ludwig and by Marshal von Wrede . By the first Treaty of Paris (3 June 1814), however, he returned Tyrol to Austria in exchange for the former Grand Duchy of Würzburg . At the Congress of Vienna , which he attended in person, Maximilian had to make further concessions to Austria, ceding Salzburg and

3780-699: The Bavarian Secularization (1802–1803) led to the nationalisation of cultural assets of the Church. The Protestants were emancipated. In 1808 he founded the Academy of Fine Arts Munich . The city of Munich was extended by the first systematic expansion with the new Brienner Strasse as core. In 1810 Max Joseph ordered construction of the National Theatre Munich in French neo-classic style. The monument Max-Joseph Denkmal before

3864-609: The Canadian federal state. In modern terminology, Canada is a federation, not a confederation. However, to contemporaries of the Constitution Act, 1867 , confederation did not have the same connotation of a weakly-centralized federation. Canadian Confederation generally refers to the Constitution Act, 1867 , which formed the Dominion of Canada from three of the colonies of British North America , and to

3948-422: The EU as a federal system". Thomas Risse and Tanja A. Börzel claim that the "EU only lacks two significant features of a federation. First, the Member States remain the "masters" of the treaties, i.e., they have the exclusive power to amend or change the constitutive treaties of the EU. Second, the EU lacks a real "tax and spend" capacity, in other words, there is no fiscal federalism". Valéry Giscard d'Estaing ,

4032-423: The French Empire. Thus, as either emperor of the French or protector of the Confederation of the Rhine, Napoleon was now the overlord of all of Germany except Austria, Prussia , Danish Holstein , and Swedish Pomerania , plus previously independent Switzerland, which were not included in the Confederation. In 1810 large parts of what is now northwest Germany were quickly annexed to France in order to better monitor

4116-659: The Habsburgs when they were within the Holy Roman Empire. In order to add luster to his newly-founded dynasty, the French Emperor pressed hard to arrange a marriage between his step-son Eugène de Beauharnais and Augusta of Bavaria . Napoleon had already contemplated marrying Beauharnais to a Wittelsbach princess in 1804 but it’s only in 1806, following his elevation to the status of king, that Max Joseph gave in to Napoleon’s pressure. Other royal marriages were arranged between Stéphanie de Beauharnais and Charles of Baden and Jérôme Bonaparte and Catharina of Württemberg . After Prussia lost to France in 1806, Napoleon cajoled most of

4200-405: The Holy Roman Empire dissolved. According to the treaty, the confederation was to be run by common constitutional bodies, but the individual states (in particular the larger ones) wanted unlimited sovereignty . Instead of a monarchical head of state , as the Holy Roman Emperor had been, its highest office was held by Karl Theodor von Dalberg , the former Arch Chancellor, who now bore the title of

4284-491: The Iroquois League or the League of Five (later Six) Nations, is the country of Native Americans (in what is now the United States) and First Nations (in what is now Canada) that consists of six nations: the Mohawk , the Oneida , the Onondaga , the Cayuga , the Seneca and the Tuscarora . The Six Nations have a representative government known as the Grand Council which is the oldest governmental institution still maintaining its original form in North America. Each clan from

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4368-413: The National Theatre was created in the middle of the square Max-Joseph-Platz as a memorial for King Maximilian Joseph by Christian Daniel Rauch and carried out by Johann Baptist Stiglmaier. It was only revealed in 1835 since the king had rejected to be eternalized in sitting position. In 1801 he led the rescue operation when a glassmaker's workshop collapsed, saving the life of Joseph von Fraunhofer ,

4452-472: The Rhine , Arch-Steward of the Empire, and Duke of Berg upon the extinction of the Palatinate-Sulzbach line at the death of Elector Charles Theodore of Bavaria. The new elector, as Maximilian IV Joseph, found the Bavarian army in abject condition on his accession to the throne: Hardly any of the units were at full strength, the Rumford uniforms were unpopular and impractical, and the troops were badly-trained. The young Prince-Elector, who had served under

4536-477: The absorption of the territories of Imperial counts and knights who were mediatized at that time. They had to pay a very high price for their new status, however. The Confederation was above all a military alliance; the member states had to maintain substantial armies for mutual defense and supply France with large numbers of military personnel. As events played out, the members of the confederation found themselves more subordinated to Napoleon than they had been to

4620-403: The central government being required to provide support for all its members. Confederalism represents a main form of intergovernmentalism , defined as any form of interaction around states that takes place on the basis of sovereign independence or government. The nature of the relationship among the member states constituting a confederation varies considerably. Likewise, the relationship between

4704-408: The chairman of the body of experts commissioned to elaborate a constitutional charter for the European Union, was confronted with strong opposition from the United Kingdom towards including the words "federal" or "federation" in the unratified European Constitution and the word was replaced with either "Community" or "Union". A majority of the Political Groups in the European Parliament , including

4788-442: The clergy, largely curtailed under Montgelas's administration, were restored. The new parliament proved to be more independent than he had anticipated and in 1819 Maximilian resorted to appealing to the powers against his own creation; but his Bavarian " particularism " and his genuine popular sympathies prevented him from allowing the Carlsbad Decrees to be strictly enforced within his dominions. The suspects arrested by order of

4872-585: The colony of Upper Canada ), Nova Scotia , and New Brunswick . Later participants were Manitoba , British Columbia , Prince Edward Island , Alberta and Saskatchewan (the latter two created in 1905 as federated provinces from parts of the directly federally administered Northwest Territories , first transferred to the Dominion in 1869 and now possessing devolved governments as itself, Yukon and Nunavut ), and finally Newfoundland (now Newfoundland and Labrador ) in 1949. A Canadian judicial constitutional interpretation, Reference Re Secession of Quebec , and

4956-417: The confederations' existence. There was also a great variation between the power and influence of the individual states. There are three basic types: The following table shows the members of the confederation, with their date of joining, as well as the number of troops provided, listed in parentheses. The allies opposing Napoleon dissolved the Confederation of the Rhine on 4 November 1813. After its demise,

5040-421: The context of the history of the indigenous peoples of the Americas , a confederacy may refer to a semi-permanent political and military alliance consisting of multiple nations (or "tribes", "bands", or "villages"), which maintained their separate leadership. One of the most well-known is the Haudenosaunee (or Iroquois), but there were many others during different eras and locations across North America , such as

5124-408: The director of the Centre de recherche et d'information socio-politiques (CRISP) Vincent de Coorebyter called Belgium "undoubtedly a federation...[with] some aspects of a confederation" in Le Soir . Also in Le Soir , Michel Quévit of the Catholic University of Louvain wrote that the "Belgian political system is already in dynamics of a Confederation". Nevertheless, the Belgian regions and

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5208-400: The elevation of both Bavaria and Württemberg to the rank of kingdom and Baden, Hesse-Darmstadt and Berg to that of grand duchy. With French encouragement, the vestiges of small Imperial estates in the region were annexed. This reorganisation of the right bank of the Rhine laid the groundwork for the Confederation of the Rhine. The formation of the Confederation of the Rhine was not altogether

5292-427: The final communiqué announced the creation of a confederation of the three countries of the AES, namely Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger. it was in February 2024 that the military powers of the three countries announced the creation of the AES after their withdrawal from ECOWAS. Historical confederations (especially those predating the 20th century) may not fit the current definition of a confederation, may be proclaimed as

5376-412: The five nations sends chiefs to act as representatives and make decisions for the whole confederation. It has been operating since its foundation in 1142 despite limited international recognition today. Several of the Pre-Columbian cultures of Colombia , such as the Muisca and Tairona were composed of loose confederations. The Muisca form of government consisted of two different rulers that governed

5460-464: The independence of Bavaria, and it was his insistence on the principle of full sovereignty being left to the German reigning princes that largely contributed to the loose and weak organization of the new German Confederation . The Federative Constitution of Germany (8 June 1815) of the Congress of Vienna was proclaimed in Bavaria, not as a law but as an international treaty. It was partly to secure popular support in his resistance to any interference of

5544-438: The judicial landscape". Rutgers political science professor R. Daniel Kelemen said: "Those uncomfortable using the 'F' word in the EU context should feel free to refer to it as a quasi-federal or federal-like system. Nevertheless, the EU has the necessary attributes of a federal system. It is striking that while many scholars of the EU continue to resist analyzing it as a federation, most contemporary students of federalism view

5628-401: The linguistic communities do not have the autonomy to leave the Belgian state. As such, federal aspects still dominate. Also, for fiscal policy and public finances, the federal state dominates the other levels of government. The increasingly-confederal aspects of the Belgian Federal State appear to be a political reflection of the profound cultural, sociological and economic differences between

5712-525: The majority. Historically, those features limit the union's effectiveness. Hence, political pressure tends to build over time for the transition to a federal system of government, as in the American, Swiss and German cases of regional integration . In terms of internal structure, every confederal state is composed of two or more constituent states, referred to as confederated states . Regarding their political systems , confederated states can have republican or monarchical forms of government. Those that have

5796-403: The member states and the general government and their distribution of powers varies. Some looser confederations are similar to international organisations . Other confederations with stricter rules may resemble federal systems . These elements of such confederations, the international organization and federalist perspective, has been combined as supranational unions . Since the member states of

5880-567: The one side and France on the other, Bavaria, Baden and Wurttemberg allied with Napoleon. After the victory at Austerlitz and the resultant Peace of Pressburg in 1805, Napoleon could significantly reassert his position in the German states. Furthermore, Austria had to concede territory and Napoleon named his brothers Joseph and Louis kings of Naples and Holland , respectively, and his brother-in-law Joachim Murat , Grand Duke of Berg . He also worked toward establishing an alliance with Baden, Bavaria and Württemberg. Francis II had to assent to

5964-424: The only attempt at political coordination in Germany until the creation on 8 June 1815 of the German Confederation was a body called the Central Administration Council (German: Zentralverwaltungsrat ); its president was Heinrich Friedrich Karl Reichsfreiherr vom und zum Stein (1757–1831). It was dissolved on 20 June 1815. On 30 May 1814 the Treaty of Paris declared the German states independent. In 1814–1815,

6048-620: The outbreak of the French Revolution , Maximilian exchanged the French for the Austrian service and took part in the opening campaigns of the French Revolutionary Wars . On 1 April 1795, Maximilian succeeded his brother Charles II as Duke of Zweibrücken, however his duchy was entirely occupied by revolutionary France at the time. On 16 February 1799, he became Elector of Bavaria and Count Palatine of

6132-404: The political system to one of a federation . In 1999, Russia and Belarus signed a treaty to form a confederation, which came into force on 26 January 2000. Although it was given the name Union State , and has some characteristics of a federation, it remains a confederation of two sovereign states. Its existence has been seen as an indication of Russia's political and economic support for

6216-493: The princes had been sent a copy of the proposed treaty, was aghast. Among other things, Bavaria would lose control of its foreign policy which would now be in the hands of Napoleon, the " Protector of the Confederation " . He hurriedly sent Baron Karl von Gravenreuth to Paris with instructions to reject a confederation which he said gave to the Protector a power "more extensive than the Emperor of Germany ever had". Von Gravenreuth

6300-570: The regions of Innviertel and Hausruckviertel in return for the western part of the old Palatinate . The king fought hard to maintain the contiguity of the Bavarian territories as guaranteed at Ried but the most he could obtain was an assurance from Metternich in the matter of the Baden succession, in which he was also doomed to be disappointed. At Vienna and afterwards Maximilian sturdily opposed any reconstitution of Germany which should endanger

6384-537: The reinstated states, Prussia, and Austria, formed the German Confederation . Confederation List of forms of government A confederation (also known as a confederacy or league ) is a political union of sovereign states united for purposes of common action. Usually created by a treaty , confederations of states tend to be established for dealing with critical issues, such as defence, foreign relations, internal trade or currency, with

6468-502: The relationship cemented by the marriage of his eldest daughter to Eugène de Beauharnais . His reward came with the Treaty of Pressburg (26 December 1805), by the terms of which he was to receive the royal title and important territorial acquisitions in Swabia and Franconia to round off his kingdom. He assumed the title of king on 1 January 1806. On 15 March, he ceded the Duchy of Berg to Napoleon's brother-in-law Joachim Murat . After

6552-525: The representatives of the member states. They partially share a common foreign policy, especially in regards to their navies through the BeNeSam . The Dutch defence minister (2010–2012) Hans Hillen even said on Belgian radio that it is not impossible that the three armed forces of the member-states could be integrated into "Benelux Armed Forces" one day. Because of this the Benelux is sometimes labeled as

6636-545: The secondary states of Germany into the Confederation of the Rhine. Eventually, an additional 23 German states joined the Confederation. It was at its largest in 1808, when it included 36 states—four kingdoms, five grand duchies, 13 duchies , seventeen principalities , and the Free Hansa towns of Hamburg , Lübeck , and Bremen . The west bank of the Rhine and the Principality of Erfurt had been annexed outright by

6720-533: The subsequent incorporation of other colonies and territories. Beginning on 1 July 1867, it was initially a self-governing dominion of the British Empire with a federal structure , whose government was led by Sir John A. Macdonald . The initial colonies involved were the Province of Canada (becoming Quebec from Canada East, formerly the colony of Lower Canada ; and Ontario from Canada West, formerly

6804-456: The treaty of the new alliance, whose terms had been decided between him and Napoleon. This caused consternation among the envoys given that the terms were far more onerous for the princes than what had been expected. They all protested that they were not empowered to sign before their masters authorized them to do so, but Talleyrand compelled them to sign then and there and so they did under duress. King Maximilian Joseph of Bavaria , who alone among

6888-562: Was Duke of Zweibrücken from 1795 to 1799, prince-elector of Bavaria (as Maximilian IV Joseph ) from 1799 to 1806, then King of Bavaria (as Maximilian I Joseph) from 1806 to 1825. He was a member of the House of Palatinate-Birkenfeld -Zweibrücken, a branch of the House of Wittelsbach . Maximilian, the son of the Count Palatine Frederick Michael of Zweibrücken-Birkenfeld and Maria Francisca of Sulzbach ,

6972-431: Was born on 27 May 1756 at Schwetzingen , between Heidelberg and Mannheim . After the death of his father of testicular cancer in 1767, he was left at first without parental supervision, since his mother had been banished from her husband's court after giving birth to a son fathered by an actor. Maximilian was carefully educated under the supervision of his uncle, Duke Christian IV of Zweibrücken , who settled him in

7056-541: Was detained long enough at the French border so that when he finally arrived in Paris all the other princes had signed. He therefore found it unadvisable to deliver the King’s views on the matter. In the words of Enno E. Kraehe: "Only by such crude methods was Napoleon able at last to found the Confederation of the Rhine". On signing the Treaty of the Confederation of the Rhine (German: Rheinbundakte ), 16 German states joined in

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