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| 1058 | Clement III |  |
| Appointed Imperial Chancellor for Italy, 1058-63 |
| 1848 | Charles Anthony | |
| Berlin Appointed Chancellor of Germany |
| Presides over new elections to the Diet, results in a liberal victory |
| 1870 | Bismarck-Schonhausen, Otto Furst von | |
| Berlin Appointed Imperial Chancellor of the 1st Reich |
| Berlin Prussian victory establishes German unity |
| 11th July Meets Gorchakov & secures an understanding with Russia |
| 14th Nov Baden Baden Baden & Hesse join the Confederation of Germany |
| 23rd Nov Berlin Germany is united under a single Confederation |
| 1871 | Bismarck-Schonhausen, Otto Furst von | |
| A Federal Government, Bundesrat, elected by regional Governments |
| Among the measures taken to reduce the influence of the Catholic Church was the addition of ş 130a to the German Criminal Code (Strafgesetzbuch), which threatened clergy who discussed politics from the pulpit with two years of prison |
| A National Government, Reichstag, elected by all males over 25 by secret ballot |
| Appointed Imperial Chancellor of the German Empire |
| Bismarck's intention is to create a constitutional fa‡ade which would mask the continuation of authoritarian policies |
| Defends Catholic interests against Bismarck's Kulturkampf |
| Legislation requires the consent of the Bundesrat, the federal council of deputies from the states, executive power is vested in the emperor, or Kaiser, who is assisted by a chancellor responsible only to him |
| Officially, the chancellor is a one-man cabinet and is responsible for the conduct of all state affairs; in practice, the State Secretaries (officials in charge of fields as finance, war, foreign affairs, etc.) act as unofficial portfolio ministers |
| Prussia uses a highly restrictive three-class voting system in which the richest third of the population could choose 85 percent of the legislature, all but assuring a conservative majority |
| St Petersburg Reconciles William & Francis Joseph & discusses alliance with Beust |
| The 1866 North German Constitution becomes the 1871 Constitution of the German Empire with some adjustments |
| The German Empire is the name used in English to describe the first 47 years of the German Reich when it was a semi-constitutional monarchy: beginning with the unification of Germany and proclamation of William I of Prussia as German Emperor |
| The new empire has a Parliament with two houses, the lower house, or Reichstag, is elected by universal male suffrage, however, the original constituencies drawn in 1871 were never redrawn to reflect the growth of urban areas |
| The Reichstag has the power to pass, amend or reject bills, it could not initiate legislation, the power of initiating legislation rests with the Chancellor |
| The unified Germany under Chancellor Otto von Bismarck is called in German Deutsches Reich, remains the official name of Germany until 1945 |
| With the exception of the years 1872-1873 and 1892-1894, the Chancellor is always simultaneously the prime minister of Prussia, with 17 out of 58 votes in the Bundesrat, Berlin needed only a few votes from the small states to exercise control |
| 25th Jan Berlin Royal orders force Moltke to submit to Bismarck who wishes to end the war |
| 26th Jan Put in control of the armistice talks |
| Feb Discusses peace terms with Thiers & Favre |
| 21st Mar Berlin Opens the 1st Reichstag of the 2nd Reich |
| 10th May Frankfurt A German army of occuption will remain in France until the war indemnity is paid |
| 10th May Frankfurt Ends the Franco-Prussian War |
| 10th May Frankfurt Germany keeps Alsace & Lorraine |
| 10th May Alsace Under the treaty of Frankfurt Germany keeps Alsace |
| 1872 | Bismarck-Schonhausen, Otto Furst von | |
| Berlin Has Roon dismissed after 10 months because he fails to sufficiently support Bismarck |
| Berlin Persuades William to Appoint Roon as Minister of President of Prussia |
| The estate of the Church was confiscated, monastic orders dissolved, and the paragraphs of the Prussian constitution assuring the freedom of the Catholics is removed |
| William, Franz Joseph & Nicholas meet, Bismarck can create another Holy Alliance |
| St Petersburg William, Franz Joseph & Nicholas meet, Bismarck wants to create another Holy Alliance |
| May The Jesuits are banned (and remained banned in Germany until 1917) |
| May Under the May Laws administered by Adalbert Falk, the state begins to monitor the education of clergy closely, creates a secular court for cases involving the clergy, and requires notification of all clergy employment |
| June Religious schools are forced to undergo official government inspection and religious teachers are banned from government schools |
| Dec The German government breaks off diplomatic relations with the Vatican |
| 1873 | Bismarck-Schonhausen, Otto Furst von | |
| Berlin Bismarck sees the addition of the southern German states (especially Catholic Bavaria) as a possible threat to the Empire's stability |
| Berlin Tensions were also increased by the 1870 Vatican Council proclamation on papal infallibility |
| Berlin The "May Laws" of 1873-75 require state approval for training & licensing of priests |
| Berlin The "May Laws" of 1873-75 require state approval for training & licensing priests |
| Berlin The term "Kulurkampf" is 1st used to describe Bismark's crusade against the Catholics |
| Berlin Two archbishops are in prison & 1300 parishes do not have a priest |
| St Petersburg William, Moltke & Bismarck agree a military convention with the Russians |
| 9th Jan German occupation forces begin to evacuate France following the death of Napoleon III |
| 6th May A military convention between Germany & Russia |
| 8th Sep Germany completes it's evacuation of France |
| 22nd Oct An alliance of the Emperors of Germany, Russia & Austria |
| 22nd Oct The office of Minister-President of Prussia is temporarily separated from that of Chancellor, when Albrecht von Roon is appointed to the former office, but by the end of the year, Roon resigned due to ill health, and Bismarck becomes PM |
| 1874 | Bismarck-Schonhausen, Otto Furst von | |
| Bad Kissingen A Catholic, Heinz Kullman, attempts to assassinate Bismarck at Bad Kissingen |
| Bismarck even blames the poisoning of a popular lion from Berlin Zoological Gardens on Catholic conspirators |
| Bismarck's attempts to restrict the power of the Catholic Church, represented in politics by the Catholic Centre Party, were not successful, in the 1874 elections, these forces double their representation in the parliament |
| Berlin Finally passes the military budget, each military budget is to last 7 years |
| 23rd Jan Catholics rally around the Centre Party which increases its vote from 63 to 91 seats |
| 23rd Jan The Catholic Centre increases its seats because of hatred of the May Laws |
| 25th May Further May Laws against the Ultramontane clergy provoking Pius IX to annul them |
| 13th July Bad Kissingen Eduard Kullmann attempts to assassinate Bismarck with a pistol, but only hits his hand, Kullmann names the church laws as the reason why he had to shoot Bismarck |
| 4th Oct Count Arnim is arrested after the discovery of a plot to replace Bismarck by him |
| 1875 | Bismarck-Schonhausen, Otto Furst von | |
| Marriage becomes a mandatory civil ceremony, removed from the control of the Church |
| 24th Feb Berlin Seeks to preserve relations with Russia after problems with France |
| 8th April Berlin Creates tension with France whe he asks "is war in sight?" in the Berlin Post |
| 8th April Berlin Louis Decazes seeks support from Russia & Britain against Bismarck, war is averted |
| 8th April Berlin Starts a war scare with France |
| 1876 | Bismarck-Schonhausen, Otto Furst von | |
| Alsace Lorraine Offers Russia an alliance if for Alsace-Lorraine, Russia refuses |
| 1878 | Bismarck-Schonhausen, Otto Furst von | |
| Berlin Abandons the National Liberals in favour of the Conservatives after the Kulturkampf |
| Berlin Acts as "the honest broker" |
| Berlin Falk is dismissed & most anti-Catholic laws are dismantled |
| Berlin Pius dies & is replaced by the conciliatory Leo X |
| Berlin Prohibition of the Socialist Party press & organization |
| Berlin Russia gains Bessarabia, Bulgaria is reduced in size & placed under Turkish rule |
| Berlin The SPD defends itself by conventions in London & Switzerland |
| The struggle against socialism unites Bismarck with the Catholic Centre Party, bringing an end to the Kulturkampf, which had led to far greater Catholic unrest than existed beforehand and had strengthened rather than weakened Catholicism |
| Berlin Under the treaty of Berlin Romania gains Dobruja, Serbia & Montenegro become independent |
| 13th June Berlin Opening day of the Congress of Berlin to resolve the "Eastern Question" |
| 13th June Berlin The congress aims to revise the Treaty of San Stefano and keep Constantinople in Ottoman hands and disavow Russia's victory over the decaying Ottoman Empire in the Russo-Turkish War, 1877-78 |
| 13th June Berlin The Congress of Berlin redistributes back to the Ottoman Empire certain Bulgarian territories that the previous treaty had given to the Principality of Bulgaria, most notably Macedonia |
| 13th June Berlin The congress revisedsor eliminates 18 of the 29 articles in the treaty of San Stefano using as a foundation the treaties of Paris (1856) and London (1871) |
| 13th June Berlin The meetings are held at Chancellor Bismarck's residence, the Reichskanzlei (chancellory), the former Radziwill Palace, from June 13, 1878 until July 13, 1878 |
| 13th July Berlin Closing day of the Congress of Berlin |
| 1879 | Bismarck-Schonhausen, Otto Furst von | |
| Breaks from the national liberals & relies upon the conservative parties |
| Does not create a "greater Germany", preserves the balance of power |
| Sleswick Raises some tariff restrictions against Russia |
| 4th Feb Schleswig Breaks the treaty of Prague & refuses to support a plebiscite in nth Schleswig |
| 3rd Sep Alexanderovo William I & Alexander II try to put right some misunderstandings |
| 7th Oct Agrees a dual alliance between Austria & Germany, similar to the Holy Alliance |
| 7th Oct Austria & Germany agree neutrality if either is at war, except against Russia |
| 7th Oct Austria & Germany agree to support each other in any war with Russia |
| 7th Oct Signed between Austria-Hungary & Germany, despite William I's opposition |
| 7th Oct The Austrian alliance is used to prevent & Crimean coaliton & avoid another war |
| 1881 | Bismarck-Schonhausen, Otto Furst von | |
| Berlin The Septennat Law financing the Army for 7 years is passed through the Reichstag |
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