German Empire

flag of the German Empire

German Empire, also called Second Reich, historical empire founded on January 18, 1871, in the wake of three short, successful wars by the North German state of Prussia. Within a seven-year span, Denmark, the Habsburg monarchy, and France had been vanquished. The empire had its origin not in an upwelling of nationalist feeling from the masses but through traditional cabinet diplomacy and agreement by the leaders of the states in the North German Confederation, led by Prussia, with the hereditary rulers of Bavaria, Baden, Hesse-Darmstadt, and Württemberg. Prussia, occupying more than three-fifths of the area of Germany and having approximately three-fifths of the population, remained the dominant force in the empire until its demise at the end of World War I.