Luxembourg Crisis Totally Explained

Everything about The Luxembourg Crisis totally explained

The Luxembourg Crisis () was a diplomatic dispute and confrontation in 1867 between France and Prussia over the political status of Luxembourg. The confrontation almost led to war between the two parties, but was peacefully resolved by the Treaty of London.

Background

Luxembourg City boasted some of the most impressive fortifications in the world; designed by Marshal Vauban, it was referred to as the Gibraltar of the North. Since the 1815 Congress of Vienna, the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg had been in personal union with the Kingdom of the Netherlands. In a concession to Prussia, Luxembourg was to be a member of the German Confederation, with several thousand Prussian soldiers stationed there. The Belgian Revolution had divided Luxembourg into two, and threatened Dutch control of the remaining territory. As a result, William I entered Luxembourg into the German customs union, the Zollverein, to dilute the French and Belgian cultural and economic influence in Luxembourg.

Seven Weeks' War

The Second Schleswig War had further advanced nationalist tensions in Germany, and, throughout 1865, it was clear that Prussia intended to challenge the position of Austria within the German Confederation. Despite potentially holding the balance of power between the two, Napoleon III kept France neutral; the French Emperor expected an Austrian victory, but couldn't intervene on Austria's side, as that would jeopardise France's relationship with Italy post-Risorgimento.
As a result, at Biarritz on 4 October 1865, Napoleon promised Bismarck France's neutrality, hoping that such an open statement of intent would strengthen France's negotiating position on the western bank of the Rhine. The Prussian Prime Minister refused to offer any land from the Rhineland, which was Napoleon's preferred region. However, he did make offers of French hegemony in Belgium and Luxembourg, although not committing anything to writing.
When Austria and Prussia did go to war in 1866, the result was a shock to Napoleon. Prussia defeated Austria's allies in Bavaria and crushed the Austrian army under Benedek at Königgrätz, forcing Austria to the negotiating table. Napoleon III offered to mediate, and the result, the Treaty of Prague, dissolved the German Confederation in favour of a Prussian-dominated organisation, the North German Confederation.

French offer

Assuming that Bismarck would honour his part of the agreement, the French government offered William III of the Netherlands 5,000,000 guilders for his personal possession of Luxembourg. Being in deep financial trouble, William accepted the offer on 23 March 1867, but the French were shocked to learn that Bismarck could not. Not only had Bismarck united much of northern Germany under the Prussian crown, but he'd secretly concluded agreements with the southern states on 10 October. His hand forced by nationalistic newspapers in North Germany, Bismarck sought to renege on the pledge that he'd made to Napoleon at Biarritz, and threatened war.
To avert a war that might drag their own countries into conflict, ministers of other countries rushed to offer compromise proposals. Austria's Foreign minister, Count Beust, proposed transferring Luxembourg to neutral Belgium, in return for which France would be compensated with Belgian land. However, Belgian King Leopold II refused to part with any of his lands, putting paid to Beust's proposal.

London Conference

All of the Great Powers were invited to London to hammer out a deal that would prevent war. As it was clear that no other power would accept the incorporation of Luxembourg into either France or the North German Confederation, the negotiations centred upon the terms of Luxembourg's neutrality. The result was a victory for Bismarck; although Prussia would have to remove its soldiers from Luxembourg City, Luxembourg would remain in the Zollverein.

Footnotes

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