Cette Pauvre Allegmagne! - Nouvelle carte du Theatre de la . . . Paix! [Poor Germany! - New map of the theatre of . . . Peace!]
- Title:
- Cette Pauvre Allegmagne! - Nouvelle carte du Theatre de la . . . Paix! [Poor Germany! - New map of the theatre of . . . Peace!]
- Alternate Title:
- Poor Germany! - New map of the theatre of . . . Peace!
- Collection:
- Persuasive Maps: PJ Mode Collection
- Creator:
- Félix
- Other Creators:
- Gillot, engraver
- Date:
- 1866
- Date 2:
- 2024-04-25
- ID Number:
- 2319.01
- File Name:
- PJM_2319_01.jpg
- Style/Period:
- 1800 - 1869
- Subject:
- Pictorial
Other War & Peace
Politics & Government
Satirical - Measurement:
- 34 x 28 page (centimeters, height x width)
- Notes:
- This French map of Germany as a young girl satirizes the state of the country at the end of Austro-Prussian (or German Civil) War of 1866. In this war, Prussia, Italy and 14 (mostly northern) allied German Confederation states defeated Austria and its 12 (mostly southern) German Confederation states. The war ended on July 24, 1866, only six weeks after it began, and this map was published on August 11, even before details of the peace had been agreed.
As a result of the Prussian victory, the German Confederation established by the Congress of Vienna in 1815 was effectively destroyed, and German political relationships were upended. That is the theme of this map, a portrait of "grosse [fat] Gretchen" as a "breathless . . . young blonde girl." Gretchen is reassured: "breathe a little and put some order in your rumpled finery. . . . Come, rest assured. There are some stains, some tears; but you are a good housewife, and everyone knows how you handle the needle. Repair this disorder and gather the stray rags to your sturdy breast. Leave the laurels to your thinkers, your poets [note Goethe and Schiller looking down from the top left] and dream the forget-me-not of peace!"
In light of the events that followed, there is a certain irony in the French advice that Germany should tidy up. The collapse of the German Confederation led to the creation the following year of the strong North German Confederation allied with Prussia. And the remaining independent German states joined the alliance in the Franco-Prussian War of 1870, which resulted in the French loss of Alsace-Lorraine and the establishment of a new, unified German Empire.
For further information on the Collector’s Notes and a Feedback/Contact Link, see https://persuasivemaps.library.cornell.edu/content/about-collection-personal-statement and https://persuasivemaps.library.cornell.edu/content/feedback-and-contact - Source:
- La Vie Parisienne, August 11, 1866, p. 444.
- Format:
- Image
- Rights:
- For important information about copyright and use, see http://persuasivemaps.library.cornell.edu/copyright.