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Examine the influence of Bismarck on the German Empire between 1866 and 1890. Germany in the period 1871 – 1890 (since it was unified) has been called “Bismarck’s Germany”, and Bismarck has been credited with creating the modern Germany – but how much influence over this state did he really have? How much influence was it possible for just one man to have? Influence could be measured in many different ways. The first I will look at is the unification process. It could be argued that Bismarck’s influence over unification was limited as he was just the catalyst; that he just affected the timing of it rather than the inevitable fact that it would happen, as when he became the Prussian Minister-President, German nationalism was already 40 years old. There were also other factors which limited his influence. Nationalist feeling led to the creation of the Zollverein, where trade was allowed between the individual states with lower tax, bringing them closer together. It also strengthened the Prussian economy, which made them good trading partners, and this, added to the fact that they had a strong military, made the other states want to “tag along”. It could be said that tagging along came at the price of u