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The ''Zollverein'' ((:ˈtsɔlfɛɐ̯ˌʔaɪn)) or German Customs Union was a coalition of German states formed to manage tariffs and economic policies within their territories. Organised by the 1833 ''Zollverein'' treaties, the ''Zollverein'' formally came into existence on 1 January 1834. However, its foundations had been in development from 1818 with the creation of a variety of custom unions among the German states. By 1866, the ''Zollverein'' included most of the German states. The foundation of the ''Zollverein'' was the first instance in history in which independent states had consummated a full economic union without the simultaneous creation of a political federation or union.〔Arnold H. Price, ''The Evolution of the Zollverein: A Study of the Ideals and Institutions Leading to German Economic Unification between 1815 and 1833'' (Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 1949) pp. 9–10.〕 Prussia was the prime motivating force behind the creation of the customs union. Austria was excluded from the ''Zollverein'' because of its highly protected industry and also because Prince von Metternich was against the idea. With the founding of the North German Confederation in 1867, the ''Zollverein'' included approximately 425,000 square kilometres, and had produced economic agreements with several non-German states, including Sweden-Norway. After the founding of the German Empire in 1871, the Empire assumed the control of the customs union. However, not all states within the Empire were part of the ''Zollverein'' until 1888. Conversely, although it was not a state in the German Reich, until 1919 Luxembourg remained in the ''Zollverein''. == Background == The splintering of territory and states over generations meant that by the 1790s in the German-speaking Holy Roman Empire in Central Europe, there were approximately 1800 customs barriers. Even within the Prussian state itself there were at the beginning of the 19th century over 67 local customs and tariffs with as many customs borders. To travel from Königsberg in East Prussia to Cologne, for example, a shipment was inspected and taxed 18 times.〔Friedrich Seidel: ''(Das Armutsproblem im deutschen Vormärz bei Friedrich List )''. Found in: ''Kölner Vorträge zur Sozial- und Wirtschaftsgeschichte'' – volume 13, Köln 1971, S. 4.〕 Each customs inspection at each border slowed the shipment's progress from source to destination and each assessment on the shipment reduced profit and increased the price of goods, dramatically stifling trade. When France defeated the Second Coalition, made up of Russian, Austrian and German forces, and annexed territories up to the Rhine, there was a general consolidation of the myriad of tiny states in Germany in the Mediatization of 1803, also called ''Principal Conclusion of the Extraordinary Imperial Delegation'' (or, in German, ''Hauptschluss der außerordentlichen Reichsdeputation'', usually called the ''Reichsdeputationshauptschluss''). This last piece of major legislation enacted by the Holy Roman Empire re-arranged the map of Central Europe, especially in the southwestern territories. The ''Reichshauptschluss'' resulted in the secularization of many ecclesiastical territories, and the so-called ''mediatization'', i.e. the annexation to larger neighboring territories, of many of the formerly free imperial territories, including most of the imperial cities. Considerable portions of the Habsburg family territories in southwestern Central Europe were "mediatized," or given as compensation, to the princes and dukes who had themselves lost territories in the French expansion. Most of the imperial cities, imperial abbeys, and ecclesiastical states and cities were mediatized or secularized in 1803. With the final dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire in 1806, most of the remaining tiny principalities were annexed by larger neighbors. Historians have seen three Prussian goals in the development of the ''Zollverein'': first, as a political tool to eliminate Austrian influence in Germany; second, as a way to improve the economies; and third, to strengthen Germany against potential French aggression while reducing the economic independence of smaller states.〔David T. Murphy, "Prussian aims for the ''Zollverein'', 1828-1833", ''Historian,'' Winter 1991, Vol. 53#2 pp 285-302〕 The ''Zollverein'' created a larger market for German-made farm and handicraft products and promoted commercial unification under fiscally sound economic parameters. While the Union sought to limit trade and commercial barriers between and among member states, it continued to uphold the protectionist barriers with outsiders. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Zollverein」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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