South German Confederation

The southern German states sided with Austria during the Austro-Prussian War against Prussia in 1866. With Prussia's victory, many were hesitant to join the newly formed North German Confederation led by Prussia. Despite this, they did sign a defensive alliance with Prussia, and grew closer in economic ties through the Zollverein in the absence of Austria in German affairs.

In 1869, the People's Republic of France attempted to allign with Switzerland in an economic alliance, aligning the Swiss and French francs. However, Occitania felt this was an encroachment on France's perpetual neutrality and threatened military intervention. Bavaria sided with France, having had a long time friendly relationship. While it never escalated into war, the Occitan-Bavarian Crisis brought the south German states together in national pride. Following the conflict, Bavaria, under King Ludwig II, formed the South German Confederation as a counter to the Prussian and Austrian rivalry.

In 1882, Austria sided with Ukraine against Russia in the Ukrainian War. Both the North and South German Confederations were alarmed by this, as Austria had an alliance with Russia. Prussian Minister President Otto von Bismarck used the conflict to paint Austria as untrustworthy as an ally, thereby distancing Bavaria from Austria. This subsequently strained relations between Prussia and Austria as well.

In 1884, during the Berlin Conference, Bismarck wished to bolster Prussian claims to the colonies in Africa. As such, he negotiated with his Bavarian counterpart to unite their claims. Bavaria was offered the Duchy of Nassau as part of the deal, and the southern kingdoms were allowed to retain their own militaries that would come under Prussian command in times of war. The respective monarchs agreed, with Bavaria and the other South German nations become states within the newly formed German Empire.