THE War of Ducats occurred in 1864 and placed on opposite sides of the battlefield the Denmark Against the Prussia and the Austria. The target of the dispute were the duchies of Schleswig and Holstein, which were located to the south of the Danish territory.
The duchy of Schleswig was autonomous and the population was mostly of Danish origin. The duchy of Holstein, in turn, had a German majority among the inhabitants of its territory. The two duchies were linked by ties of familiarity with the Danish crown, despite the Holstein being part of the German Confederation, formed at the end of the Napoleonic wars and led by Austria.
Conflicts for control of the territories of the duchies were related to the Unification process Germany and the leading role achieved by the Kingdom of Prussia in that period, under the command of Otto von Bismarck. A first occupation of Holstein took place in 1851 by the German Confederation with the aim of re-establishing the political situation that had prevailed before the revolutions of 1848. In response, the king of Denmark, Frederick VII, guaranteed that the two duchies would not be separated, as well as extending the validity of the Danish democratic constitution to them.
With the death of Frederick VII and the accession to the throne of Christian IX, a new constitution was put into effect in Schleswig. This measure was the trigger that the German Confederation, led by Prussia and Austria, used to invade the duchies again.
The declaration of war took place on January 1, 1864. The other European powers, such as France and England, did not intervene in this conflict, facilitating the German victory. THE battle of dyboel it represented the end of Danish resistance, and in 1865 the political administration of the Duchy of Schleswig was passed to Prussia, and Holstein was left with Austria.
New conflicts in relation to the duchies would arise in 1866 when Prussia, in order to remove the Austria, the predominance of the German Confederation, declared war on that kingdom for control of the two ducats. The Prussian victory guaranteed control over the two duchies and made it possible to strengthen their unifying objective of the Germanic states, which finally occurred in 1871, after the end of the war Franco-Prussian.
By Tales Pinto
Graduated in History
Source: Brazil School - https://brasilescola.uol.com.br/guerras/guerra-dos-ducados-1864.htm