In the early 1860s, with Prussia facing a crisis over King Wilhelm I’s attempts to expand and modernize the Prussian army, he appointed Otto von Bismarck as Minister-President in an attempt to break a budgetary deadline.
Under Bismarck’s leadership, domestic policies sought to consolidate German unity and reduce opposition to the new state while foreign policy focused on maintaining stability in Europe and preventing conflicts that could threaten the new empire, by establishing a system of alliances that isolated France.
Wilhelm was formally declared the German Emperor in the Hall of Mirrors at the Palace of Versailles on 18 January.
The Franco-Prussian War began with a declaration of war by the French emperor, Napoleon III.
On the 18th January 1871, Wilhelm I of Prussia was proclaimed the first German Emperor.
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