bavarikon4UBavaria’s Privileges: Contemporaneous Protest Card
With the casus foederis during the Franco-Prussian War in 1870, Bavaria joined the North German Confederation in the Treaty of Versailles on 23 November. In return for the accession and for the proclamation of the Prussian king as German emperor, Bavaria was granted some privileges: military sovereignty in times of peace, income from the taxes on beer and spirits, a separate local citizenship and settlement law, a separate system of real estate insurance and marriage laws as well as the administration of the postal, telegraph and railway systems. Bavaria also held the deputy chairmanship of the Federal Council, the chairmanship of the Federal Council Committee on Foreign Affairs as well as the right to appoint a dedicated representative for peace negotiations. Nevertheless, a large part of the former independence had to be transferred to the empire, such as foreign policy or, increasingly, the jurisdiction.
Even before the foundation of the empire on 1 January 1871 and after Wilhelm I’s (1797–1888) proclamation as German Emperor, the state parliament voted on the accession to the empire. While the imperial councillors were in favour of accession, the debate in the Chamber of Deputies remained controversial. It took until 21 February that a two-thirds majority (102 to 48 votes) voted in favour.
The postcard shows a clearly critical attitude towards the empire. The picture shows a dragon with a spiked helmet as a symbol for Prussia, which threatens to devour the army, a stamp and the railway as symbols for the Bavarian privileges. On the left is a Bavarian with a white and blue flag, “Der Seppl als Protestler ” (Joey as protestor).