Bitcoin Around the World: Germany

LONDON (InsideBitcoins) – The map of Europe has not always been dominated by Germany. Prior to 1871, the country didn’t even exist; before then the German speaking people lived in a disparate group of principalities and duchies, the ‘Holy Roman Empire,’ a state dominated by Austria and still later by Prussia. Since that time, the German Question, as it was usually referred to, plagued the minds of the political intelligentsia. Its central location, its size and its population base mixed with the seemingly unstoppable work ethic of its people and produced a country that was better placed to inherit the mantel of European hegemony than any other since the fall of the Roman Empire.
That other European countries refused to accept this fait acompli as it unfolded before their eyes is of course one of history’s great tragedies. Two wars were fought for control of Europe and three solutions to the German question attempted.
The third time’s the charm
The first, to denude Germany of the resources it needed to compete on an equal footing with its neighbors, led to an economic stagnation that affected all corners of the globe. The second, to split the country in two came to an abrupt halt at the conclusion of the Cold War.
And the third? The third was to create the EU, a super state where German influence could be curtailed by the combined will of other member states. And thus the European civil war that began in 1914 ended finally in 1993, when in Maastricht the boldest political experiment of our times was born. The European Union, detractors aside, has been something of a runaway success ever since.

This post was published at Inside Bitcoins on Feb 9, 2015.