Why did Bismarck want the War of Denmark, the Franco-Prussian, and the Seven Weeks War?
To unify Germany. Remember–before these wars there was no Germany, just a big collection of smaller independent states, which included Prussia. Bismarck wanted to create a unified, powerful German state that would be able to stand up to bigger countries like France, Britain, Russia, and Austria. The Danish and Austrians (during the Seven Week’s War) controlled regions that he felt were naturally German regions and he wanted to take them. He also wanted to prevent Austria from interfering. The Franco-Prussian war occurred because the French were interfering and trying to prevent the unification from happening. These wars are ultimately what allowed for the creation of Germany, and Bismarck was the architect of this.
