As many of you know, the Franco-Prussian War was conceived during the last years of the 1860s, because Prussia sought to unify Germany and aspired to occupy the privilege of being the main power in continental Europe, then occupied by France. However, the casus belli only occurred when it was discovered that the Spanish General Juan Prim, who had led the overthrow of Isabella II of Spain, was intended that the Prussian Prince Leopold of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen occupy the vacant Spanish throne.
I would like to ask all the members of this great forum which would have been the casus belli for a Franco-Prussian war in the 1870s, completely excluding the possibility that this was due to the candidacy of Prince Leopold to the Spanish throne (either because Isabella II of Spain was not overthrown, because after the Prim's uprising this capricious queen had a moment of sanity and immediately abdicated the Spanish Crown in his only son, the future Alfonso XII of Spain, or because antigovernment coalition that overthrew Isabel II had been more fortunate to convince a candidate tanteados before the Prussian prince had been appraoched: perhaps Ferdinand II of Portugal; Antoine d'Orleans, Duke of Montpensier; or Tommaso Alberto di Savoia, the young Duke of Genoa).
Greetings and thanks for your attention.
I would like to ask all the members of this great forum which would have been the casus belli for a Franco-Prussian war in the 1870s, completely excluding the possibility that this was due to the candidacy of Prince Leopold to the Spanish throne (either because Isabella II of Spain was not overthrown, because after the Prim's uprising this capricious queen had a moment of sanity and immediately abdicated the Spanish Crown in his only son, the future Alfonso XII of Spain, or because antigovernment coalition that overthrew Isabel II had been more fortunate to convince a candidate tanteados before the Prussian prince had been appraoched: perhaps Ferdinand II of Portugal; Antoine d'Orleans, Duke of Montpensier; or Tommaso Alberto di Savoia, the young Duke of Genoa).
Greetings and thanks for your attention.