Confederation of the Rhine

Confederation of the Rhine, league of German princes formed in 1806 by Napoleon after he had conquered most of the Rhineland. Napoleon raised the German states of Bavaria and Württemberg to the status of kingdoms, created new states and grand duchies, and subordinated the cities to French interests. On July 12, 1806, 16 German princes gathered in Paris and formally signed an act of confederation. The act dissolved their connection with the Holy Roman Empire and, in effect, allied them to France as satellites. As a result, Francis II, who had proclaimed himself emperor of Austria in 1804 when he foresaw the dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire, resigned his title of Holy Roman emperor, and the empire came to an end. During the next two years several other German sovereigns joined the confederation. It collapsed in 1813, after Napoleon's defeat in the Battle of Leipzig, and was replaced by the German Confederation established by the Congress of Vienna.