 By May 1850, the flag was recognized by the US, the Netherlands, Belgium, Sardinia, Turkey, Portugal, Naples, Spain, Greece and (conditionally) France.The reestablished German Confederation took over the fleet, but sold it in 1852 and did not make use of the German colours again until the 1860s.After Prussia defeated Austria in 1866, the North German Confederation was founded by Prussia in order to replace the former German Confederation in which Austria had been the dominant power.