What is North German Confederation?
{{Infobox Former Country |native_name = ''Norddeutscher Bund'' |conventional_long_name = North German Confederation |common_name = Germany |continent=[[Europe]] |region=Central Europe |country=Germany |status = Federation |year_start = 1866<!-- in 1866 confederation (de: ''Staatenbund''), in 1867 federation (de: ''Bundesstaat'') --> |year_end = 1870 |date_start = 16 April |date_end = 18 January |event_start = [[North German Constitution|Constitution tabelled]] |event_end = [[German Empire|Elevation to empire]] |event1 = [[North German Constitution|Federation formed]] |date_event1= 1 July |year_event1= 1867 |p1 = German Confederation |image_p1 = [[Image:Wappen Deutscher Bund.svg|20px|Arms of the German Confederation]] |s1 = German Empire |flag_s1 = Flag of the German Empire.svg |image_flag = Flag of the German Empire.svg |image_coat = Wappen Deutsches Reich - Reichsadler 1889.svg <!--- The federation used the arms of Prussia in its war flag ---> |image_map = Map-NDB.svg |image_map_caption = The North German Confederation (red). The southern German states that [[Unification of Germany|joined in 1871]] to form the [[German Empire]] are in orange. [[Alsace-Lorraine]], the territory annexed following the [[Franco-Prussian War]] of 1871, is in a paler orange. |capital = Berlin |latd=52|latm=31|latNS=N|longd=13|longm=24|longEW=E |title_leader = Presidency |leader1 = [[Kingdom of Prussia|Prussia]] ([[Wilhelm I of Germany|Wilhelm I]]) |title_deputy=[[Chancellor of Germany|Chancellor]] |deputy1 = [[Otto von Bismarck]] }} The '''North German Confederation''' ({{lang-de|Norddeutscher Bund}}), was first a military alliance of 22 states of northern [[Germany]], and later a federal state. It was preceded by a '''''Zollverein,''''' a customs union that allowed [[free trade]] among most German states. The Confederation started in August 1866, and the [[Kingdom of Prussia]] was the leading state. On July 1st 1867, the North German Constitution made the alliance a federal state. An Austrian-Prussian rivalry, starting in the 1700s,