Editing Treaty of Frankfurt (1871) (section)

== Factors that influenced the boundary ==
=== Strategy ===
The German military spoke up for control of the Alsace region, up to the Vosges (mountain range) and the area between Thionville (Diedenhofen) and Metz as a requirement for the protection of Germany. Most importantly, the German military regarded control of the route between Thionville and Metz as the most important area of control if there were ever to be a [[World_War_I|future war]] with France.<ref>Hawthorne, 217</ref>
[[File:Treaty of Frankfurt.jpg|thumb|
Watched by [[Otto von Bismarck|Bismarck]], [[Jules Favre]], French Minister of Foreign Affairs, puts his seal on the Treaty of Frankfurt.]]
=== Politics ===
Without a westward shift in the boundary, the new empire's frontier with France would have been largely divided between the states of [[Baden]] and [[Kingdom of Bavaria|Bavaria]] whose governments were less than enthusiastic with the prospect of having a vengeful France on their doorstep. It also would have necessitated the stationing of substantial imperial forces within these states' borders, possibly compromising their ability to exercise the considerable autonomy that the southern states were able to maintain in the [[Constitution of the German Empire|unification treaty]].  A shift in the frontier alleviated these issues.

=== Nationalism ===
The new political border largely (though not entirely) followed the linguistic border.  The fact that the majority of the population in the new Imperial Territory (''Reichsland'') territory spoke [[Germanic dialects]], and had previously been a part of the German-focused [[Holy Roman Empire]] until they had been gradually obtained by France over the previous two centuries, allowed Berlin to justify the annexation on nationalistic grounds. However, the conquest of French-speaking areas such as the city of [[Metz]] sparked outrage in France, and was used as one of the main arguments for French [[revanchism]].

=== Economy ===
Natural resources in [[Alsace-Lorraine]] (iron ore, and coal) do not appear to have played a role in Germany's fight for the areas annexed.<ref>Hawthorne, 248</ref> Military annexation was the main stated goal along with unification of the German people.
At the same time, France lost 1,447,000 hectares, 1,694 villages and 1,597,000 inhabitants. It also lost 20% of its mining and steel potential.
The treaty of trade of 1862 with Prussia was not renewed but France granted Germany, for trade and navigation, a [[Most favoured nation|most-favoured nation]] clause. France would respect the clauses of the Treaty of Frankfurt in their entirety until 1914.

France also had to pay a full payment of 5,000,000,000 francs in gold, with one billion in 1871, before any German forces withdrawal (which occurred in September 1873).<ref>[http://gander.chez.com/traite-de-francfort.htm Treaty of Francfort Full Text (fr) ]</ref>