whole of
Baden.

Although in 1771 Baden was united under a single ruler it did not form a
compact territory, and its total area was only about 1350 sq. m. Consisting
of a number of isolated districts lying on either bank of the upper Rhine,
it was the work of Charles Frederick to acquire the intervening stretches
of land, and so to give territorial unity to his country. Beginning to
reign in 1738 and coming of age in 1746, this prince is the most notable of
the rulers of Baden. He was interested in the development of agriculture
and commerce; sought to improve education and the administration of
justice, and was in general a wise and liberal ruler. His opportunity for
territorial aggrandizement came during the Napoleonic wars. When war broke
out between France and Austria in 1792 the Badenese fought for Austria;
consequently their country was devastated and in 1796 the margrave was
compelled to pay an indemnity, and to cede his territories, on the left
bank of the Rhine to France. Fortune, however, soon returned to his side.
In 1803, largely owing to the good offices of Alexander I., emperor of
Russia, he received the bishopric of Constance, part of the Rhenish
Palatinate, and other smaller districts, together with the dignity of a
prince elector. Changing sides in 1805 he fought for Napoleon, with the
result that by the peace of Pressburg in that year he obtained the Breisgau
and other territories at the expense of the Habsburgs. In 1806 he joined
the Confederation of the Rhine, declared himself a sovereign prince, became
a grand-duke, and received other additions of territory. The Baden
contingent continued to assist France, and by the peace of Vienna in 1809
the grand-duke was rewarded with accessions of territory at the expense of
the kingdom of Wuerttemberg. Having quadrupled the area of Baden, Charles
Frederick died in June 1811, and was succeeded by his grandson, Charles,
who was married to Stephanie de Beauharnais (d. 1860), an adopted daughter
of Napoleon. Charles fought for his father-in-law until after the battle of
Leipzig in 1813, when he joined the Allies.

In 1815 Baden became a member of the Germanic confederation established by
the Act of the 8th of June, annexed to the Final Act of the congress of
Vienna of the 9th of June. In the hurry of the winding-up of the congress,
however, the vexed question of the succession to the grand-duchy had not
been settled. This was soon to become acute. By the treaty