July 12, 1806

Confederation of the Rhine

Treaty creating the Confederation of the Rhine signed in Paris

The treaty promised each member full sovereignty — and in the same document made every continental war of France, or of any member, a war for all of them.

12 July 1806, in Paris

Representatives of Napoleon and sixteen southern and western German imperial estates signed the Treaty of the Confederation of the Rhine in Paris on 12 July 1806; Talleyrand signed for Napoleon as minister of foreign relations.

Article 1 declared the members' territories permanently separated from the German Empire and united as the "Confederated States of the Rhine." Napoleon was designated Protector of the Confederation — Protector, not sovereign of the member states.

Promotions, and one very specific obligation

The treaty elevated Baden, Berg and Hesse-Darmstadt to grand duchies, made the head of Nassau a duke, and made the Count of Leyen a prince. It created the title of Prince-Primate for Karl Theodor von Dalberg, then immediately noted that the title conferred no privilege contrary to the members' full sovereignty.

Other clauses were unromantically practical. One required Bavaria to maintain bakeries at Augsburg so that armies would not be held up for want of military biscuits.

Signed in July, seceded in August

The signature was not the withdrawal. Article 3 instructed the princes to notify the Imperial Diet of their separation on 1 August, and Article 40 set 25 July at Munich for the exchange of ratifications.

Liechtenstein was named among the founding members; its historical encyclopedia reports that Napoleon included the principality without Prince Johann's knowledge, and that Johann neither signed nor formally seceded. The 1 August notification precipitated Francis II's abdication five days later.

Sources

Researched 23 Aug 2026 6 sources 2 audit passes

How this was checked

Researched from the web into a fact sheet, rewritten from that sheet, then audited against it by a different model. How the pipeline works →

What the sources leave uncertain

The listed title compresses two stages. The treaty was signed on 12 July and described the territories as separated, but Article 3 set 1 August for formal notification to the Imperial Diet.
Liechtenstein's position was unusual: the principality was named in the treaty, but Prince Johann neither signed it nor formally seceded. Liechtenstein scholarship nevertheless treats Rheinbund membership as the origin of its state sovereignty.