History.—The original inhabitants of B. were Alemanni. These fell under the dominion of the Franks, the conquerors of Gaul, and submitted at the same time to the Christian religion. Under their duke, Gottfried, they made repeated attempts to regain their independence, but in vain ; and the dukedom of the Alemanni was abolished in 748 by Pepin the Little, In the 11th c., a duke Berthold, said to have been a descendant of the Alemannian Gottfried, built the castle of Zfihringen in Breisgau, and with him begins the unbroken line of the princes of the house of Zlthringen. A descendant of his second son took the title of margrave of B., and became the ancestor of the still flourish ing house of Baden. He died in 1130. The history of this house presents, for long, little else but a succession of partitions of the territories among brothers, to be again and again reunited by one or other of the collateral branches becoming extinct. The prosperity of the country was thus greatly retarded. The present capital, Carlsruhe, was built in 1715 by the reigning count. Charles HI. It is to his grandson, Charles Frederic, who suc ceeded in 1746, that B. owes considerable accessions of territory and political impor tance. By favoring the policy of Napoleon and joining the confederation of the Rhine, he doubled his possessions in extent and population, and acquired successively the dig nity of elector and the title of grand duke. In 1811, he was succeeded by his grandson, Charles Ludwig Frederic, who, five before, had married Stephanie Louise Adrienne Napoleone, an adopted daughter of Napoleon. After the battle of Leipsic, Charles Ludwig seceded from the confederation of the Rhine, and (1815) joined the Ger man confederation, in which B. holds the seventh rank.
The original constitutions or "states" of the separate territories composing the grand duchy having mostly become extinct, the grand duke Charles granted (1818) the charter widen forms the basis of the present constitution. Charles was succeeded in the same year by his uncle Ludwig, who was inclined to absolutism, and had to contend at first with a powerful opposition, which led him frequently to dissolve the chambers. He
succeeded, in 1825, in carrying through an alteration of the constitution, extending the duration of the parliaments; after which the government and the chambers acted more harmoniously. Ludwig dying childless (1830), was succeeded by his brother Leopold. The known liberal tendencies of this prince promised at first a new life to constitutional government; but the tide of reaction, become strong since the fall of 'Warsaw, soon seized the government, and the act establishing the freedom of the press, which in 1831 had been hailed with delight by B. and the whole of Germany, was, in 1832, declared impracticable, and abrogated. A fluctuating contest between a reactionary government and a growing opposition was carried on till 1846, when the constitutional Bekk was made minister of the interior, and liberalism thus placed at the helm. The first effect was to calm the public mind, and to entice a split between the liberals and the radicals. The ninth parliament met (Dee., 1847) under the most friendly and promising auspices; when the French revolution (Feb., 1848). the vibrations of which were first felt by 13., suddenly called the radical party into the most violent activity. Not satisfied with a multitude of liberal measures Passed by the legillature, the revolutionary•eaders, Hecker and Strove, aimed at establishing a republic, and stirred up an insurrection. The troops having sided with the insurgents, the grand duke tied, and a constituent assembly was called (May, 1849). The duke had recourse to Prussian aid, and, after several battles, was reinstated on his throne (July, 1849). The restoration was followed by some 30 execu tions, consisting chiefly of soldiers that had borne arms against the government, and of a few political leaders. Upon the whole, the reactionary tendency has been less marked in B. than in most other German states, and many valuable reforms effected in 1848 have been retained. See GERMANY.