What position did Heinrich von Sybel take from 1867 to 1871?
Heinrich von Sybel Heinrich Karl Ludolf von Sybel ( 2 December 1817 – 1 August 1895 ) , German historian , came from a Protestant family which had long been established at Soest , in Westphalia . Life . He was born in Düsseldorf , where his father held important posts in the public service under both the French and the Prussians ; in 1831 he was raised to the hereditary nobility . His home was one of the centres of the vigorous literary and artistic life for which Düsseldorf was renowned at that time . Sybel was educated at the local Gymnasium , and then at the University of Berlin , where he came under the influences of Friedrich Karl von Savigny and Leopold von Ranke , whose most distinguished pupil he was to become . After taking his degree , he settled down in 1841 as a Privatdozent in history at the university of Bonn . He had already made himself known by critical studies on the history of the Middle Ages , of which the most important was his Geschichte des ersten Kreuzzuges ( History of the First Crusade ) ( Düsseldorf , 1841 ; new ed. , Leipzig , 1881 ) , a work which , besides its merit as a valuable piece of historical investigation employing the critical methods he had learnt from Ranke , was also of some significance as a protest against the vaguely enthusiastic attitude encouraged by the Romantic school towards the Middle Ages . In 1861 Lady Duff-Gordon published an English translation of a part of this book , to which were added lectures on the crusades delivered in Munich in 1858 , under the title History and Literature of the Crusades . This was followed by a study of the growth of German kingship ( Die Entstehung des deutschen Königtums , Frankfurt , 1844 , and again 1881 ) , after which he was appointed professor . In the same year ( 1844 ) Sybel became prominent as an opponent of the Ultramontane party . The exhibition of the Holy Shroud at Trier had attracted enormous numbers of pilgrims , and so , indignant at what appeared to him a fake , he assisted in publishing an investigation into the authenticity of the celebrated relic . From this time he began to take an active part in contemporary politics and in controversy as a strong but moderate Liberal . In 1846 he was appointed professor at Marburg , and though this small university offered little scope for his activities as a teacher , a seat in the Hessian Landtag gave him his first experience of politics . In 1848 he was present at Frankfurt , but he did not succeed in winning a seat for the National Assembly . His opposition to the extreme democratic and revolutionary party made him unpopular with the mob who broke his windows , and his liberalism made him suspect at court . He sat in the Erfurt parliament of 1850 , and was attached to the Gotha party , which hoped for the regeneration of Germany through the leadership of Prussia . During the period 1859–1866 , Sybel was engaged in a literary controversy with the historian , Julius von Ficker , on the significance of the German Empire . During the years that followed he was occupied with his major chronicle of the French Revolution , Geschichte der Revolutionszeit 1789–1800 , for which he had made prolonged studies in the archives of Paris and other countries . The later editions of the earlier volumes were enlarged and altered , and a new edition was published at Stuttgart in 1882 . The first three volumes were translated into English by Walter Copland Perry ( 1867–1869 ) . In this work he showed for the first time the connection between the internal and external history of France . By systematically studying the records , he was also the first to check and correct the traditional account of many episodes of Frances internal history . He demonstrated that letters attributed to Marie Antoinette were not genuine . He undermined the influential revolutionary legends , expounded by French writers . Sybel was interested in Edmund Burke , on whom he had published two essays . The work was in fact the first attempt to substitute for the popular view of Thiers and Lamartine , a line which was later taken up by Taine and Albert Sorel . In 1856 , on the recommendation of Ranke , Sybel accepted the post of professor at Munich , where King Maximilian II of Bavaria , a generous patron of learning , hoped to establish a school of history . Here he found a fruitful field for his activity . Besides continuing his work on the Revolution and on the Middle Ages , he occupied himself fully with the Historical Seminar which he instituted ; with the Historische Zeitschrift which he founded - the original model of the numerous historical periodicals which now exist – and as secretary of the new Historical Commission . Political differences soon interfered with his work ; as a supporter of Prussia and a Protestant , especially as a militant champion against the Ultramontanes , he was from the first an object of suspicion to the Clerical party . In the political excitement which followed the war of 1859 he found that he could not hope for the unreserved support of the king , and therefore in 1861 he accepted a professorship at Bonn , which he held till 1875 . He was elected a member of the Prussian Lower House , and during the next three years was one of the most active members of that assembly . In several important debates he led the attack on the government , and opposed the policy of Bismarck , not only on finances but also on Polish and Danish affairs , in particular the impending crisis with Denmark over Schleswig and Holstein . In 1864 he did not stand for re-election , owing to an eye infection , but in 1866 he was one of the first to point out the way to a reconciliation between Bismarck and his former opponents . He had a seat in the Constituent Assembly of 1867 , and while he joined the National Liberals he distinguished himself by opposing the introduction of universal suffrage , sharing the distrust of many Liberals over its effects . In 1874 he returned to the Prussian parliament in order to support the government in its conflict with the Clericals , and after 1878 with the Socialists . He explained and justified his position in two pamphlets that analysed the teaching of the Socialists and traced Clerical policy during the 19th century . In 1880 he retired , like so many other Liberals , disheartened by the change in political life which he blamed on universal suffrage . In 1875 , Bismarck appointed him to the post of director of the Prussian archives . Under his superintendence was begun the great series of publications , besides that of the correspondence of Frederick the Great , which he helped to edit . His last years were occupied with his great work , Die Begründung des deutschen Reiches durch Wilhelm I ( The Founding of the German Empire under William I ) ( Munich , 1889–1894 ) , a work of great importance on German unification , for which he was allowed to use the Prussian state papers and was therefore able to write a history of the greatest events of his own time with full access to highly secret sources of information . As a history of Prussian policy from 1860 to 1866 it is of incomparable value . After the fall of Bismarck permission to use the secret papers was withdrawn , and therefore vols . vi . and vii. , which deal with the years 1866 to 1870 , are of less importance . This work has been translated into English as The Founding of the German Empire , by M L Perrin and G Bradford ( New York , 1890–1891 ) . Sybel did not live to write an account of the war with France , dying at Marburg on 1 August 1895 . His other writings include Die deutsche Nation und das Kaiserreich ( 1862 ) and a large number of historical articles . Sybel left two sons , one of whom became an officer in the Prussian army ; the other , Ludwig von Sybel ( b . 1846 ) , a professor of archaeology in the university of Marburg , was the author of several works dealing with Greek archaeology . Some of Sybels numerous historical and political essays have been collected in Kleine historische Schriften ( 3 vols , 1863 , 1869 , 1881 ; new ed. , 1897 ) ; Vorträge und Aufsätze ( Berlin , 1874 ) ; and Vorträge und Abhandlungen , published after his death with a biographical introduction by Conrad Varrentrapp ( Munich , 1897 ) . References . - Gooch , G.P . History and historians in the nineteenth century ( 1913 ) . online - Biography at Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie External links . - History and Literature of the Crusades , trans . Lady Duff Gordon ( at Google Books ) - Geschichte des ersten Kreuzzugs ( at Google Books )