History of the North Sea the North Sea though they saw little action. The Austro-Prussian War (1866) resulted in Prussia's gaining full control of the Kiel Canal, allowing their Baltic ports access to the North Sea. France declared war on Prussia 19 July 1870 which initiated the Franco-Prussian War (1870–1871). The French Navy was, at the time far larger and superior to the North German Federal Navy, the Navy of the North German Confederation. Though the French did take a number of merchant ships bound to and from North Germany, shortages of manpower and coal, as well as conflicting orders, made the attempted blockade of
Geology of the Baltic Sea on the Baltic water body became the Yoldia Sea. About 10,700 years ago the continued land rise separed the Baltic water body from the ocean again and Yoldia Sea turned into the Ancylus Lake. This lake lasted until 10,000 years before present when a new connection to the ocean was established, this time in the Danish straits forming the Littorina Sea. Land rise did not close off Littorina sea but it made its connection the ocean over time more shallow allowing less salt water to enter it, thus gradually it evolved into the current Baltic Sea with somewhat brackish water.