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
Swedish People's League in the Baltic Sea Provinces Swedish People's League in the Baltic Sea Provinces Swedish People's League in the Baltic Sea Provinces (; ) was a political party in Estonia, representing interests of the Swedish minority population. The party was founded in 1917, and began publishing "Kustbon" the following year. In March 1919, the party held its congress. Due to the small size of the Swedish minority, the party was unable to have any impact running alone. In the 1929 elections it formed an alliance with the German-Baltic Party, which resulted in a 20% increase in their combined vote share. At the time the party was