Caprivi, Leo Von

Born Feb. 24, 1831, in Charlottenburg; died Feb. 6, 1899, in Skyren, near Krosno, Poland. German statesman, general, and count (1891).

Caprivi was head of the Admiralty from 1883 to 1888 andcommanded the X Army Corps from 1888 to 1890. From 1890to 1894 he was imperial chancellor, and from 1890 to 1892 healso held the post of prime minister of Prussia. The period of thetenure of Caprivi, who replaced Bismarck as chancellor, wascalled “the new course.” Attempting to reach a rapprochementwith Great Britain, Caprivi declined in 1890 to renew the Re-insurance Treaty of 1887 with Russia. In the same year he con-cluded a treaty with Great Britain on the exchange of the islandof Zanzibar for the island of Heligoland. Some of Caprivi’s re-forms, such as the social legislation of 1891, aimed at weakeningthe growth of the labor movement. He concluded a number of trade treaties, including one with Russia in 1894, which aidedthe export of German manufactured goods and lowered thetariffs on imported agricultural products. These treaties arousedstrong dissatisfaction among the Junker landowners and led toCaprivi’s dismissal.