Kleinstaaterei

thumb|The Holy Roman Empire in 1789 thumb|right|The German Confederation (1815–1866) still included a number of very small states.

thumb|left|A German cartoon from 1834 poking fun at the tiny size of the Principality of Schaumburg-Lippe, one of the many tiny states of the German Confederation thumb|left|Early 19th century anti-Kleinstaaterei cartoon calling for the elimination of the myriad custom barriers between statelets thumb|right|The hyper-fragmented Principality of Ansbach thumb|right|The ancient Prince-Bishopric of Liège, with its tormented geography, was the French-speaking counterpart of German Kleinstaaterei. Liège was part of the Holy Roman Empire for 800 years.