Heinrich Von Kleist’s Report On Heligoland

A principal interest of Heinrich von Kleist’s ‘Geographische Nachricht von der Insel Helgoland’, published in his Berliner Abendblätter of 4 December 1810, lies in its unstated relevance to the dilemma of Prussia as Napoleon intensified his economic war with Britain to the distress of his vassals and allies. Under conditions of censorship Kleist relays data on Heligoland which he claims are authenticated, but are selective, not entirely accurate, and include a mathematical error. They form the material of a rhetoric which hints that an extraordinary situation (the flourishing trade on Heligoland now countered by French measures against the smuggling of British produce into Europe) demands an extraordinary response. Despite an affirmative allusion to liberal economic theory, Kleist avoids taking sides in the argument between reformers and conservatives in Prussia. He seems to imply that their disagreements are of minor significance or a distraction when the external threat to fundamental natural liberties could trigger a radical spiritual renewal

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