The establishment of two customs unions – Bavaria-Württemberg (January 1828) and Prussia-Hesse-Darmstadt (February 1828) – created two multi-state customs territories with expansive aspirations. In response, several other German states initiated plans to form a third customs union. At the end of March, Saxony joined with the largest Thuringian dukedoms, Saxony-Weimar-Eisenach and Saxony-Coburg-Gotha, in the Agreement (Punktation) of Oberschöna, agreeing “not to join any outside customs system” and instead to form a Handelsverein (“trade association”) to provide …