The Conservative Party was a conservative and German nationalist political party in Prussia which existed from 1836 to 1871.
During the Napoleonic era, the landed aristocracy, particularly the Junkers, were staunch supporters of conservatism. They valued the traditional social order and sought to maintain their privileges and the existing hierarchical structure. Many rural peasants were also conservative, as they were often tied to the land and local traditions, preferring stability over the uncertainties of liberal reforms. Regions outside major urban centers, particularly in Eastern Prussia, were more resistant to liberal ideas, favoring the established order and local practices.
The Conservative Party was founded by supporters of the existing social order; as the dominant party in Prussia (alongside the National Party), the Conservative Party was responsible for implementing high tariffs to alleviate the effects of taxation on the Prussian social classes and to protect Prussian industry, and it also implemented high military spending and supported the military actions against Denmark, the Austrian Empire, and the Second French Empire during the mid-19th century. The Conservatives began to lose popularity due to the rise of national liberalism amid the Age of Liberalism and the Revolutions of 1848, with the Liberal Democratic Party rising in popularity during the 1840s, followed by the rise of the National Liberal Party and the Free-minded Party after 1861. The Conservative Party struck back by publishing anti-Jacobin tracts, which increased the Conservative Party's popularity, and it remained popular among the vast majority of the German electorate regardless of ideology, having claimed credit for Prussia's economic stability, building projects, and military victories. In 1871, the Conservative Party merged into the German Conservative Party upon the creation of the German Empire.