The Rise of Austria and Prussia

Summer Jarrett

Thirty Year’s War

The French philosopher Voltaire later distinguished that the Holy Roman Empire was neither holy, Roman, or even an empire any longer.

By the seventeenth century the Holy Roman Empire became several hundred small, separate states.

These separate states where rules by the Holy Roman Empire, there where chosen by seven leading German princes called electors.

In truth the emperors had little power over many rivaling princes.

This contributed to the Thirty Year’s war. The North had become Protestant and the South had

become Catholic.

A Brutal War Begins

The Thirty Year’s War was a series of wars. It started in Bohemia, the present day Czech Republic. Ferdinand, The Catholic King of Bohemia, sought to

suppress Protestants and to assert royal power over nobles.

In May of 1618, some rebellious Protestant noblemen kicked two royal official out of a castle window in Prague.

This was known as a revolt, called the Defenestration of Prague.

Because of this both sides sought allies, which began as a local conflict widened into a general European war.

The Brutal Wars Begin Prt. 2

Ferdinand was elected the Holy Roman Empire, a year after this.

He had the support of Spain, Poland, and other Catholic States.

He tried to roll back the Reformation by force. In the early stages of war, he defeated the Bohemians and

their protestant allies. The protestant powers like the Netherlands and Sweden sent

troops into Germany. After a while political motives outweighed religious issues. Catholic and Protestant rulers shifted alliances to suit their

own interests. At one point, Catholic France joined Lutheran Sweden again

the Catholic Hapsburg.

The Loss of Life

This war too a terrible toll. Armies, soldiers for hire, burned villages,

destroyed crops, and killed without mercy. Murder and torture were followed by famine

and disease. Wolves, not seen in settles areas since the

Middle Ages, staled the deserted streets of once-bustling villages.

The war decreased the population vastly. About one third of the people in the German

States may have died as the result of war.

Peace At Last

In 1648, the combatants accepted a series of treaties, it was called the Peace of Westphalia.

So many powers were involved in the conflict, the treaties aspired both to bring about a general European peace and to settle other international problems.

The French gained territory on both Spanish and German frontiers. The Hapsburgs had to accept the almost total independence of all the

princes of the Holy Roman Empire. In addition the Netherlands and the Swiss Federation won recognitions as

independent states. The Thirty year’s war left German lands divided into more then 360

separate states. These states still acknowledged the rule of the Holy Roman emperor. Each state had its own government, currency, church, armed forced, and

foreign policy. The German states, potentially the most powerful nation in Europe if they

could be unified, thus remained fragmented fro another 223 years.

Hapsburg Austria Changed its Focus

Even though they were weakened by war, Hapsburg still wanted to create a strong united state.

The kept the title of the Holy Roman emperor.

They focused their attention on expanding their own lands.

Austria they would soon add Bohemia, Hungary, and later parts of Poland and some Italian states.

Challenges to Unity

Uniting these lands proved difficult. They were divided by geography, they included a number of

diverse peoples and cultures as well. By the 1700s, the Hapsburg Empire included Germans,

Magyars, Slavs, and others. People had their own languages, laws, political assemblies, and

customs. The Hapsburgs did exert some control over these diverse

peoples. They sent German-speaking officials to Bohemia and Hungary

and settled Austrians on lands they had seized in these provinces.

They put down revolts in Bohemia and Hungary. The Hapsburgs never developed a centralized governmental

system like that of France.

A Woman Emperor Takes the Throne

In the 1700’s a new challenge threatened Hapsburg Austria.

Emperor Charles VI had no male heir. His daughter Maria Theresa, she was

intelligent and capable, but no woman had yet ruled Hapsburg lands in her own name.

Charles persuaded other European rulers to recognize his daughter’s right to succeed him. When he died, however, any ignored their pledge.

The War Of Austrian Succession

After Charles death in 1740 Fredrick II of Prussia seized the rich Hapsburg province of Silesia.

This sparked the eight-year “War of the Austrian Succession”

Maria Theresa set off the Hungary to appeal for military help From her Hungarian subjects.

The Hungarian were ordinarily unfriendly to the Hapsburgs. She made a dramatic plea before an assembly of Hungarian

nobles. The nobles rose to their feet and shouted “Our lives and

blood for your majesty”. She eventually got further help from Britain and Russia, who

did not want Prussia to upset the balance of power by gaining new lands.

Hohenzollern Prussia

Austria was molding a strong Catholic state, a region called Prussia emerged as a new Protestant power.

In the 1600s the Hohenzollern family ruled scattered lands across north Germany.

In the century following the Peace of Westphalia, ambitious Hohenzollern rulers united their holding, creating Prussia.

The Rivalry of great Powers

1750 the great European powers included Austria, Prussia, France, Britain, and Russia.

These nations formed various alliances to maintain the balance of power.

Prussia battles Austria for control of the German states. Britain and France competed to develop their overseas empires. Sometimes these rivalries resulted in a worldwide conflict. The seven year’s war, which lasted from 1756-1763 was fought

on four continents Britain and France also fought in India and Africa. In North America where the conflict is known as the French or the

British. The treaty of Paris ending these wars gave Britain a huge empire,

thus changing Europe’s balance of power for the next hundred years.