Absolutism in Central Europe

Absolutism in 17th Century Central Europe

• Economic and social conditions made Absolutism different in Central Europe:– Powerful nobility and much poorer peasantry– Less industrial and more rural– Fewer towns– Monarchs had a more difficult time diminishing

power of nobility in the countryside.

• As a trade-off, the monarch gave the aristocrats even greater power over their own peasants in return for their support for his centralized government. 

Hapsburgs and the Holy Roman Empire

The Hapsburg Empire• Religious and ethnic divisions. Ethnic hostility.

• Habsburgs needed the aristocracy to secure their rule.

• Economically backward, compared to France, England. Fewer towns, lack of industry.

• Aristocrats had almost complete control over their large peasant populations. Serfdom. – Serfdom allowed by Hapsburgs to gain support of

aristocracy

How the Hapsburg’s Gained Power

• Began as minor Swiss nobility in the middle ages

• By 1558, the Hapsburg empire had become one on “which the sun never set.”

• Not just Holy Roman Emperors, but also: – Dukes of wealthy Burgundy and the “Low-Counties”– Kings of Bohemia and Hungary– Kings of Spain (which included more than half of the Americas

and the Philippines)

• How did that happen? Warfare? Wealth? Diplomatic excellence? Yes.

• But mostly, they gained power, wealth, and status through smart marriages.

• A Latin verse from the 16th century states: “Let others wage war, you - happy Austria - marry!"

Good Marriages = Power• Marriages to princesses

of Burgundy, Spain, Bohemia, and Hungary

Joanna of Castile

Mary of Burgundy

Leopold I

• 1640-1705• Younger son,

never intended to rule

• Well educated, but meant for the monastery

• Very shy

Leopold I

• Peer of Louis XIV but much different personality– Preferred to live a secluded life– Enforced strict royal court protocol from

the Spanish court– Dressed in somber black– Inquisitive: loved books and science

experiments

Leopold I• Holy Roman Emperor, also

king of Hungary, Bohemia, Croatia

• Ruled 47 years

Leopold I

• Problems with France– Spanish Succession– Grand Alliance: Austria and England vs. France

over the Netherlands

• Problems with the Turks– Turks keep challenging Austrian Empire– 1663-1683: Turkish army comes close to

conquering Vienna– 1699: Sultan signs peace treaty with Leopold

Schonbrunn Palace

Schönbrunn PalaceSchönbrunn Palace

Schönbrunn PalaceSchönbrunn Palace

Hohenzollerens of Brandenburg-Prussia

Prussia in early 18th century

Prussia is divided by German states.

Early Prussian History

• Brandenburg-Prussia was a scattered collection of domains centered around Berlin.

• During the Thirty Years' War, Prussian lands were repeatedly marched across by various armies

• Frederick William (1640-1688) begins creating the Prussian Army

Junker

• Means “young lord” in German• Usually a lesser noble in the Middle Ages• Took up careers as soldiers and

mercenaries. • Became the aristocracy of Prussia• They dominated all the higher civil offices

and officer corps of the army and navy • Strong supporters of monarchy and

tradition

King Frederick I of Prussia

• Reigned 1701-1713

• The “soldier king”

• Developed the Prussian army into one of the most powerful in Europe

• In view of the size of the army in relation to the total population Voltaire said later: "Where some states possess an army, the Prussian Army possesses a state!"

Frederick II – “The Great”Frederick II – “The Great”

• Reigned 1740-1786

• Invaded the Austrian province of Silesia

• Made Prussia a great power

• Laid the foundation for the eventual unification of German states into Germany

Frederick II

• Admired the French Enlightenment and philosopher Voltaire

• Did not believe in the Divine Right of Kings

• Practiced “Enlightened Absolutism”

Charles VI• Reigned 1711-1740

• Feared his daughter would not keep the empire intact

• Pragmatic Sanction of Prague

• While alive, persuaded other European nations to agree to it. Hoped to prevent war.

• Reality: at his death, Europe sank into another era of warfare– Prussia immediately seized

Silesia, an Austrian province– Austria declared war on Prussia

• Empress Maria Theresa

• Reigned 1740-1780

• Strengthened Austria militarily, economically, intellectually

Maria Theresa and Her Family

• 16 children

• One of her youngest daughters was Marie Antoinette, queen of France

War of the Austrian Succession

• Began in 1740

• The accession of Maria Theresa to the Habsburg Empire after the death of her father, the Holy Roman Emperor Charles VI, created a crisis.

• The war involved all of Europe– France and England fought for power in Europe and

to become strongest colonial power– Conflict spread to America, where it was known as

King George's War

• France, Prussia, Spain vs. Austria and Britain

• Potential upset of the “Balance of Power” – Britain feared a too-powerful France

War of Austrian Succession

• Major Battles– 1st Silesian War: 1741, Austrian and French

defeat•Encouraged France, Spain, and Prussia to

tear apart and take Austrian lands

– 2nd Silesian War: 1742, Austria and Prussia make peace, but war continues in North America and Low Countries

– The war shifts after 1742 to more direct conflict between France and England•Battle of Dettingen (1943): French defeat•Battle of Fontenoy (1745): French victory

The War Ends?

• The End: Treaty of Aix-le-Chapelle (1748)– Prussia gets to keep Silesia– Prussia becomes a major European

power

• The End is really the Beginning– The Seven Years War began in 1755– Result: France loses most presence in N.

America, England becomes most dominant colonial power

Poland• 15th -- 16th Century: “Golden Age” of stability

and advancement

• Downfall: – Partitions of Poland: 1772-1795

•Divided amongst Austria, Prussia, and Russia

•1795: End of Poland as a nation until the Napoleonic Era