17 th Century Eastern Europe

Political Disintegration 16 th – 17 th centuries saw disintegration – France = Wars of Religion – England = English Revolution – Spain = Philip ’ s Crusades – HRE = 30 yrs War

From the Ashes 2 Ways to Unite: – Constitutionalism – Absolutism New Players Arrive – Russia – Prussia If neither adopted, failure is assured – Ex: Poland

Failure of Poland Elected Kings (the Noble Republic) Any Noble can veto any law Enserfment of peasant population Complete collapse of gov ’ t Eventual disappearance of Poland from map! (Partitions of Poland)

Old Fashioned and Out-of Date 1. HRE (Hapsburg) – Religious differences – Cultural differences – Economic Weakness – German States Fragmented

2. Ottoman Empire – Janissaries – Religious Differences – Foreign Power Structures 3. Poland – Cultural Barriers – Lack of Law and Order – Unable to adapt

New and Improved 1.Austrian Empire Hapsburg Realignment Pragmatic Sanction 2.Prussia Hohenzollerns Military

3. Russia – Westernization – Peter ’ s Revolutions

HRE The German States Fragmented and Religiously divided

Fragmented 300 States 1,500 Knightdoms – Some with populations under 300 – Held a lot of independence Ruled by Electors – Hapsburg family ‘ elected ’ constantly to rule as Emperor – Had little actual power

Religiously Divided Northern territories mainly Lutheran Southern mainly Catholic Peace of Augsburg – Local ruler determined religion (Lutheran or Catholic) – NO religious toleration or freedom – DID NOT include Calvinists

30 Years War War between Lutherans, Catholics and Calvinists Motivations switched from religious intent to political intent France, England, Austria, and others involved

Treaty of Westphalia (1648) – Same as Peace of Augsburg except Calvinists were added – Kept HRE fragmented and weak

Austria One of the German States Austrian Hapsburgs gained power through territorial expansion during the wars Pragmatic Sanction – Hapsburg territory will never be divided

Prussia German State on the rise Rulers transformed Prussia into a weak state to a powerful military state Throughout 30 Years war and other conflicts, Prussia acquired more and more land Hohenzollern family ruled Prussia

Prussia in the 17 th Century

Early Hohenzollerns Ruled as electors of Brandenburg and dukes of Prussia First among equals (simply the largest landowner in a landlord society) Dukes of Prussia part of Poland Brandenburg called “ the sand-box of the HRE ” No sea port

Brandenburg established in 950 AD by Otto I One of the 7 Electors of HRE (1417’s Golden Bull) Marriages increase size of Brandenburg Peace of Westphalia grant more land (3 Bishoprics & 1 Archbishopric) No natural borders – fragmented areas

Hohenzollerns reached lowest point during 30 yrs war – However, Peace of Westphalia did grant more land (3 Bishoprics & 1 Archbishopric) Weakened Brandenburg allowed Frederick William (The Great Elector) to overstep bounds and pave way to Prussian absolutism

Frederick William: The Great Elector Try to unite: – Historic Brandenburg (area around Berlin) – Prussia – Scattered holdings around Rhine River Each dominated by Junkers (landowning class)

He forced Estates (Junkers) to accept taxation without consent Used $ to pay for standing army Estate power dwindle – State revenue triple – Army leaped ahead tenfold

On-going war with Tatars from East and Swedish/Polish conflict created atmosphere of permanent crisis – Allowed Frederick to continue taxation and military expansion – Estates (Junkers) further weakened Constitutionalism avoided due to above

Consolidation of Prussian Absolutism The Great Elector died in 1688 Newly formed Absolutist Prussia was still fragile Successor Elector Frederick III (the Ostentatious) aka KING Frederick I: – Weak ruler – tried to copy Louis XIV ’ s court – Crowned King by Hapsburg for helping in War of Sp Succ.

King Frederick William I King Frederick William I “ Soldier ’ s King ”: After Frederick I, Frederick William took throne Crude, Dangerous and psychoneurotic man Bent on organization and military build up Always wore military uniform

Did not destroy Junkers and nobility, instead he enlisted them in the military! – Became the officer caste Many commoners served in civil government Last traces of parliamentary Estates and local self-government gone By 1740, Prussia had 4 th largest army in Europe

Soldier to soldier, Prussia ’ s army was best – Skill, discipline, and organization “ Sparta of the North ” – Highest virtue = unquestioned obedience

King Frederick II the Great ( ) Enlightened Monarch!!! – Letters with Voltaire – Rulers should be the “first servant of the state” Enlightened Ideas implemented – Single code of law for all territories – No torture except for treason & murder – Toleration of religion – Some ‘limited’ free speech & press Too dependent on nobles to free serfs yet…

Enlarged military to 200,000 Seized Silesia (Austrian province) – Made Prussia & Austria enemies – Pulled into 2 wars over this: War of Austrian Succession Seven Years War First Partition of Poland gave land to Brandenburg-Prussia By end of his reign, Prussia a major European power

Austrian Empire 17 th -18 th centuries

I. Effect of the 30 Years War Any hope of unified “German” Empire dashed – Treaty of Westphalia (1648) Austrian ruler in charge of: – Lower/Upper Austria, Carinthia, Carniola, Styria, Tyrol, Bohemia (added during 30 yrs war) – Claimed Hungary too In name only at this point Eastern principality (Transylvania) independent Central Hungary under control of Ottoman Turks

II. Islamic/ Turk Threat 1683 Western Austrian expansion blocked – now look East – opportunity arose in 1683… Vienna sieged in 1683 by expanding Turks – Capital of Austria Euro Christian forces combine – Austria, Saxony, Bavaria, and Poland Prince Eugene of Savoy led forces 1687 Turks pushed back Treaty of Karlowitz (1699) – Austria took control of Hungary, Transylvania, Croatia, Slovenia – Eastern Austrian Empire established

III. End of War of Spanish Succession Discussed in the Louis XIV wars unit War’s Treaty – Gave Austria Spanish Netherlands – Formal recognition of Austrian control of Milan, Mantua, Sardinia, Naples

IV. Division within Monarchy never centralized – Too many nationalities – Was a collection of territories held together by personal union (Hapsburg) Austrian ruler was: – Archduke of Austria – King of Bohemia – King of Hungary Each had its own estates-general, sets of laws, and political life

V. Charles VI ( ) Empire seemed fragile due to divisions Charles issued the Pragmatic Sanction in an attempt to preserve the Empire – Hapsburg holdings declared indivisible – Sought internal noble support – Sought international support – Took years – Many damaging concessions made to acquire agreement Charles VI died with no male heir…

Maria Theresa was only direct heir… she claimed the throne No sooner was Charles’ body cold… – Many claimants to throne arose – PRAMATIC SANCTION IGNORED!!! Prussia took advantage and took Silesia… Bavaria took advantage and took Hapsburg territory – They even claimed title of HRE!!! France threw support behind Bavaria (and others)

VI. War of the Austrian Succession Series of wars ( ) – Prussian invasion of Silesia (Silesian Wars) – Bohemian invasion of Hapsburg territory – French invasion of Netherlands – Etc…. – War everywhere! France v England in India France v England in N America Maria Theresa sought support from England – England feared French hegemony in Europe – Balance of Power issue…

Strongest claimant to Austrian throne (other than Maria Theresa) died – Charles Albert died 1745 – His son gave up claims to throne Tired of continued warfare… Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle signed (1748) – All previous territories returned except Silesia (remained in Prussian hands) – Maria Theresa ruler of Austrian Empire

VII. Maria Theresa & Joseph II Maria Theresa ( ) – Abolished Austrian & Bohemian Chancelleries – Created centralized departments Foreign Affairs, Justice, War, Commerce, Internal Affairs – Reduced role of local diets Clergy & nobles pay taxes to royal officials instead of local diets Territories divided into 10 provinces administered by royal agents rather than local diets – Staunch Catholic not open to philosophes – Mercantilist Policies

Maria Theresa began administrative and economic reforms in 1749, drawing on mercantilist theory and examples provided by Prussian and French reforms. In addition, she undertook reforms in the social, legal, and religious spheres. During the co-regency and after Maria Theresa's death, Joseph continued the reforms along the lines pursued by his mother. But mother and son had sharply different motivations. Maria Theresa was a pious Catholic empress working within the structure of a paternalistic, baroque absolutism and was unsympathetic to the Enlightenment. Joseph, in contrast, gave the reforms an ideological edge reflecting the utilitarian theories of the Enlightenment. Because his reforms were more ideologically driven and thus less flexible and pragmatic, they frequently were also less successful and disrupted the stability of the Habsburg Empire.

Joseph II ( co-rule: ) – Enlightened Despot Idealistic… many reforms were not practical Abolished Serfdom Eliminated Trade barriers, monopolies, guild restrictions (Physiocratic ideology) New penal code – equality before the law Complete religious toleration Adopt German as national language – Many policies failed Alienated Catholic Church Serfs displeased (now free… jobs? Income? Too much change too quickly: Non-German speakers alienate