1. Which ethnic group do the earliest Russians belong to? 2. What do the onion domes on St. Basil’s Cathedral represent? 3. Which territory was partitioned during the reign of Catherine the Great? 4. Which conquistador conquered the Aztec empire? The Incan? 5. What was the name of Philip II’s palace located outside of Madrid? 6. Tulipmania is an example of which economic phenomenon? 7. Where did Tulipmania take place? 8. What is the term for French Calvinists? 9. Which French dynasty began with Henri IV? 10. What was the name of the uprising which occurred during the young life of Louis XIV?
Chapter 17, Section 4
The Thirty Years War devastated the principalities of Germany. It left Germany divided into more than 360 separate states. Germany, potentially the most powerful nation in Europe, remained fragmented for another 200 years.
Though weakened by war, the Hapsburgs still wanted to create a strong and unified state. They kept the title of Holy Roman emperors, but focused their attention on expanding their own lands. To Austria, they added Bohemia, Hungary, and, later, parts of Poland and Italy.
The diverse peoples living in Hapsburg Austria made ruling over them difficult. They all had their own languages, laws, assemblies, and customs. The Hapsburgs sent German-speaking officials to Bohemia and Hungary and settled Austrians onto confiscated lands in these territories. Still, the Hapsburg empire never developed the centralized system like that of France.
In the early 1700s, the Austrian emperor Charles VI faced a crisis – he had no son. His daughter, Maria Theresa, 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, many ignored their pledge.
Maria Theresa became Hapsburg empress at the age of 23. During the reign of Maria Theresa, Vienna became a center for music and the arts. She also gave birth to a total of 16 children – 11 girls and 5 boys – during her reign. Among these children were the future emperors Joseph II and Leopold II and Queen Marie Antoinette of France.
The greatest threat came in 1740, when Frederick II of Prussia sized the rich Hapsburg province of Silesia. Maria Theresa set off for Hungary to appeal for military help from her Hungarian subjects. The Hungarians were ordinarily unfriendly to the Hapsburgs but she made a dramatic plea before the assembly of Hungarian nobles. According to one account, the nobles rose to their feet and shouted, “Our lives and blood for your Majesty!” She eventually also got help from Britain and Russia.
During the eight-year War of the Austrian Succession, Maria Theresa was not able to force Frederick out of Silesia. Still, she did preserve her empire and win the support of most of her people. She was able to strengthen Hapsburg power by reorganizing the bureaucracy and improving tax collection. Many of her reforms were later extended by her son and successor, Joseph II.
While Austria was molding a strong Catholic state, Prussia emerged as a new Protestant power. In the 1600s, the Hohenzollern family ruled scattered lands across northern Germany. After the Peace of Westphalia, ambitious Hohenzollern rulers united their lands by taking over states between them. Like absolute rulers elsewhere, they set up an efficient central bureaucracy and reduced the independence of their nobles, called Junkers.
To achieve their goals, Prussian rulers like Frederick William I forged one of the best-trained armies in Europe. One Prussian military leader boasted, “Prussia is not a state which possesses an army, but an army which possesses a state.” Frederick William I won the loyalty of the Junkers by giving them positions in the army and government. By 1740, Prussia was strong enough to challenge its rival Austria.
Frederick William made sure that, from an early age, his son Frederick was trained in the art of war. In fact, young Frederick preferred playing the flute and writing poetry. Frederick William I (the father) despised these pursuits and threatened the young prince so badly he tried to flee the country. Discovering these plans, Frederick William put his son in solitary confinement. A friend who had helped Frederick was beheaded while the 18-year-old prince was forced to watch.
Frederick’s harsh military training did have an effect. He always wore a military uniform in public. After becoming king in 1740, Frederick II lost no time in using his army. His seizure of Silesia sparked the War of Austrian Succession. In several later wars, Frederick made brilliant use of his disciplined army, forcing all to accept Prussia as a great power. His exploits earned him the name Frederick the Great.