1. Central Europe Austria and Prussia

2. The Thirty Years’ War The Beginning  Habsburg Ferdinand II ruled Bohemia as king. He was also the Holy Roman emperor, chosen by electors. He had little power  Protestants in Bohemia did not trust Ferdinand: - foreigner - Catholic  1618: Defenestration of Prague - Protestant nobles tossed 2 Catholic officials out of a window - Ferdinand closed Protestant churches - Protestants rebelled and Ferdinand sent army into Bohemia to suppress it

3. Thirty Years’ War 1618-1648  The Thirty Years’ War was a local conflict which began in Bohemia but soon grew into a European war.  It was a conflict over religion, territory, and power among Europe’s ruling families.  The Thirty Years’ War had 2 major phases: - Habsburg triumphs - Habsburg defeats

4. Habsburg Triumphs  For 12 years Habsburg armies from Austria and Spain crushed the troops of the Protestant princes.  They also put down a Czech uprising.  Ferdinand II paid his army of 125,000 by allowing them to plunder German villages, destroying everything.

5. Habsburg Defeats  Protestant Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden and his 13,000 men shifted the tide of the war in 1630. - drove Habsburg armies out of northern Germany - Gustavus was killed in battle in 1632  Cardinal Richelieu and Cardinal Mazarin of France dominated the remaining years of the war. - they were Catholic – but they feared the Habsburgs more than they Protestants - they didn’t want any European power to surpass France - 1635: Richelieu sent French troops to join German and Swedish Protestants against the Habsburg armies

6. Consequences of the War  About 1/3 of the German population died – Germany suffered severe depopulation as their population dropped from 20 million to 16 million as a result of the war.  Germany’s trade and agriculture were disrupted and Germany’s economy was in ruin.  Because Germany had a long, difficult recovery – it did not become a unified state until the 1800s.

7. Peace of Westphalia 1648  Weakened Habsburg states of Spain and Austria  Strengthened France by giving it German territory  Made German princes independent of the Holy Roman emperor  Ended religious wars in Europe  Introduced a new method of peace negotiation – all participants meet to settle the problems of war and decide the terms of peace  Marked beginning of the modern state system

8. Beginning of Modern States  The Treaty of Westphalia had abandoned the idea of a Catholic empire that would rule most of Europe.  Europe was now a group of independent states that would negotiate for themselves.  This marked the beginning of the modern state system. This was the most important result of the Thirty Years’ War.

9. Central Europe Differs  Formation of strong states happened more slowly in central Europe.  Major powers: kingdom of Poland, the Holy Roman Empire, and the Ottoman Empire - - none of them well- organized in the mid-1600s.

10. Economic Contrasts Western Europe  In late Middle Ages – serfs in Western Europe slowly won their freedom and moved to the cities.  In towns, they joined with middle class townspeople who gained economic power because of the commercial revolution and capitalism.  Western European monarchs taxed the towns to: - raise armies - reduce the influence of the nobility

11. Economic Contrasts Central Europe  Landowning aristocracy passed laws to restrict the ability of serfs to gain freedom and move to cities.  This kept serfs on the land to produce large harvests. Nobles then sold surplus crops to Western Europe at a great profit.  By 1700, Polish landowners demanded their serfs work 6 days a week. The serf only had 1 day a week to grow their own food.

12. Several Weak Empire  Nobles blocked the development of strong kings.  Polish nobility elected the Polish king and limited his power: - little income, no law courts, no standing army  Two empires of central Europe also weak – left a power vacuum: - Ottoman Empire: threatened Austria in 1529, weak after that - Holy Roman Empire: weakened by Thirty Years’ War; could no longer command the obedience of the German states because it had no real power In the late 1600s, two German speaking families decided to fill the vacuum of power and become absolute rulers.

13. Austria Grows Stronger The Habsburgs  Austria remained the most important state inside the Holy Roman Empire after the Thirty Years’ War.  It took steps to adopt absolutism: - reconquered Bohemia during Thirty Years’ War - wiped out Protestantism there; created a new Czech nobility in Bohemia - centralized government; created a standing army - retook Hungary from Ottomans

14. Map of Austria

15.  1711: Charles VI became Habsburg ruler - difficult empire to rule – diverse peoples: Czechs, Hungarians, Italians, Croations, Germans - only thing that kept empire together was that the Austrian, Hungarian, and Bohemian crowns were with the Habsburg ruler

16. The Pragmatic Sanction  Charles did not have a son to succeed him.  He had a daughter, Maria Theresa, but no woman had ever led the Habsburg Empire.  To provide for her acceptance, Charles went to the European leaders and had them sign the Pragmatic Sanction recognizing her authority to rule after his death.  This agreement sought to produce a peaceful reign – instead Austria and Maria Theresa faced years of war with their main enemy, Prussia, a new state north of Austria.

17. The Rise of Prussia  The Hohenzollerns built a state from small land holdings – like the small states of Brandenburg and Prussia.  In 1640, Frederick William inherited the title of the elector of Brandenburg.  Because he ruled a small area, he believed that a strong army was the only way to ensure the safety of his people.  He moved toward absolute monarchy. - He created a standing army, the best in Europe, 80,000 men. - Taxation paid for the army. - He weakened representative assemblies in his territories.

18.  The Junkers, the Prussian landholding nobility, resisted the ruler’s power.  In the early 1700s, King Frederick William I bought their cooperation and gave them the exclusive right to be officers in the strong army.  Prussia became a rigidly controlled military society.

19. Frederick II  Frederick William’s son, Frederick II was seen as being weak.  He loved music and poetry.  He was caught trying to run away with a friend. His father forced him to watch his friend’s execution.  When he came to power, Frederick II followed his father’s military policies, but softened some of his father’s laws.

20. War of the Austrian Succession  1740: Maria Theresa succeeded her father five months after Frederick II became king of Prussia.  Frederick wanted Silesia which belonged to Austria: - it bordered Prussia - it was rich in resources  Frederick believed Maria Theresa would not be much of an adversary so he sent an army into Austria to take Silesia in 1740. This began the War of the Austrian Succession.

21.  Maria Theresa, having just given birth, traveled to Hungary to ask the nobles for aid. They pledged an army even though they resented Habsburg rule.  Britain joined Austria in the struggle against Prussia and its ally France.  Maria Theresa stopped Prussian aggression in Austria but she lost Silesia according to the Treaty of Aix-la- Chapelle in 1748.

22. The Seven Years’ War  Maria Theresa made an alliance with France.  This led to a diplomatic revolution: - Frederick signed a treaty with Britain - Austria, France, Russia, and others now allied against Britain and Prussia  1756: Frederick attacked Saxony, an Austrian ally. Europe was not involved in war.

23.  The war took place on four continents: Asia, Africa, Europe, and North America.  The war did not change the territorial situation in Europe.  But in N. America and India, the French and British had colonies. After the war, Britain became the real victor. France lost its colonies and Britain gained economic domination of India.