Miss Raia & Ms. Pojer. Overview of Eastern Europe Three aging empires: Holy Roman Empire, Ottoman...
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Transcript of Miss Raia & Ms. Pojer. Overview of Eastern Europe Three aging empires: Holy Roman Empire, Ottoman...
Miss Raia & Ms. PojerMiss Raia & Ms. Pojer
Overview of Eastern Europe• Three aging empires: Holy Roman Empire,
Ottoman Empire and Polish Kingdom – gave way to new empires of Austria Prussia and
Russia
• Holy Roman Empire: religious divisions and war in 16th and 17th century
Overview of Eastern Europe• Ottoman Empire: could not
maintain possessions in E. Europe and Balkans in the Face of Austrian and Russian Expansion
• Suleiman the Magnificent nearly conquered Austria in 1529– Captured Belgrade (Serbia) and
nearly half of Eastern Europe including Balkan territories, most of Hungary and Southern Russia
– Janissary Corps – Christian slaves were not selected for Ottoman Bureaucracy served in Turkish Army
• Poland: liberum veto – voting in Polish parliament had to be unanimous (= weak gov’t)
How did Eastern Absolutism Differ from French Absolutism?
• Eastern was based on a powerful nobility, weak middle class and an oppressed peasantry of serfs
• In France the nobility’s power had been limited, the Middle class was relatively strong and peasants were generally free from serfdom
• The Threat of war from the east is the primary reason for their consolidation of power which reduced the power of the nobility, increased the need for efficient collection of taxes and a standing army
Serfdom• Ceased to exist in Western Europe• In the east, the lords revived Serfdom after 1300 to
combat increasing economic challenges• Areas most effected: Bohemia, Silesia, Hungary,
eastern Germany, Poland, Lithuania and Russia
Serfdom• Drop in the 14th century population created labor shortages for the
nobles• Laws were created restricting or eliminating peasant’s right of
moving freely– Prussia by 1500 had laws requiring runaway peasants to be hunted
down and returned to their lord– Laws froze peasants in their social class– Lords confiscated peasant lands and imposed heavier labor
obligations • Non-serf peasants were also affected
– Robot: In certain regions, peasants were required to work 3-4 days without pay per week for their local lord
Serfdom• Consolidated between 1500
and 1600• Hereditary serfdom
reestablished in Poland• 1694 in Russia, Tsar
rescinded a 9 year term limit on recovery of runaway serfs
• Economic situation positive – attention moved from serfs to growth of agriculture– Surpluses and influx of gold
and silver from colonies
Why did Serfdom Exist in Eastern Europe but not in
Western Europe?• Not necessarily economic• Political reasons
– Most kings directly benefited from serfdom– Eastern lords had more political power than in the west– Constant warfare in Eastern Europe and political chaos
resulted in noble landlord class increasing their political power at the expense of the monarchs
– Weak eastern kings had little power to control landlord policies aimed at the peasants
– Peasants were weaker politically than in the West– Landlords undermined medieval privileges of towns and
power of urban classes
Habsburg Family CrestHabsburg Family Crest
Emergence of Absolutism• Ineffective rule in the HRE forced monarchs to
turn their attention inwards and eastward to consolidate their diverse holdings into a strong unified state
• Reorganization of Bohemia was a major step– Czech nobility was wiped out during the Thirty Yeas
War– Ferdinand II redistributed Czech lands to aristocratic
soldiers from all over Europe– Conditions declined for serfs
• Old hereditary provinces of Austria proper were centralized by Ferdinand III
• Serfdom intensified in Hapsburg lands• Austria was NOT a national state
– Multinational empire which included• Austria Proper: Germans and Italians• Bohemia Czechs• Hungary: Hungarians, Serbs, Croats, Romanians
• No single constitutional system or administration existed in the empire as such each region had a different relationship to the emperor
Austrian Empire: 1657-1718Austrian Empire: 1657-1718
• Ferdinand II (1619-1637) Took control of Bohemia during the 30 Year’s War
• Ferdinand III (1637-1657) Centralized government in the old hereditary provinces of Austria proper
Leopold I
Holy Roman Emperor
(r. 1658-1705)
Leopold I
Holy Roman Emperor
(r. 1658-1705)
•Severely restricted protestant worship
•Successfully repelled Turks from gates of Vienna in 1683 at the Siege of Vienna
Schönbrunn PalaceSchönbrunn Palace
Schönbrunn PalaceSchönbrunn Palace
Schönbrunn PalaceSchönbrunn Palace
Emperor Charles VI
(1711-1740)
•Issued Pragmatic Sanction in 1713
•Hapsburg Possessions were never to be divided and henceforth to be passed intact to a single heir
•His daughter Maria Theresa, inherited Charles’ empire in 1740 and ruled for 40 years
Maria Theresa & Her FamilyMaria Theresa & Her Family
Her Notable Children:
HRE Joseph II
HRE Leopold II
Queen Marie Antoinette (Fr.)
Her Notable Children:
HRE Joseph II
HRE Leopold II
Queen Marie Antoinette (Fr.)
War of the Austrian SuccessionWar of the Austrian Succession
Holy Roman Empire: 1750Holy Roman Empire: 1750
Prussia: House of HohenzollernPrussia: House of Hohenzollern
•Ruler of Brandenburg-Prussia was designated as one of the 7 electors in the HRE in 1417
•By the 17th Century, Brandenburg was not significantly involved in HRE affairs
•Marriages increasingly gave the Hohenzollerns control of German principalities in central and Western Germany
•The prince had little power over the nobility
•Ruler of Brandenburg-Prussia was designated as one of the 7 electors in the HRE in 1417
•By the 17th Century, Brandenburg was not significantly involved in HRE affairs
•Marriages increasingly gave the Hohenzollerns control of German principalities in central and Western Germany
•The prince had little power over the nobility
Prussia & the Austrian Empire: 1721-72
Prussia & the Austrian Empire: 1721-72
Frederick William – The Great Elector (r.1640-1688)
Frederick William – The Great Elector (r.1640-1688)
• Ongoing struggle between Sweden and Poland for control of Baltic after 1648 and wars of Louis XIV created atmosphere of permanent crisis– Prussia was invaded in 1656 by the
Tartars of southern Russia who killed or carried off as slaves more than 50,000 peoples
– Effects lead to foundation for centralized control
• money needed for defense (military)
• Nobility or Junkers, support royal power
Frederick William – The Great Elector (r.1640-1688)
Frederick William – The Great Elector (r.1640-1688)
• Established Prussia as a great power and laid the foundation for future unification in the 19th century
• Oversaw Prussian militarism and created the most efficient army in Europe
• Employed military power and taxation to unify his Rhine holdings, Prussia and Brandenburg into a strong state
• Increased military spending through high taxation
• Encouraged Industry and trade
King Frederick I of Prussia (r.1701-1713)
King Frederick I of Prussia (r.1701-1713)Formerly: Frederick III of
Brandenburg
(r. 1688-1701)
Formerly: Frederick III of Brandenburg
(r. 1688-1701)
• Sought to imitate the court of Louis XIV
• Encourage higher education• Fought two wars against Louis XIV to
preserve balance of power– War of the League of Augsburg (1688-
1697) and War of Spanish Succession (1701-1713)
• Allied with Hapsburgs• Elector of Brandenburg-Prussia was
now recognized internationally as King of Prussia in return for aid to Hapsburgs
King Frederick William I of Prussia (r.1713-1740)
King Frederick William I of Prussia (r.1713-1740)
• “The Soldier’s King”• Calvinist• Infused militarism into Prussian society
– “Sparta of the North”– Society rigid and highly discipline– Unquestioning obedience was the highest virtue
• Nearly doubled the size of the army• 80% of gov’t revenues went towards the
military• Most efficient Bureaucracy in Europe• Demanded absolute obedience and discipline
from civil servants• Established approximately 1,000 schools for
peasant children
Frederick the Great (r. 1740-1786)Frederick the Great (r. 1740-1786)
• Son of Frederick William I who gave him a strong military education
• Proudly influenced by the Enlightenment
• He considered French learning to be superior
• Patronized Voltaire (Enlightenment thinker) and invited him to live in his court in Berlin
• Musician and Poet• The first 23 years of Frederick’s reign was
dominated by warfare
Frederick the Great (r. 1740-1786)Frederick the Great (r. 1740-1786)
Frederick the Great’s CourtFrederick the Great’s Court
Europe in 1740Europe in 1740
War of Austrian Succession (1740-1748)
War of Austrian Succession (1740-1748)
• Cause: Frederick invaded and annexed Silesia, part of the Austrian Hapsburg empire– Frederick violated Austria’s Pragmatic Sanction (1713)
whereby the Great Powers recognized that Charles VII’s daughter, Maria Theresa, would inherit the entire Hapsburg empire
• Prussia efficiently defeated Austria• Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle
– Prussia gained Silesia ( and doubled Prussia’s population in the process)
– Prussia was now recognized as the most powerful of all the German states and as one of Europe’s “Great Powers.”
The Seven Years WarThe Seven Years War• Cause: Maria Theresa sought to regain Silesia from Prussia and gained Russia and France as allies
– Goal of Austria, Russia and France was to conquer Prussia and divide its territories among winners.
• “Diplomatic Revolution of 1756”– France and Austria, traditional enemies now allied against Prussia– Britain, a traditional ally of Russia, supported Prussia withmoney, (but with few troops)
• Bloodiest war in Europe since the Thirty Year’s War of the 17th Century– World war that also included England and France’s Struggle for North America– Prussia outnumbered by its enemies 15 to 1– Prussia suffered 180,000 dead and sever disruptions to its society– Berlin was twice captured and partially destroyed by Russian troops– Prussia was on the verge of a catastrophic defeat
• Russian Czar Peter III (an admirer of Frederick) pulled
Russia out of the war in 1763)– This saved Prussia from almost certain defeat– Peter was assassinated and replaced by Catherine
II as a result
Treaty of Paris, 1763
– Most important peace treaty of the 18th century and most important since the Treaty of Westphalia (1648)
– Prussia permanently retained Silesia
– France lost all its colonies in North America to Great Britain
– Britain gained more territory in India