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Constructing the Danube Monarchy: Habsburg State-Building in the Long Nineteenth Century

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Constructing the Danube Monarchy: Habsburg State-Building in the Long Nineteenth Century CONSTRUCTING THE DANUBE MONARCHY: HABSBURG STATE-BUILDING IN THE LONG NINETEENTH CENTURY A Dissertation submitted to the Faculty of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences of Georgetown University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in History By Robert Mevissen, M.A. Washington, DC December 11, 2017 CONSTRUCTING THE DANUBE MONARCHY: HABSBURG STATE-BUILDING IN THE LONG 19TH CENTURY Robert Shields Mevissen, M.A. Dissertation Advisor: James Shedel, Ph.D. ABSTRACT The Habsburg Monarchy existed until 1918 and its collapse ushered in a period of skepticism and, in some cases, antipathy toward the multinational state, which many contemporary observers portrayed as hopelessly backward. Recent scholarship has begun to reexamine the monarchy, reevaluating reforms that central, provincial, and local governments and bureaucracies implemented, which situated the imperial state favorably among its paradigmatically ‘more modern’ peers in Europe. While the historiography has increasingly revealed the social and political circumstances that precipitated and enabled such reforms, this dissertation traces another avenue of reform; the physical-natural world – and plans for its modification – which provided both an impetus and an opportunity for reform and modernization. Tracing technical and natural developments along the Danube, I argue that the river and its extensive tributary network provided the authorities in Vienna and Budapest a multifaceted site to inspire loyalty to the dynasty and government and a means to foster transnational connections between different industrial, commercial, social, and national groups in the monarchy. Modernizing arrangements on the Danube were not without their setbacks. A lack of political and financial cooperation kept earlier regulations and improvements local in scope, which perennial Danube floods frequently destroyed. After mid-century, local and central governments began employing more holistic, monarchy-wide approaches to the Danube’s transformation, using the latest technological innovations. Local hydraulic works took on intra-regional and imperial significance and required actors to negotiate the at times conflicting interests and visions for the river. Unfortunately, large-scale works also had unintended ecological and environmental consequences. Physical arrangements were coupled with new expectations and regulations of both individual and communal practices along the river. Much like the transformed river itself, these newly regulated activities and behaviors were meant to help ensure greater safety, guarantee common access to the river, and provide for the populace’s general well-being. Together, environmental interventions and new practices ultimately served to underpin efforts to forge the Habsburg Monarchy into a more cohesive, modern state. ii DEDICATION To Elisabeth, who patiently and even enthusiastically supported me while I studied, researched, and wrote my dissertation. And to Eleanor, whose birth delayed but whose presence ultimately motivated me to finish my dissertation faster than I may have otherwise thought possible. iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I’ll always remember that Professor Goldfrank once joked at a history department holiday party that a dissertation requires a lot of “Sitzfleisch” – an ability to sit alone and think for long periods of time. However, I’ve also been pleased to discover how collaborative the research and writing process can be as well. Therefore, I’d like to thank Professor James Shedel for being the most committed advisor and drawing me deeper into this history with his inexhaustible knowledge of the Habsburgs. Our conversations helped me to refine my thoughts, and he pointed out revelations in my work that I was not always aware I had uncovered. I would also like to thank Professor Aviel Roshwald and Professor John McNeill for their help and insight as dissertation committee members. Having discussions with both before my research and at times throughout writing, their wisdom was both supportive and enlightening. Professor Martin Schmid and Professor Verena Winiwarter challenged many of my thoughts in the initial stages of my research in Austria and helped me hone my topic. Professor Robert Győri in Hungary provided invaluable support and always invited me to dine on delectable Hungarian delicacies in Budapest. Zoltan Huszar helped widened my perspectives and welcomed me warmly in Pécs for a spontaneous tour of his stomping grounds. Bernhard Hammer at the IFF library in Vienna was a good conversation companion in my last months of otherwise solitary writing. I would also like to thank the benefactors that have financially supported me during this journey. The Department of Education and Balassi Institute provided me scholarships to study Hungarian in summer 2014, without which this project would not have been possible. Georgetown’s history department and Center for German and European Studies funded my studies for five years, for which I am eternally grateful. The history department also provided funds toward my Hungarian lessons in Washington DC, the Georgetown Graduate School and history department generously offered me several years of conference travel funds, which allowed me to share my preliminary research with other scholars. The Fulbright Commissions in Vienna and Budapest as well as the Austria Exchange Service (ÖAD) funded my research in Austria and Hungary from 2015 to 2016, which permitted me to make the discoveries I did. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS Introduction: Identity and Nature.................................................................................................... 1 Historiography ............................................................................................................................ 3 Conversations and Contributions ................................................................................................ 7 Methodology ............................................................................................................................. 12 Structure and Thesis .................................................................................................................. 15 Chapter 1: Creating the Imperial Danube ..................................................................................... 19 The Danube and the Dynasty: A Brief Background ................................................................. 21 New Arrangements for New Practices ...................................................................................... 27 State Support for the Danube Steam Navigation Company .................................................. 32 Public Consumption on the Imperial Danube ........................................................................... 43 Imperial-Royal Family in the Flood ..................................................................................... 44 Sites of Celebration, Locations of Loyalty ............................................................................... 47 Franz Joseph’s Era ................................................................................................................ 49 Conclusion ................................................................................................................................ 65 Chapter 2: The Danube as Life Artery .......................................................................................... 68 The Danube: Building Imperial Bureaucracy ........................................................................... 71 Neoabsolutism to the Compromise of 1867.............................................................................. 81 New Bureaucracy, Same Agenda ............................................................................................. 95 First Canal Legislation ............................................................................................................ 100 Donauverein ............................................................................................................................ 106 European Interest in the Danube ............................................................................................. 108 Actors and Advocates ............................................................................................................. 110 Advocacy Leads to Action ...................................................................................................... 113 European Waterways .............................................................................................................. 117 Dissatisfaction ......................................................................................................................... 119 Wasserstrassefrage/Csatornakérdés ....................................................................................... 122 Final Years of the Monarchy .................................................................................................. 134 The First World War ............................................................................................................... 137 Conclusion .............................................................................................................................. 139 Chapter 3: The Danube as a People Network ............................................................................. 143 Early Practices and Connections ............................................................................................
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