Chapter 5 Notes Why were the Holy Roman Empire, the Ottoman Empire, and the Republic of Poland weak in the early modern period? • In the mid-1600s, the Holy Roman Empire, the Ottoman Empire, and the Republic of Poland dominated Central and Eastern Europe. – Each of these states was huge and quite different from each other in terms of religion, longevity, and connection to Western Europe – All shared weakness of central authority, inefficiency of administration, and inability to compete with the modernizing states of France and Russia. • The situation in the East was in constant change – Ultimately, three great states emerged out of the ruins of the seventeenth-century states • The Austrian, Prussian, and Russian Empires. Why was the Holy Roman Empire so weak? • The Holy Roman Empire was devastated by the Reformation and the Treaty of Westphalia. • The empire strove for universality, not nationality, but favored Germanic culture. • The empire economically had a difficult time recuperating from the damages of the Thirty Years' War • Lacked most of the newly created economic attributes of Western Europe – No central bank; no colonies; no vibrant merchant class; no stock exchange; and no uniformity of laws, tariffs, tolls, coinage, or even the calendar. – Science was at a low point and only in music (e.g., Bach, etc.) did Germanic artistic creation excel. • Politically, the empire consisted of hundreds if not thousands of virtually sovereign states of a great variety of size and power. – Each wished to preserve what was generally known as "Germanic Liberties." – These states opposed Habsburg efforts at centralization • The position of emperor was an elective one. – The Habsburgs did not have the rights of hereditary rule – Although all Holy Roman Emperors were Habsburgs, each had to negotiate terms with nine electors • The Imperial Diet was similarly hampered. – Along with the "Germanic Liberties" came a lack of personal freedom and political rights in most states within the empire – Most states tended to absolutism but often generated enthusiastic support from the local populace • Some rulers within the empire sought to significantly increase their domains and their power – Often by carefully selecting marriage partners or peddling their positions as electors to the highest bidder – Successful dynasties were the Wittelsbachs of Bavaria, the Hohenzollerns of Prussia, and the Guelphs of Hannover • Current ruling dynasty (now called the House of Windsor) of England in 1714when the Stuart line died out. • Two of these states-Austria under the Habsburgs and Prussia under the Hohenzollerns-achieved prominent positions and effective governments by 1700. How did a strong Austrian Habsburg monarchy rise out of the Holy Roman Empire? • Austrian Habsburgs were the Holy Roman Emperors since the mid-fourteenth Century – Successfully made a transition in 1600s from the dying Holy Roman Empire to a strong Austrian kingdom. • The Austrian kingdom consisted of three parts connected only by common Habsburg ruler – Austria • Hereditary provinces of Habsburgs – Bohemia • Reincorporated into the Holy Roman Empire during the Thirty Years' War – Hungary • Ottomans conquered Hungary in 1526 after a long struggle between the Austrians and the Turks • In the seventeenth century, Louis XIV incited the Turks to move against the Habsburgs • In 1683, the Turks besieged Vienna for the second time – The siege was lifted after two months, largely because of the efforts of the Polish king, Sobieski. • Prince Eugene of Savoy was an effective commander for the Habsburgs who modernized the army and drove the Turks out of Hungary • The Ottomans were pushed back to Romania and the Balkans • Habsburgs won Milan, Naples, and the former Spanish Netherlands fighting in the War of Spanish Succession • Prince Eugene captured Belgrade, Trieste, and Croatia, pushing back the Turks to borders that remained for the next 200 years. What were some defining characteristics of the Austrian Empire? • The Austrian Empire was international (or non- national) both in its population and in the government service – Germans, Croats, Italians, Hungarians, and Czechs • Several provinces had their own diet, with a good amount of autonomy; – No central diet or common laws for the empire as a whole • Common class interests connected the nobles of various origins – Dominated their mostly enserfed peasants • The two unifying elements were Catholicism (the Habsburgs persecuted Protestants) and the Habsburg Emperor who inherited the three crowns in one Person • Charles VI in 1713 issued a document called the Pragmatic Sanction – Ensure the permanent unity of Habsburg territory by preventing divided succession • Became even more important when he had no male heir • Daughter Maria Theresa, who ultimately recognized as the rightful Habsburg heir How did Prussia use its small size to its advantage in the seventeenth century? • Small states could play a major military role in the seventeenth century because most armies were small, and weapons were simple – Most battles were fought with fewer than 40,000 men, regardless of the size of the army as a whole – Well trained and disciplined armies of smaller states could defeat armies of larger states. • Such was the basis of the modern Prussian state • Sweden had a short-lived empire due to the brilliant leadership of three rulers who did well in the Thirty Years' War and went on to conquer parts of the Baltic – The Russians ultimately defeated the last of these three, Charles XII, in 1718 – Swedish holdings reduced to Finland • Swedes gave up imperial dreams. • Prussia was to become the dominant state in Northern Europe and to play a decisive role in world history – Original Prussia was a large flat plain (now in Poland) without natural frontiers • The ruler of nearby Brandenburg, an inland area originally on the eastern border of the Holy Roman Empire, was one of seven who elected the emperor – After 1415, it was always a Hohenzollern • Originally within the Polish kingdom, the duchy of Prussia was inherited in 1618 by the duchy of Brandenburg – At the Peace of Westphalia given to western Pomerania on the Baltic coast, plus some territories west of the Elbe River • Prussia therefore lacked territorial unity of its three major areas – Driving task of the Prussian rulers to create a physically unified state. The Hohenzollerns • Friedrich Wilhelm, later known as the Great Elector, came to the throne just as Brandenburg was suffering terrible destruction during the Thirty Years' War – Berlin's population had fallen to 6,000 – Committed to building a great army to force greater states to make diplomatic concessions to Prussia – Creating the Prussian pattern of having, but rarely using, its great army • Son Frederick used this principle, and the offer of just 8,000 soldiers to the Emperor to win the right to use the title "King" from the Holy Roman Emperor – 1701 during the War of Spanish Succession allowed him to become a German king while the other rulers within the empire were princes How did militarism infuse the Prussian state? • Prussia’s proportion between its investment in the military and its meager resources was unique – Here the army developed a life independent of that of the state – The army was the first all-Prussian institution. • The need to fund the army became a driving force in the economy – Personal income of the rulers was channeled for state purposes rather than to private pleasures – Monarchs themselves adopted a Spartan lifestyle – Developed a highly sophisticated bureaucracy both for tax collecting and for management of large-scale, state-owned productive enterprises • The labor force came from Holland or were exiled French Huguenots – All taxes, including excise and salt taxes, were used for the army – The percentage of government owned enterprises was highest in Europe – Military needs dominated the market. • The landed aristocrats, called the Junkers, were absorbed into military service – compensated for the loss of their traditional parliamentary bodies. • Junkers were granted unbridled authority over their serfs – Legislation prevented the sale of noble lands to non-nobles – Discouraged the growth of the bourgeoisie • opposite of the situation in France • Values of obedience, honor, and service created an all-Prussian identity – Encouraged the submissiveness to the state • King Frederick William I (1713-1740) was totally devoted to the army – Abhorred the arts so beloved by his son, Frederick the Great – Lived a highly frugal, spartan life – Always appeared in uniform – Had a particular and well-known love for tall soldiers – Was innovative in his creation of recruitment and training programs. • The army doubled in size – The city of Berlin reached a population of 100,000 during his reign. • Frederick the Great inherited the throne in 1740 – Same year Charles VI of Austria died – Frederick immediately went to war against Austria in order to wrest Silesia from the Habsburgs • The acquisition of Silesia doubled the population of Brandenburg • Brought valuable resources and industries, so that Frederick could increase the army to 200,000 men • Prussia was a "remarkable creation" of these strong rulers. How was Russia different from Europe? • In some ways, Russia had not followed the path of European history. It had converted to Orthodoxy and fell under the influence of Constantinople, not Rome. – The Mongols had ruled it for some 250 years. The expulsion of the Mongols brought Muscovy into preeminence. – Russia's lack of warm-water ports limited its trade and cultural contact with the rest of Europe. • The Europeanization of Russia after 1600 was an important part of the expansion of European systems of political and economic organization and of the creation of the modern world. • Russia and Prussia had some similarities in that they lacked natural borders to their great plains and a strong native commercial class. – In both, an autocratic state emerged to support the army, imposing ideas and institutions borrowed from the West. – Yet Prussia was closer physically and culturally to Western Europe, while Russia at this point was more concerned with importing Western European technology and knowledge.