Eastern Europe in the Age of
Absolutism:
Brandenburg-Prussia & Austria
AP European History
Eastern Europe:
Land of lords and peasants
► In Eastern Europe:
powerful nobility, weak middle
class, serfs
 1400 – 1650: Serfdom reintroduced by princes and
“landed nobility”
► Due to population
decline as a result of the PLAGUE
 Lords solve econ. problems by exploiting serfs (peasants) ► By 1500 – serfs throughout East
 Lords take peasant lands – enslave serfs
 Restrictions on movement – runaways hunted!
 Demands made for unpaid serf labor
Political Reasons for Serfdom
►Weak monarchs could not resist powerful lords
►Kings don’t protect peasants
►Peasants had less political power in Eastern
Europe
►Uprisings failed
BUT STRONG KINGS ARISE. . . (the point of
our story!!!!)
AUSTRIA
rises in 17th century!!!
► Problems: struggles with Turks / 30 Years’ War /
Internal Issues (fighting btw. nationalities)
► 30 Years’ War failed to renew HRE – but -
 Protestants wiped out, 1620 at White
Mountain – centralization under Catholicism
►(nobility decimated so lands given to soldiers!)
 Ferdinand III creates standing army (1637-57)
►Now – Austria turns East for land
Austria and the Turks
►
Ottomans – from central Asia to Turkey (Anatolia) – followers of Islam –
►
The Sultanate – peaks 1520-1566
determined foes of Catholic Hapsburgs
 Under Suleiman the Magnificent
 Sultan was absolute head of state
► Little private property – except slaves
► Male children in conquered Christian lands in Balkans! (Janissaries)
►
Habsburg Victory
 Final Turk attack on Vienna in the 17th century - turned back in 1683
(Polish king – Sobieski helps);
 Treaty of Karlowitz, 1699 = Hungary, Transylvania, Croatia & Slovenia
incorporated into Austrian Empire
 “Sick man of Europe” = beginning of the end for Turkey in late 17th
century
Hussar, King
Sobieski (Poland),
Pancerni, Light
Calvary, Dragoon,
Infantry, Ensign,
Infantry Officer
Deli, bannerat, visir,
porte-wuntschuk,
spahi, artillery,
janissary, peik,
captain of Janissaries,
solak
Austrian Power
► Habsburg Family Possessions
 Austria – Bohemia – Hungary
 Union of rulers: not law or people --- Slavs, Hungarians, Croats,
Serbs, Romanians, Czechs, Poles, Italians, Germans
► Pragmatic Sanction, 1713
 Declared by Charles VI (1711-1740)
► Hitherto, only males can rule HRE
► BUT he has no son – only daughter Maria Theresa
 SO -- argued for no division of Austrian properties; land
should be passed intact to a single heir = Maria Theresa =
Empress of Austria, 1740; her husband, Francis-Stephen
of Lorraine elected HREmperor, 1745
An Eastern European Anomaly:
Brandenburg – Prussia
*stronger absolutism than Austria *unites German people in 19th century!!!
►
Hohenzollern Family
 AT FIRST “Elected” to lead as “first among equals”
BUT the Elector of Brandenburg is relatively
“helpless”
► SO prestige without power BUT
 In 1614 inherits territory on the Rhine
 In 1618 inherits Prussia from cousin
 By 1640 Frederick William will raise BrandenburgPrussia to new heights
Frederick William
Frederick III (King Frederick I)
Frederick William I
1640
1688
1713
1740
Frederick William - The Great
Elector 1640-1688
Devastation of 30 Years’ War helps Fred. Wm. increase
family power over Estates (aka Nobility) weakened by war
 Ignored traditional representative rights:
RULED ABSOLUTE LY
 Used military force and taxation to:
►Weaken the (feudal) Estates: Junkers
►Weaken the authority of towns
 Example: Opposition leader in Königsberg was simply arrested and
imprisoned for life!
Frederick William - The Great Elector
 Permanent Standing Army est. 1660-1688
►War Commissariat = oversaw taxation, growth and
training for military / eventually became a branch of
civil gov’t. that directly answered to the Elector
 Permanent taxation without consent
 Soldiers doubled as tax collectors and policeman
►Revenue triples
►In 1688, Prussia had 1 million people; 30,000 person
permanent army -- and was at peace
►Many soldiers French Huguenot immigrants –
welcomed as hard workers
Frederick William, The Great Elector
► But – needs war
for unity --- so:
 Fighting Sweden / Poland over Baltic
 Fighting Louis XIV’s expansionism
 Fighting Tartars of Crimea
King Frederick I, 1688-1713
 “the ostentatious” - Weak imitator of Louis XIV
 Granted title of King by Holy Roman
Emperor in 1701 (after helping with
War of Spanish Succession!)
Characteristics of Prussian
Bureaucracy
Efficient
Honest
Successful
Paradoxically, most militaristic BUT almost
always at peace!!!
 “Sparta of the North”




rigidity / discipline / obedience
“to keep quiet is the first civic duty”
 Tried to develop the economy
King Frederick William I, 1713-1740
► Fuses Prussian bureaucracy and militarism
 1740 army = 80,000 men
 Separate laws for military and civilians!!
 Officer corps (remember these are primarily Junkers) =
highest ranking social class
►Monarchy and Junkers join together to form a unified political
entity
 HOWEVER Frederick William I uses the military as a
Prussian unifier NOT to wage foreign wars!!