Ch. 19 Sec. 3
Central Europe in the Age of
Absolutism
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Habsburg Austria
• In 1740 the H R Emperor Charles VI died,
leaving his daughter Maria Theresa to
inherit Austria & the other Habsburg lands
• Before Charles died he urged other
European rulers to accept the Pragmatic
Sanction, which was an agreement that
would allow Maria Theresa to inherit all
the Habsburg lands
• Her empire was a patchwork of regions &
peoples which led to many conflicts of
language, religion, & nationality
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• The character & size of the
Habsburg empire, w/ its
geographic, cultural, & historic
diversity, made it extremely
difficult to rule effectively
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The Rise of the Hohenzollerns
• Brandenburg-Prussia was a small N.
German state ruled by the Hohenzollern
family
• Frederick William was one of the greatest
HZ rulers & was called the Great Elector
• Frederick William rebuilt B-P at the end of
the 30 Yrs. War by unifying all his armies
into one strong force, improved the tax
system, agriculture, industry, &
transportation
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• In 1688 Frederick I succeeded the
Great Elector & he made all HZ land
unified under the rule of Prussia
(gained the title King of Prussia)
• In 1713 Frederick I’s son became
king, Frederick William I
• Frederick William I didn’t spend $ on
lavish courts, he used $ to double the
size of the Prussian army & made it
the most efficient fighting force in
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• Tax collecting & gov’t spending were
well planned
• Frederick William I encouraged trade,
the development of new industries, &
all children go to school
• In 1740 Frederick II turned into an
even stronger ruler than his father &
called Frederick the Great
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Conflict Between Prussia &
Austria
• Frederick William I signed the
Pragmatic Sanction allowing Maria
Theresa to inherit the Hapsburg lands
• But Frederick II marched his army into
Silesia (valuable territory to Maria
Theresa) & the War of the Austrian
Succession lasted from 1740 to 1748
• The Prussians took Silesia w/ ease
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• After the war, a shift known as the
Diplomatic Revolution took place > 1756
G.B. allied w/ Prussia & France joined w/
Austria & Russia
• This led to the Seven Years’ War (1756 to
1763) battles took place in N. America,
India, as well as Europe
• The war ended w/ no clear winner – the
Treaty of Paris in 1763 said Prussia keeps
Silesia, France had to give most of its land
in N.Am. to Britain & Britain also remained
dominate in India
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• Frederick the Great spent the first 23
years at war & the next 23 rebuilding &
strengthening his empire
• He expanded & improved education & the
Prussian civil service system
• he made important legal & court reforms
• encouraged economic development
through increased trade & manufacturing
• he had tolerance for religious minorities
• Prussia continued to gain new territory
• Died in 1786, Prussia was a major
European economic & political power
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