Nationalism Threatens Old Empires
110-4
Pages 279-281
A Declining Empire
• In 1800 the Hapsburgs were the oldest ruling
house in Europe
• In addition to their homeland of Austria over the
centuries they had acquired the territories of
Romania, Poland, Ukraine, and northern Italy
Challenge of Change
• Since the Congress of Vienna the Austrian Emperor Francis I
and Metternich his foreign minister had upheld conservative
goals against liberal forces
• “Rule and change nothing” the emperor told his son.
• Under Francis and Metternich newspapers could not even use
the word constitution much less this key demand of liberals
• The government also tried to limit industrial development
which would threaten traditional ways of life
• Austria however could not hold back the changes that were
engulfing the rest of Europe
• Soon the Hapsburgs found themselves facing the problems of
industrial life that had long been familiar in Britain the
growth of cities, worker discontent, and the string of socialism
A Patchwork of People
• The Hapsburgs presided over a multinational empire
• Of its 50 million people at mid-century fewer than a quarter
were German-speaking Austrians
• Almost half belonged to different Slavic groups
▫
Including Czechs, Slovaks, Poles, Ukrainians, Romanians, Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes
• Often rival groups shared the same region
• The empire also included large numbers of Hungarians and
Italians
• The Hapsburgs ignored nationalist demands as long as they
could
• “Peoples?” Francis I once exclaimed “What does that mean I
only know subjects”
• When Nationalists revolts broke out across the Hapsburgs
empire in 1848 the government broke them
Early Reforms
• Amid the turmoil 18-year-old Francis Joseph inherited the
Hapsburg throne
• He would rule until 1916 presiding over the empire during the
fading days of WWI
• An early challenge came when Austria suffered its humiliating
defeat at the hands of France and Sardinia in 1859
• Francis Joseph realized he needed to strengthen the empire at
home
• He granted a new constitution that set up legislature
• This body however was dominated by German-speaking
Austrians the reforms thus satisfied none of the other national
groups that populated the empire.
• The Hungarians especially were determined to settle for
nothing less than total self-government
The Dual Monarchy
• Austria’s disastrous defeat in the 1866 war with Prussia
brought renewed pressure for change from the Hungarians
within the empire
• One year later Francis Deak a moderate Hungarian leader
helped work out a compromise that created a new political
power known as the Dual Monarchy of Austria-Hungary
• Under the agreement Austria and Hungary were two separate
states
• Each had its own constitution and parliament
• Francis Joseph ruled both as emperor of Austria and King of
Hungary
• The two states also shared ministries of finance, defense, and
foreign affairs but were independent of each other in all other
areas
The Dual Monarchy cont.
• Although Hungarians welcomed the compromise other
subject peoples resented it
• Restlessness increased among various Slavic groups especially
the Czechs in Bohemia
• Some nationalist leaders called on Slavs to unite insisting that
“only through liberty, equality, and fraternal solidarity” could
Slavs fulfill their “great mission in the history of mankind”
• By the early 1900s nationalist unrest often left the
government paralyzed in the face of pressing political and
social problems
Balkan Nationalism
• Like the Hapsburgs the Ottomans ruled a multinational empire
• It stretched from Eastern Europe and the Balkans to North Africa
and the Middle East
• There as in Austria nationalist demands tore at the fabric of the
empire
• In the Balkans Serbia had won autonomy in 1817 and southern
Greece won independence in the 1830s
• But many Serbs and Greeks lived in the Balkans under Ottoman rule
• The Ottoman empire was home to other national groups such as
Bulgarians and Romanians
• During the 1800s various subject peoples staged revolts against the
Ottomans hoping to set up their own independent states
Balkan Nationalism cont.
• Such nationalist stirrings became mixed up with the ambitions of the great European
powers
• In the mid-1800s Europeans came to see the Ottoman empire as “the sick man of Europe”
• They scrambled to divide up Ottoman land
• Russia pushed toward the Black Sea and Istanbul
• Austria-Hungary took control of the provinces of Bosnia and Herzegovina
• This action angered the Serbs who had also hoped to expand in that area
• Meanwhile Britain and France set their sights on other Ottoman Lands in the Middle East
and North Africa
• Russia fought several wars against the Ottomans
• France and Britain sometimes joined the Russians and sometimes joined the Ottomans
• Germany supported the Austrian authority over the discontented national groups
• But they also encouraged the Ottomans because of their strategic location in the eastern
Mediterranean
• By the early 1900s observers were referring to the region as the “Balkan Powder Keg”
• The explosion that came in 1914 helped set off WWI
Review
• Francis Joseph-Emperor of Austria till 1916, took over at 18 in 1848 and
eventually became King of Hungary in the dual Monarchy which split his
kingdom. During his reign Austria lost wars and lost territory, and suffered
from many different nationalities claiming nationalism in his empire, but Franz
Josef was always popular among all his people.
• Dual Monarchy-Hungary separated from Austria, kept Francis Joseph as ruler
and share finance, defense, and foreign affairs but were independent in all other
aspects
• Explain how nationalism affected the Austrian Empire
▫
In 1867, Austria formed the Dual Monarchy with Hungary. Other ethnic groups felt left
out and continued to press the government for national freedom. These groups included
the Czechs, Slovaks, Poles, Ukrainians, Romanians, Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes.
• A. How was the Dual Monarchy organized
▫ Austria and Hungary were united by a common king and various ministries, but each
had its own constitution and parliament.
• B. Why did it fail to end nationalist demands?
▫ Other nationalities in the empire gained little from this settlement and continued to
demand national independence.
Review cont.
• How did Balkan nationalism contribute to the decline of the Ottoman Empire?
▫ Various ethnic groups were demanding independence from the Ottoman
empire. European powers competed for influence in the region. The region
became known as the “Powder Keg of Europe”
• Do you think that the Hapsburg’s or the Ottoman Turks could have built
a modern, unified nation from their multi-national empires?
▫ No probably not… many people in those empires felt loyalty not to the empire
but to their local areas. The multi-national makeup would have made a
modern nation almost impossible.
• A. What actions did Francis Joseph take to maintain power in AustriaHungary?
▫ He introduced limited reforms, kept legislature filled with German-Speaking
Austrians.
• B. How else might he have responded to nationalist demands?
▫ He might have encouraged inclusion of more ethnic groups in the legislature,
giving them a voice in government.
Bibliography
•
•
•
•
http://emperorcharles.org
http://2.bp.blogspot.com
http://upload.wikimedia.org
http://www.globalsecurity.org