Absolutism in
Central Europe
Absolutism in 17th Century
Central Europe
• Economic and social conditions made Absolutism
different in Central Europe:
– Powerful nobility and much poorer peasantry
– Less industrial and more rural
– Fewer towns
– Monarchs had a more difficult time diminishing
power of nobility in the countryside.
• As a trade-off, the monarch gave the aristocrats
even greater power over their own peasants in
return for their support for his centralized
government.
Hapsburgs and the Holy
Roman Empire
The Hapsburg Empire
• Religious and ethnic divisions. Ethnic hostility.
• Habsburgs needed the aristocracy to secure their
rule.
• Economically backward, compared to France,
England. Fewer towns, lack of industry.
• Aristocrats had almost complete control over their
large peasant populations. Serfdom.
– Serfdom allowed by Hapsburgs to gain support of
aristocracy
How the Hapsburg’s Gained Power
• Began as minor Swiss nobility in the middle ages
• By 1558, the Hapsburg empire had become one on “which
the sun never set.”
• Not just Holy Roman Emperors, but also:
– Dukes of wealthy Burgundy and the “Low-Counties”
– Kings of Bohemia and Hungary
– Kings of Spain (which included more than half of the
Americas and the Philippines)
• How did that happen? Warfare? Wealth? Diplomatic
excellence? Yes.
• But mostly, they gained power, wealth, and status through
smart marriages.
• A Latin verse from the 16th century states: “Let others wage
war, you - happy Austria - marry!"
Good Marriages = Power
• Marriages to princesses of
Burgundy, Spain, Bohemia,
and Hungary
Mary of Burgundy
Joanna of Castile
Leopold I
• 1640-1705
• Younger son,
never intended
to rule
• Well educated,
but meant for
the monastery
• Very shy
Leopold I
• Peer of Louis XIV but much different
personality
– Preferred to live a secluded life
– Enforced strict royal court protocol from the
Spanish court
– Dressed in somber black
– Inquisitive: loved books and science experiments
Leopold I
• Holy Roman Emperor, also
king of Hungary, Bohemia,
Croatia
• Ruled 47 years
Leopold I
• Problems with France
– Spanish Succession
– Grand Alliance: Austria and England vs. France
over the Netherlands
• Problems with the Turks
– Turks keep challenging Austrian Empire
– 1663-1683: Turkish army comes close to
conquering Vienna
– 1699: Sultan signs peace treaty with Leopold
Schonbrunn Palace
Schönbrunn Palace
Schönbrunn Palace
Hohenzollerens of
Brandenburg-Prussia
Prussia in early 18th century
Prussia is
divided by
German
states.
Early Prussian History
• Brandenburg-Prussia was a scattered
collection of domains centered around
Berlin.
• During the Thirty Years' War, Prussian
lands were repeatedly marched across by
various armies
• Frederick William (1640-1688) begins
creating the Prussian Army
Junker
• Means “young lord” in German
• Usually a lesser noble in the Middle Ages
• Took up careers as soldiers and
mercenaries.
• Became the aristocracy of Prussia
• They dominated all the higher civil offices
and officer corps of the army and navy
• Strong supporters of monarchy and
tradition
King Frederick I of Prussia
• Reigned 1701-1713
• The “soldier king”
• Developed the Prussian
army into one of the most
powerful in Europe
• In view of the size of the
army in relation to the
total population Voltaire
said later: "Where some
states possess an army,
the Prussian Army
possesses a state!"
Frederick II – “The Great”
• Reigned 1740-1786
• Invaded the Austrian
province of Silesia
• Made Prussia a great
power
• Laid the foundation for
the eventual unification
of German states into
Germany
Frederick II
• Admired the French Enlightenment
and philosopher Voltaire
• Did not believe in the Divine Right of
Kings
• Practiced “Enlightened Absolutism”
Charles VI
• Reigned 1711-1740
• Feared his daughter would
not keep the empire intact
• Pragmatic Sanction of
Prague
• While alive, persuaded other
European nations to agree
to it. Hoped to prevent war.
• Reality: at his death, Europe
sank into another era of
warfare
– Prussia immediately
seized Silesia, an
Austrian province
– Austria declared war on
Prussia
• Empress Maria
Theresa
• Reigned 17401780
• Strengthened
Austria
militarily,
economically,
intellectually
Maria Theresa and Her Family
• 16 children
• One of her
youngest
daughters was
Marie
Antoinette,
queen of
France
War of the Austrian Succession
• Began in 1740
• The accession of Maria Theresa to the Habsburg
Empire after the death of her father, the Holy
Roman Emperor Charles VI, created a crisis.
• The war involved all of Europe
– France and England fought for power in Europe
and to become strongest colonial power
– Conflict spread to America, where it was known
as King George's War
• France, Prussia, Spain vs. Austria and Britain
• Potential upset of the “Balance of Power”
– Britain feared a too-powerful France
War of Austrian Succession
• Major Battles
– 1st Silesian War: 1741, Austrian and French
defeat
• Encouraged France, Spain, and Prussia to
tear apart and take Austrian lands
– 2nd Silesian War: 1742, Austria and Prussia
make peace, but war continues in North
America and Low Countries
– The war shifts after 1742 to more direct
conflict between France and England
• Battle of Dettingen (1943): French defeat
• Battle of Fontenoy (1745): French victory
The War Ends?
• The End: Treaty of Aix-le-Chapelle (1748)
– Prussia gets to keep Silesia
– Prussia becomes a major European
power
• The End is really the Beginning
– The Seven Years War began in 1755
– Result: France loses most presence in N.
America, England becomes most
dominant colonial power
Poland
• 15th -- 16th Century: “Golden Age” of stability
and advancement
• Downfall:
– Partitions of Poland: 1772-1795
• Divided amongst Austria, Prussia, and
Russia
• 1795: End of Poland as a nation until the
Napoleonic Era