Absolutism in Austria,
Prussia & Russia
Thirty Years War
 Causes:
 Religion divided Protestant North & Catholic
south in “Holy Roman Empire”
 Defenestration of Prague- Protestant
noblemen tossed two royal officials out of a
window; sparked revolt
Thirty Years War
 Results:
 Peace of Westphalia- Ended the Thirty
Years War; general European peace &
attempt to settle other international problems
 Depopulation- reduction in population
 France=clear winner
 Netherlands & Switzerland= independent
states
Europe after the 30 Years
War
Hapsburg Austria
 Expanded lands: Added Bohemia,
Hungary, parts of Poland & Italy
 Uniting empire was difficult
 Maria Theresa- Won popular support &
strengthened Hapsburg power
 Reorganized bureaucracy
 Improved tax collection
Rise of Prussia
 Prussia=Parts of present-day Germany &
Poland
 Hohenzollern Family United lands
 Reduced power of nobles
 Frederick William I created one of the best
armies in Europe
 Frederick II used the army to strengthen
Prussia=Frederick the Great
Peter the Great
 Absolute monarch in Russia
 Brought all Russian institutions under his
control, even Russian Orthodox Church
 Forced boyars- landowning nobles, to serve
the state
 Westernization- Adoption of Western ideas,
technology, culture; attempted to make Russia
more western & modern
 Education, technology, forced to shave beards, new
Western European clothes.
Peter the Great
 Created largest standing army in Europe
 Searched for warm-water port- port free of ice
all year round, to increase Russia’s trade w/
west
 Built St. Petersburg: “window to the west”
 Symbol of Peter’s desire to forge modern Russia
 Legacy:
 Ended Russian isolation w/ west- Russia more
involved w/ Europe
 Many ambitious reforms died w/ him
Catherine the Great
 Absolute Monarch
 Codified laws
 Began state-sponsored education
 Peasants forced into serfdom
 Embraced western ideas
 Achieved warm-water port on Black Sea
 Gained eastern land in Poland