Absolutism in Eastern Europe

  1. Eastern Europe (Overview)
    • economically less advanced than Western Europe
    • fewer cities
    • many areas still have serfdom (more peasants)
    • no overseas colonies
    • no extensive trade
    • lack of centralized leadership
  2. Austrian Hapsburg Empire (1)
    Holy Roman Emperor Leopold I
    • Treaty of Westphalia (1648): gives Austrian-Hapsburgs control over Bohemia, S.E. German city states, and parts of Hungary after 30 Years' War
    • Treaty of Karlowitz (1699): Leopold acquires most of Hungary
    • H.R.E. Leopold I successfully resists expansions of France and the Ottoman Turks
    • Battle of Vienna (1683): last attempt of Ottoman Turks to gain territory; Emeperor Leopold' forces refuse to surrender; saved by John Sobieski, ("Savior of the Western European Civilization") king of Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth
    • John Sobieski: elected by teh sjem (Polish Parliament) in 1674; rules until 1696; Poland is dominated by foreign powers after his death; sjem must have 100% agreement on who the next king will be; allows foreign powers to buy off at least one member and block the good candidates
  3. Austrian Hapsburg Empire (2)
    Holy Roman Emperor Leopold I; War of the Spanish Succession
    • Leopold joins Grand Alliance against Louis XIV
    • Treaty of Rastatt (1714): Spanish Netherlands becomes Austrian Netherlands; Spanish Hapsburg territories in Italy become Austrian-Hapsburg's territories; Spain is weakened as a result
    • Victory against French confirms Austria's place as a European power
  4. Austrian Hapsburg Empire (3)
    Charles VI
    • Leopold is succeeded by Joseph I, who is succeeded by his brother Charles VI in 1711
    • Charles dies w/o a male heir
    • will designated that his daughters would rule the empire rather than Joseph's daughters
    • Pragmatic Sanction of 1713: designed to alter Hapsburg law of succession in case of no male heirs and to prevent a struggle for succession; legal inheritance of Hapsburg holdings goes to Charles VI's daughter, Maria Theresa (1740-1780)
    • Charles does not leave his daughter with a strong military
  5. Austrian Hapsburg Empire (4)
    War of Austrian Succession (1740-1748)
    • Silesia is invaded by Frederick the Great of Prussia; Maria cannot stop him
    • war involves almost all of Europe/the world
    • marks the beginning of a rivalry described as German Dualism (long conflict b/w 2 largest German states and its allies; Austria has a greater economy; Prussia has a greater military)
    • Maria successfully defends her inheritance in the rest of the Austrian-Hapsburg domains
  6. Austrian Hapsburg Empire (5)
    Maria Theresa as Sovereign Ruler
    • Maria's husband, Francis of Lorraine, becomes HRE
    • he has little interest in ruling, leaving Maria fully in charge
    • Maria=anti-semetic
    • Medicinal Reforms: Vienna General Hospital; decrees autopsies mandatory for all hospital deaths; introduces smallpox inoculations
    • Civil Rights Reforms: outlaws witch burning and torture
    • Educational Reforms: all children (male and female) from 6-12 had to attend school
    • Economic Reforms: collected taxes from clergy and nobility
    • "That woman's achievements are those of a great man."-Frederick the Great
  7. Austrian Hapsburg Empire (6)
    Joseph II (r. 1765-1790)
    • proponent of Enlightened Absolutism
    • Enlightened Absolutism: form of absolute monarchy/despotism in which rulers were influenced by the Enlightenment
    • influenced by Voltaire, Enlightenment writer
    • allowed toleration of all Christian sects; rights for Jews; freedom of speech
    • Abolished robot (work obligation owed by Austrian peasants to noble owners of the land) and serfdom
    • End of reign marked by personal issues and rebellions in Hungary and Austrian Netherlands (Belgium/Spanish Netherlands)
  8. Austrian Hapsburg Empire (7)
    Leopold II
    • End of the reform
    • Joseph II's reforms came quickly and created much turmoil
    • many nobles protested that these reforms worked to their disadvantage; peasants rose up in revolt to defend new rights
    • Leopold repeals many of Joseph's reforms in an effort to appease the nobles
  9. Prussia and the Hohenzollerns (1)
    • The Hohenzollern family began its prominence in 1415 as a family of electors in Brandenburg (N. Germany)
    • Over time, the family gradually increased its power and faced the task of uniting their scattered lands
    • "Prussia was not a country with an army, but an army with a country..."-Frederich von Schrotter (1743-1815), Junker & Prussian gov. minister
  10. Prussia and the Hohenzollerns (2)
    Creating a Modern State; Frederick William, the Great Elector (r. 1640-1688)
    • Golden Bull Elector (not king)
    • led Prussia
    • built up military, making the army the cornerstone of the newly forming nation
    • Generalkriegskommissariat (General War Commission): raised taxes, settled new Protestant immigrants from France; most important job was to maintain the army through taxation
    • Prussians bear more than twice as much in taxes as contemporaries in other countries; peasants and the urban class especially
    • Alliance with the Junkers (nobility) to serve as army officers (exempt from taxes); Prussia is characterized by the alliance of its ruler with the nobility (unlike France); army officials take oaths of allegiance to Frederick
    • Allows religious toleraion across the nation (French Huguenots, Polish Jews, etc.)
  11. Prussia and the Hohenzollerns (3)
    Frederick I (r. 1688-1713)
    • first to assume the title of "King of Prussia"
    • makes a deal with Leopold I; he will provide Austria with soldiers in order to stop France, and Leopold will recognize him as king
  12. Prussia and the Hohenzollerns (4)
    Frederick William "the Soldier King" (r. 1713-1740)
    • doubles the size of the Prussian army
    • army designed to show Prussian power; not necessarily an instrument of war
  13. Prussia and the Hohenzollerns (5)
    Frederick II or the Great (r. 1740-1786)
    • begins the war of Austrian Succession with the invasion of Silesia
    • establishes Prussia's position as a power in Europe
    • personal friend=Voltaire
    • ruled as an enlightened despot (enlightened absolutism)
    • absolute rulers use power to promote reform, but none of these reforms endanger the rulers' power
    • allows religious toleration
    • patron of the arts and sciences
    • creates a merit-based system to advance in gov. positions
    • participates in the 1st Partition of Poland (1772)
Author
AnnieK_1996
ID
118949
Card Set
Absolutism in Eastern Europe
Description
A.P. European History
Updated