1. Absolute Monarchies in Europe
Chapter 21 Part 2
World History

2. SECTION 3- Central European Monarchs Clash
BIG IDEA- After a period of turmoil, absolute monarchs ruled Austria and the Germanic state of Prussia

3. The Start of the 30 Years’ War
The spark that began the 30 Years’ War was when the people of Bohemia (modern day Czech Rep.) disagreed with Ferdinand II (The future Holy Roman Emperor and their future King) ruling them as a prince.
When he closed Protestant Churches there, the people revolted
This then exploded into conflict over all of Central Europe.

4. Hapsburg Triumphs
For the first 12 years of the war, the Hapsburg armies from Spain and Austria crushed their enemies.
Ferdinand II paid his 125,000 man army by allowing his me to plunder German villages.
Within the 30 Years’ War, Germany’s population went from 20 million to 16 million.

5. Hapsburg Defeats
The turning point of the war was when Gustavus Adolphus, a protestant, of Sweden joined the war with his 23,000 man, well disciplined army
The final acts of the war were where Cardinals Richelieu and Marazin of France ACTUALLY JOINED THE PROTESTANTS to fight the Hapsburgs, because they feared them gaining more power then the country of France.

7. Peace of Westphalia The Thirty Years War killed 4 million Germans
It was a main reason that it was not unified until the 1800’s
The Peace of Westphalia in 1648 ended the war. It had the following consequences:
Weakened Spain and Austria, while strengthening France with land
Made German Princes free of the Holy Roman Empire
This actually started the trend of peace negotiation which all participants meet to settle the problems of a war, which is still used today.

8. Europe after the 30 Years War
The treaty also abandoned the idea that Europe could be united as a Catholic Empire and was now seen as a collection of independent nations.

9. States Form in Central Europe
States in Central Europe which were formed or grew after the 30 Years War were:
Poland
The Holy Roman Empire, represented by the Austria Hapsburgs
The Ottoman Empire

10. Economic Differences Between Eastern and Western Europe
Western Europe was involved with full colonization and new sources of money.
This allowed Western European Serfs to be slowly freed and move to towns
However, Eastern Europe aristocracy was passing laws restricting the ability of serfs to gain freedom
With having huge harvests, these land owners could sell their farm crops for big profits in Western Europe

11. Weak Central European Empires
Poland elected their king, therefore completely restricting the power he could ever have.
The Holy Roman Empire was seriously weakened by the 30 Years War, without the German States, the HRE had no power
For the Ottomans, even though Suleiman the Magnificent conquered Hungary and sieged Vienna, he could not conquer anything substantial in Europe afterward and The Ottoman Empire began its decline.

12. Two Strong German Families Emerge
While all of these empires weakened, two German speaking families rose to power during this time:
The Hapsburg Family of Austria
The Hohenzollerns of Prussia

13. The Hapsburgs The Hapsburgs, who ruled Austria from Vienna, gained:
Bohemia (Czech Rep.) in the 30 Years War
By 1699, they conquered Hungary from the Ottomans

14. The Hohenzollerns Challenge Austria
The Hohenzollern Family would be the rulers of the small but powerful Prussia ( Modern Day Germany and Poland).
Prussia’s Success was based on the fact that it had a highly militarized society

15. Frederick the Great
Frederick the Great was a lover of poetry, music, and philosophy but was forced into military school by his father
However, when he came to power he softened his father’s law and allowed religious toleration and legal form
This strengthened Prussia’s army to be even more loyal and Frederick decided to fight Austria for more land.

16. Maria Theresa in Austria
One of the reasons why Frederick the Great thought he could defeat Austria was because Maria Theresa became the Austrian Queen
Frederick assumed that Maria would be weak from giving birth, but she successfully lead Austria in their defense.

17. Prussia v Austria
Maria Theresa gained the British as allies in fighting the French and Prussians in the War of Austrian Succession
In this war, Prussia gained the area known as Silesia (Poland) which had heavy iron deposits, textiles, and food products.
After this war, Maria married her daughter to Louis XIV’s grandson, thus making the French now allies with the Austrians
So the British joined with Frederick’s Prussians and Russia.
These sides would face off in the Seven Years’ Wars

18. War of Austrian Succession

19. Seven Years’ War

20. Seven Years’ War
This war began in 1756 as Frederick attacked Saxony in Germany, an ally of Austria
This dragged every great power in Europe into this war as this war was fought in Europe, India, and in North America
While nothing really changed in Europe, territory did change hands in North America and India
In North America, this war is called the French and Indian War, as the British won France’s colonies and gained complete control of India on the other side of the world