1. Week 6: The Rise of Eastern Europe
AP Euro
Week 6: The Rise of Eastern Europe

2. Three Aging Empires Holy Roman Empire Poland Ottoman Empire
Weakness/disintegration of these empires opened the way for the rise of new nation-states in the East

3. Holy Roman Empire Ruled by Habsburgs
Decentralized empire with ~300 separate sovereign states
Hurt by Thirty Years’ War
Peace of Westphalia (1648) solidified decentralization
Habsburgs turned to focus on strengthening their Austrian empire

4. Poland
Largest nation in Europe in 1500, but became weakest nation by 1600s
Szlachta (Polish nobility) made up ~10% of population and were very powerful, limiting power of king
King was elected and soon neighboring countries began vying for influence
Liberum veto: any noble could veto an action of the legislature (exploding the diet)
Eventually Poland is partitioned – divided up amongst the major powers (more on this later)

5. Ottoman Empire
Powerful in 1400s and 1500s but weakened by internal strife
1683: unsuccessfully attacked Habsburg capital city
Ruled by sultan who was also the caliph (religious leader)  often corrupt
Janissaries: a force of infantry, had influence

6. Austrian Empire Consisted of: Held off Turkish invasion in 1683
“hereditary provinces” – Upper & Lower Austria
Bohemia, Moravia, & Silesia
Hungary & Transylvania
Held off Turkish invasion in 1683
In 1697, defeated Turks with help from the Prince Eugene of Savoy
In the Treaty of Karlowitz (1699) they gained Hungary, Transylvania, and the Balkan Peninsula

7. Map of Austria After 1648

8. Austrian Empire
Charles VI ( ) issued Pragmatic Sanction in 1713
Unified Habsburg territories  only one Habsburg line of heirs
Ensured that Charles’ only daughter would become queen
Charles made deals with other countries to get them to accept Pragmatic Sanction

9. Prussian Empire
Originally was a small state in the HRE called Brandenburg-Prussia
Rose to power because of:
Strong leadership of Hohenzollerns
**Militarism**
Frederick William the “Great Elector” created a standing army and made it very powerful

10. Prussian Empire
Elector Frederick III of Brandenburg was named king (Frederick I) after helping the HRE with troops in the War of Spanish Succession
Frederick William I was the first great king
Improved efficiency & discipline of army
Increased size of army (paid for by $ from government lands and from increased taxes)
Introduced merit system of government service

11. Russia: Background In the 1500s, Ivan III and Ivan IV ruled Russia
Ivan IV was known as “Ivan the Terrible”
After Ivan IV’s reign, there was a period of civil war/internal strife over who would rule, know as the Time of Troubles
In 1613, Michael Romanov was elected tsar (first of Romanov dynasty)

12. Russia’s Isolation
Russia was seen as “backward” as compared with the rest of Europe because:
Didn’t trade with the West because of lack of ports
Still had feudalism and serfdom
Women wore veils, men wore beards

13. Russia: Social & Religious Conflict
In 1667, Stephen Razin led a rebellion of Serfs and Cossacks
Plundered vessels, gathered followers
Rebellion put down in 1671
 Stricter system of serfdom
Old Believers: rejected reforms in Russian Orthodox Church, threatened to break away from church

14. Russia: Peter the Great
Traveled through West  saw Russia as “backward”
Banned beards and veils in an attempt to make Russia more “civilized”
Built St. Petersburg like a Western city
Established taxes, used funds to boost economy
Put church under supervision of the Holy Synod, a committee of bishops, with himself as “Procurator of the Holy Synod”

15. The Great Northern War 1700-1721 Russia, Poland, & Denmark vs. Sweden
Sweden was then ruled by Charles XII and controlled Baltic
In 1700, Sweden defeated Russia at Battle of Narva
 Peter builds up army & navy
In 1721, Russia defeats Sweden at Poltava
Treaty of Nystadt (1721): Russia returned Finland but gained entry to Baltic

16. Peter the Great: Conclusion
His sweeping reforms modernized Russia and got rid of a lot of “backwardness” but the reforms didn’t significantly reach lower classes  peasants still in squalor/serfdom