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Absolutism in Prussia, Austria, and Russia

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1 Absolutism in Prussia, Austria, and Russia

2 The German States The Peace of Westphalia (1648) left each of the states in the Holy Roman Empire virtually autonomous and sovereign More than 300 little German states Two emerged as great European powers in the 17th and 18th centuries Prussia and Austria

3 Rise of Brandenburg-Prussia
Hohenzollern dynasty Foundation of the Prussian state laid by Frederick William the Great Elector ( ) Built a competent and efficient standing army Many of his officials were Junkers- members of the aristocracy in Prussia-served as officers in the army Started with ruling principality in northeaster Germany in In 1609, the Hohenzollerns inherited land in the Rhine valley in western Germany, 9 years later received the duchy of Prussia. By the 17th c, the house of Hohenzollerns, now called Brandenburg-Prussia – 3 disconnected masses in western, central, and eastern Germany – Hohenzollern connected them Frederick William  realized that Brandenburg-Prussia was a small, open territory with no natural frontiers for defense- need to build up army By 1678, he possessed a force of 40,000 men that absorbed more than 50 percent of the state’s revenues To sustain the army and his power, Frederick established the General War Commissariat to levy taxes for the army and oversee its growth and training  evolved into an agency for civil government as well

4 “Great Elector” established Prussia as a great power
Most Significant: oversaw Prussian militarism and created the most efficient army in Europe Employed military power and taxation to unify his holdings- Prussia and Brandenburg into a strong state Increased military spending through heavy taxes (more than Louis XIV) Prussian nobility not exempted Soldiers were the tax collectors

5 Junkers formed the backbone of the Prussian military officer corps
The nobles’ support for Frederick William came from a “deal” In return for a free hand in running the government, he gave nobles almost unlimited power over their peasants, exempted nobles from taxation, and awarded them the highest ranks in the military with understanding they would not question his control Nobles could bind peasants to the land as serfs

6 Building the Economy Frederick William followed mercantilist policies
Constructed roads and canals and used high tariffs Subsidies and monopolies for manufacturers to stimulate domestic industry BUT favored the interest of the nobles at the expense of the commercial and industrial middle classes Efforts of overseas trade failed due to lack of ports and naval experience

7 Frederick I (Frederick III) (1688-1713)
Most popular of the Hohenzollern kings Sought to imitate the court of Louis XIV Encouraged higher education Fought in two wars against Louis XIV to preserve balance of power War of League of Augsburg ( ) War of Spanish Succession ( ) Son of Frederick William the Great Elector In return for aiding the Holy Roman Emperor, he was granted the title of king-in-Prussia. Became King Frederick I

8 Frederick William I (1713-1740)
Important regarding development of absolutism Infused militarism into all of Prussian society “Sparta of the North” Developed an efficient bureaucracy Removed the last of local self-government Demanded absolute obedience and discipline from civil servants Some commoners able to rise, merit based promotion Junkers remained high in army in return for supporting king Established approx. 1,000 schools for peasant children Calvinist like Father, and grandfather Society became rigid and highly disciplined Unquestioning obedience was the highest virtue Most militaristic society of modern times Nearly doubled the size of the army 80% of government revenue went to military Avoid war through deterrence

9 Austria Habsburgs Traditionally the HREmperor After the Treaty of Utrecht (1713), Habsburg rule was consolidated in Austria Austria a multinational empire – prevented it from being a highly centralized, absolutist state Austria Proper: Germans, Italians Bohemia: Czechs Hungary: Magyars, Serbs, Croats, Romanians Each territory had its own laws, Estates-General, and political life The aristocrats throughout the empire connected with common bond of service to the house of Habsburg The nucleus of the new Austrian Empire remained the traditional Austrian hereditary possessions: Lower and Upper Austria, Carinthia, Carniola, Styria, and Tyrol – also added the kingdom of Bohemia and parts of northwestern Hungary in the 16th century

10 Leopold I ( ) Ottomans laid siege to Vienna in 1683 army led by the Austrians defeated the Ottomans in 1687 Treaty of Karlowitz, 1699, Austria took control of Hungary, Transylvania, Croatia, and Slovenia established more of a presence in southeastern Europe After the War of Spanish Succession, Austria gained the Spanish Netherlands and received formal recognition of occupation of Spanish possessions in Italy Milan, Mantua, Sardinia, and Naples Strong supporter of the Catholic Counter Reformation severely restricted Protestant worship He married Margarita Teresa  daughter of King Philip IV of Spain – both his niece and his first cousin –the princess in Las Meninas – she died young Married twice more b/c of inbreeding suffered the Habsburg jaw – nickname was the “hogmouth”

11 Charles VI (1711-1740) Issued the Pragmatic Sanction in 1713
Habsburg possessions were never to be divided and would be passed to a single heir His daughter, Maria Theresa, inherited the empire Will lead to the war of Austrian Succession Ruled after brother Joseph

12 Russia Ivan IV the Terrible ( )- first ruler to take title of tsar Expanded the territories of Russia Began process of westernizing – encouraged trade Married a Romanov Years of unsuccessful wars with Poland-Lithuania Nobles had to serve the tsar in order to keep land Serfdom increased Time of Troubles followed his death Time of aristocratic troubles and period of anarchy The national assembly will end this by choosing Michael Romanov as the new tsar Historical Background of Russia 13th c – Mongols from Asia ruled the eastern Slavs for over 2 centuries – left legacy of ruthless leadership which will continue in Russia Eventually, princes of Moscow, who served the Mongol khan, began to consolidate their rile and replaced Mongol power  Muscovy began to emerge as the most significant principality that formed what would become Russia Ivan III (The Great) 1480- ended Mongol domination of Muscovy Established himself as hereditary ruler – make Moscow new center of Orthodox Church after the Byzantine Empire fell Claimed divine right Struggled with the Russian nobles (boyars) and eventually their political influence decreased but they began exerting more control of peasants Ivan Terrible executed a lot of nobles because he blamed them for his wife’s death – he became increasingly cruel and demented He had 8 wives Michael Romanov- Ivan’s grand-nephew ( )

13 In the 17th century, society was very stratified
At top, the tsar Russian society dominated by the aristocrats, who controlled their peasants Townspeople also controlled merchants could not move without government permission or sell business to anyone outside of their class In the 17th century, multiple peasant and merchant revolts and schism in the Russian Orthodox Church Russia remained outside of the framework of the West: the Renaissance, the Reformation, and the geographic discoveries of the 16th and 17th centuries made little impact on Russia Peter the Great wanted to change that An abundance of land and a shortage of peasants made serfdom desirable to the landowners

14 Peter the Great ( ) His sister, Sophia, ruled as a regent for him while he was young She tried to have him killed and Peter had her banished to a convent Made a trip to the West to learn and he wanted to westernize and modernize Russia Revolt of the Streltsy put down by Peter in 1698 Security of his reign confirmed Unusual character He was a strong man, almost 7ft tall-said he could bend a horse shoe with his bear hands Very coarse and rude He enjoyed a low king of humor- belching contests, crude jokes, and comical funerals- also vicious punishments including floggings, impaling, roasting, and beard burnings While on his first visit to the West, Peter received word that the Streltsy – an elite military unit stationed in Moscow- had revolted against his authority Peter hurried home and crushed the revolt in savage fashion.

15 Peter the Great Military was Peter’s greatest concern
Reorganization of the army and creation of a navy Conscripted peasants for 25 years of service to build a standing army of 210,000 men Each Russian village required to send recruits 75 % of the national budget spent on the military by the end of Peter’s reign

16 Government Reform To impose the rule of the central government more effectively he divided Russia into 8 provinces and later, in 1719, 50 Peter hoped for a sense of civic duty, but his own forceful personality created an atmosphere of fear and prevented it Demanded that all members of the landholding class serve in the military or civil office In 1722 created the Table of Ranks  created opportunity for non-nobles to serve the state and rise in rank He hoped to create a “police state” which he meant a well-ordered community governed in accordance with law, few of his bureaucrats shared his concept of honest service and duty to the stat Peter hoped for a sense of civic duty, but his own forceful personality created an atmosphere of fear and prevented it Table of Ranks- had all civil offices ranked according to 14 levels and created a parallel list of 14 grades for all military offices. Every official was then required to begin at level one and work his way up the ranks – when a non noble reached the 8th rank, he acquired noble status Peter’s successors did not continue his attempt to create a new nobility based on merit

17 Peter adopted Western mercantilist policies to stimulate economic growth
Tried to increase exports and develop new industries while exploiting domestic resources like the iron mines in the Urals Military needs were endless and had to rely on raising taxes, imposing additional burdens on the peasants

18 Women benefited from Peter’s reforms
Peter also sought to establish state control over the Russian Orthodox Church Created a body called the Holy Synod to make decisions for the church – at its head was a procurator, a layman who represented the interests of the tsar After returning from the West, Peter began to introduce Western ideas to Russia He ordered Russian beards had to be shaved and coats shortened – Peter personally enforced this at court by shaving off nobles’ beards Women benefited from Peter’s reforms Social gatherings held three times a week in the large homes of Saint Petersburg where men and women could mix for conversation He ordered the preparation of the first Russian book of etiquette to teach Western manners. Among other things, it pointed out that it was not polite to spit on the floor or to scratch oneself at dinner Saw women mixing freely with men in Western courts, Peter shattered the seclusion of upper-class Russian women and demanded that they remove the traditional veils that covered their faces The tsar also insisted that women could marry on their own free will

19 Peter’s primary goal was to open a window to the West – easily accessible port to Europe
To get a Baltic port, he attacked Sweden in 1700 – believed the young king of Sweden, Charles XII, could easily be defeated Great Northern War ( ) Peace of Nystadt- gave Peter Estonia, Livonia, and Karelia – on the Baltic coast Would use this land to build Saint Petersburg –symbol that Russia was looking westward

20 St. Petersburg One of Peter’s crowning achievements
Wanted to create a city similar to Amsterdam and modeled the Winter Palace after the grandeur of Versailles By his death, the city was the largest in northern Europe- 75,000 Became the capital of Russia Peter ordered noble families to move there Peasants conscripted for heavy labor in the city’s construction – high death toll

21 Legacy Peter’s reforms modernized Russia
Created a great military power Policies also detrimental to Russia Westernization kind of a sham because only reached the upper classes The creation of a strong military only added more burden to the masses of Russian people The forceful way in which Peter the Great imposed Westernization led his people to distrust Europe and Western civilization rather than embrace it


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