Chapter 17 Part 1

Chapter 17Part 1

Absolutism in Eastern Europe1600-1740

HOP RAP In Decline:

HRE Ottoman Empire Poland

On the Rise: Russia Austria Prussia

The HRE In decline due to :

The Reformation Religious wars of the 16th and 17th

Centuries Germany split into 300+ sovereign

principalities …Catholic, Lutheran, Calvinist

The Ottoman Empire Was built on expansion The Sultan had absolute power After 1560 a decline in Western

Expansion meant the disintegration of the Empire…

The Sultan could only keep power if the empire expanded because this is how he rewarded loyalty and military service…with conquered territory

The Ottoman Empire Expansion was checked by Russian

and Austrian expansion

Will soon be called, “The Sick Old Man of Europe”

Concern by great powers: Who would fill the gap?

The Ottoman Empire Suleiman the Magnificent (gone by 1566)

The most powerful man in Europe in the

16th Century

1529 Suleiman almost conquered Austria

DID capture Serbia Took almost ½ of Eastern Europe

The Balkans Part of Hungary Part of Southern Russia

The Ottoman Empire Talented Christian children from

conquered provinces worked in the Ottoman bureaucracy

Janissary Corps: Christian slaves (not talented enough for the bureaucracy) served loyally in the Turkish army

NOTE: the Ottomans were tolerant re religion and culture and tradition of conquered people

Millets: Christian or Jewish communities within the Ottoman Empire were expected to pay taxes, contribute to the army, and keep the peace.

Poland Had once been very powerful BUT was undone by:

The Liberum Veto: voting in the Polish Parliament had to be unanimous for changes to be made

So little was done to strengthen or defend the kingdom

Poland Will be divided up between Russia,

Austria, and Prussia in three separate “Partitions of Poland” in the 1770’s and 1790’s

Poland will disappear from the map of Europe by 1800

http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/466910/Partitions-of-Poland

Absolutism in Eastern Europe

Was different than Absolutism in Western Europe

Eastern Absolutism: was based on a powerful nobility, fairly weak and small middle-class, weak monarch and oppressed peasantry…serfs

Western Absolutism: Powerful monarch, weak nobles, stronger middle class peasants free from serfdom

Eastern European Centralization

Threats of war and Asian invaders necessitated strong leadership in Eastern Europe

So… for the sake of survival, Eastern European nobles agreed to support a monarch IF they were given something in return

The nobles in Eastern Europe insisted on more authority over the peasants

Results of Centralization: Reduced political power of the

nobility BUT the nobility had increased

power over the peasants

The nth degree of Eastern European Absolutism was the reign of Peter the Great

Eastern Absolutists Kings imposed and collected

permanent taxes without the consent of their subjects

Eastern European countries maintained permanent standing armies

Serfdom in Eastern Europe

During the early modern period, serfdom was revived or re-imposed in Eastern Europe

Bohemia, Silesia, Hungary, eastern Germany, Poland, Lithuania, Russia

The Black Death created tremendous labor shortages (like in Western Europe)

Nobles demanded: That their kings and princes restrict

or eliminate the free movement of peasants

By 1500 in Prussia, laws required that runaways be hunted down and returned

Laws were passed that froze peasants in their social class

The Nobles… Confiscated Peasant land and

imposed heavier labor obligations

The legal system was monopolized by the local lord

The Robot Labor obligation of the “free” (non-

serf ) peasant

Free peasants were often required to give 3 to 4 days of labor to their local lord each week without pay

How did the robot differ from the corvee?

Between 1500-1650 Hereditary serfdom was re-

established in Poland, Russia and Prussia

Poland: by 1574 nobles had complete control over the peasants…life or death

In 1694 the Russian tsar rescinded a 9-year term limit on recovery of runaway serfs

The Growth of Estate Agriculture

Especially in Poland and Eastern Germany

Food prices increased as a result of the influx of precious metals from the Americas

Surpluses of wheat and timber were sold to the big foreign merchants who exported to the West

In the East Monarchs NEEDED the nobles The constant warfare in the East

meant that the monarch needed the cooperation of the nobles to keep peace

Strong Kings will not emerge in Eastern Europe until after 1650

Until then…”First among equals”

Peasants in the East Uprisings did not succeed No solidarity Landlords (nobles) undermined the

medieval privileges of towns and power of urban classes

SO…population in towns small Population of urban middle class was

small

The Austrian Empire (Hapsburg)

The ruler of Austria was traditionally selected as the HRE

After the War of the Spanish Succession and the Treaty of Utrecht, the Bourbons occupied the Spanish throne

The Hapsburg power is now concentrated in Austria

The Austrian-Hapsburg Empire included:

Naples, Sardinia, Milan (in Italy)

Austrian Netherlands (Belgium)

Hungary and Transylvania (Romania)

Hapsburgs Will attempt to consolidate their

diverse holdings into a strong, unified state

The Reorganization of Bohemia

Czech (Bohemian) nobility was wiped out

Ferdinand II (who began the 30 Years’ War) redistributed Czech lands to aristocratic soldiers from all over Europe

Conditions for serfs declined

Provinces in Austria Proper

Were centralized

Ferdinand II created a large permanent standing army

Hungary the largest part of the dominion

Serfdom was intensified there

Government in the Austrian Empire

Austria was not a single nation-state Each region had a different legal

relationship with the Emperor It included many nationalities and

multiple regions: Austria Proper: Germans, Italians Bohemia: Czechs Hungary: Hungarians, Serbs, Croats,

Rumanians

Important Hapsburg Rulers

Ferdinand II (1619-1637) Ruled during the 30 Years’ War

Ferdinand III (1637-57) Centralized Austria Proper

Leopold I (1658-1705) Was influenced by Jesuits, severely restricted Protestantism, successfully defended Vienna from the Ottoman Turks in The Siege of Vienna in 1683…the last attempt by the Ottomans to take central Europe

Hapsburg Rulers Charles VI 1711-1740: spent most

of his reign protecting his daughter’s ascension to the throne

The Pragmatic Sanction of 1713: Hapsburg possessions were never to be divided and henceforth to be passes intact to a single heir

Maria Theresa (1740-1780)