Absolutism in E. Europe to 1740

Absolutism in E.

Europe to 1740

Eastern Europe Conditions:

• Powerful nobility

• Weak middle class

• Oppressed peasantry

(mostly serfs)

Bubonic Plague killed 1/3 of the

population of Europe between the

years of 1347 - 1351

Population loss due to

the Bubonic Plague

{1347-1351} led to

greater freedom for

peasants in W. Europe.

Yet, nobles gained the

upper hand in E.

Europe.

By the mid 1600s,

population pressures

caused nobles to seize

more peasant land and

demand more unpaid

serf labor!

Absolutism was more powerful in E.

Europe partly because the nobility of

the East had greater political power

than those in the West. Eastern kings

relied on nobles and their armies for

support, whereas Western kings

developed centralized states.

E. Europe retained more of a feudal

structure for a longer period.

THE RISE OF AUSTRIA & PRUSSIA

War helped the kings of E. Europe to develop

absolute power.

Kings Gained Political Power in 3 Key Areas:

1. Permanent taxation

2. Standing armies

3. Foreign relations (conducted by king)

Austria & the

Ottoman

Turks

The defeat of the Hapsburgs in Central

Europe during the 30 Years’ War FORCED

them to turn eastward to re-create a strong

empire.

Ferdinand II restored Bohemia to Catholic

control.

Ferdinand II

King of Bohemia (1617-1619, 1620-1627)

King of Hungary (1618-1625)

Holy Roman Emperor (1619-1637)

The Austrian

Empire

The Hapsburgs established strong

direct rule over Bohemia. The

peasantry was enserfed:

1)Most peasants required to work 3

days of unpaid labor per week

(robot)

2)Some had to work every day except

Sunday & holidays

** Reorganization of Bohemia was big

step toward Austrian absolutism.

King Ferdinand III (1637-

1657) created a permanent

standing army to hold the

Hapsburg Empire together.

He then prepared to attack

Hungary.

The Ottoman Empire

The Ottoman

Empire peaked in

the mid 1500s under

the leadership of

Sultan Suleiman the

Magnificent (r. 1520

– 1566). They were

most powerful

empire in the world

at that time.

Ottoman Empire structure:

1)All land hereditarily owned by Sultan

2)There are NO landed nobility

3)Top gov’t bureaucracy staffed by the Sultan’s

Slave Corps. Every year the Sultan taxed the

Christian population of the Balkans anywhere

from 1,000 – 3,000 male children. They were

raised as Moslems and trained either to fight

or be administrators. Those who were

unsuccessful in administration became the

core of the Sultan’s army - - ** the Janissary

Corps.

The Janissary Corps escorting the Ottoman Empire

1683 Turkish Siege of Vienna – forced retreat of the

Ottomans turned into a rout by the Austrians.

1683 Ottoman Siege of Vienna, Austria

• Ottomans forced to retreat

• Russian & Venetian troops counterattacked Ott. Emp.

• ** Hapsburgs conquered Hungary & Transylvania

(Romania) by 1699

• The war with the Ottomans developed a sense of

political unity in the Hapsburg Empire!

Hapsburg Empire Now Consisted of:

1) Austria

2) Bohemia

3) Hungary

Transylvania – AH, AH, AH, AH!!!!

Holy Roman Emperor

Charles VI (r. 1711 – 1740 - -

Knew the empire was

fragile and tried to legislate

its guaranteed existence

through the ** 1713

Pragmatic Sanction which

said Hapsburg territory had

to be passed down as one

piece (never divided) to

male or female heir {since

Charles had NO sons & was

the last of the Hapsburgs}.

Prussia in the

17th Century

King Frederick

William, the Great

Elector of Prussia

{r. 1640-1688}

Hohenzollern Castle

Elector Frederick

III of Prussia

(r. 1688 – 1713)

King Frederick

William I of

Prussia

“the Soldier’s

King”

{r. 1713 – 1740}

New Prussian

army uniforms

introduced by

King Frederick

William I

King Frederick William I

inspecting his “Potsdam

Giants” or “Lange Kerls”

(Long Guys). King was 4’11”

and average soldier was 5’11”

(tallest up to 7 feet tall!)

The Mongol

Yoke & the

Rise of Russia

Emperor Diocletian divided the

Roman Empire in 284 AD, creating

the Byzantine Empire (in green)

Genghis Khan (1162-1227 AD)

Tsar Ivan III of Muscovy

(1462-1505) aka “Ivan the

Great”

Tsar Ivan IV (“Ivan the Terrible”) / (r. 1553 – 1584)

The Russian Boyars

Russian Boyars

Russian Cossacks

Cossacks

St. Basil’s

Cathedral in

Moscow,

Russia.

Shows Byzantine

influence on Russian

architecture.

Ivan the Terrible

blinded the

cathedral’s architects

so they could never

duplicate the

achievement.

Placed in Red

Square, in Moscow.

Red Square, Moscow. Kremlin on the right.

Peter the

Great

Russia

r. 1682-1725

Land on the coast

of the Baltic Sea,

conquered by Peter

the Great in the

“Great Northern

War (1700-1721)”

with Sweden.

Russian gained:

Estonia, Livonia,

and some of

Finland.

The Neva River runs through St. Petersburg

Griboyedov Canal

The Peterhof Palace

The Peterhof Palace

The Hermitage Museum

St.

Catherine’s

Palace

St.

Petersburg

Gazprom Building

Peter the Great

cutting the

beards of the

Boyars!!

Leopold I

Holy RomanEmperor

(r. 1658-1705)

Schönbrunn Palace

Schönbrunn Palace

Schönbrunn Palace

The

End