notes on eastern europe
TRANSCRIPT
Analyze historical significance of the Elbe Trieste line;
The Elbe Trieste line is significant in that it divided Europe into Eastern and Western sections, allowing for different cultures and government types to develop but is insignificant in that ideas still spread from one half of Europe to the other.
Primus interparus: First among equals; found in Eastern Europe
Serfs had LOTS less social mobility
Middle class: hardly any
The 300 german princes gained power (30 years war)
Eastern was Orthodox (more Byzantine)
Did not recognize pope
Saw themselves as a “third Rome”
More religious toleration in Prussia
Because it was protestant
RT shown mainly in the Ottoman empire
Protestants often treated better by Ott emp than by Christian countries
No trading centers
Had NO reformation
NO RENAISSANCE!!!!!!!!
Russia: sprinter; fall behind Western Europe, sprint to catch up, fall behind again, sprint….
EASTERN EUROPE
Absolutism: The Ottomans, Austria, and Prussia
Ottomans
Islamic
Got power by expanding: “Gunpowder Empire”
Had to keep expanding to hold onto power
#1 enemy= Habsburgs
Rule of thumb: analyzing a map
The bigger the Ottoman empire, the older it is, the smaller the Ott emp, the more recent it is
No private land
All owned by sultan
Granted by sultan as a favor
NO HEREDITARY NOBOLITY
Mostly Merit Based
Realized they needed to defend peasants to protect tax base
Elaborate beuracracy staffed by slaves
Staffed by slaves
Child tax
1-3000 christian kid slaves from Balkan peninsula
Smart went to Beuracracy
Not so smart became soldiers
Did NOT impose their customs on conquered people, imposed gov structure
Peeps not hate Otts because they kept their culture
Made them Machiavellian
`makes them unique compared to Western Europe
Hungarians preffered being ruled by Otts rather than Habsburgs
Reached peak of expansion under Suleiman the Magnificent
Reign 1520 to 1566
1529 ALMOST takes Vienna (cap of Habsburg)
Keep trying to expand, not very successful
Defeated at lepanto
Gives Greeks sense of independence
Try to take Vienna in 1683, fail again
Habsburgs start taking Ott territory
Austria
Habsburgs
HRE starts to be inappropriate term
Still had title HR emperor, but becomes more of an AUSTRIAN empire
Charles V (r. 1519-1558)
Turks kept him preoccupied
Didn’t crack on ref because he needed Protestant aid to keep Otts at bay
Peace of Augsburg
Recognized caths and prots AND LUTHERANISM, be SPECIFIC
Westpahlia comes to include Luth and Calv
Ferdinand I
R 1558 to 1564
Gets credit for fending off Otts
Rules region w/ Vienna,
Signs treaty w/ sulaman
Splits Hungary
Maximilian II
R 1564 to 1576
Sympathetic to Protestants
Rudolph II
1576 to 1612
Not believe in RT
Not effective
Had to give up part of Bohemia to brother Matthias
Collected dwarfs and giants to use in army
Would be sent gifts of strange sized people
Matthias
Reign 1612 to 1619
entered 30 years war
Ferdinand II (of Styria
Reign 1619 to 1637
King of bohemia began attacking protestant churches
Big cause of 30 years war
Power reassigned to non-chzeck European nobles
Owe all power to Habsburgs
Strong direct rule over bohemia
Protestantism stamped out in Austria
BIG STEP TOWARDS ABSOLUTISM
Bohemian serfs lose LOTS of power
Ferdinand III (r 1637 to 1657)
Inherits really dissolve HRE
30 years war
Consolidates power in Austria, Styria, Tyrol
Creates permanent standing army
Attention shifts to Turkey/Ott empire
Leopold I
R 1658 to 1705
Defends Austrian emps against Otttsin 1663
Took Hungary (had been allied w/ turks)
Hung becomes thorn in side for Habsburgs
5 to 7% of pop was noble
Very protestants
Liked turks better
Given more freedom and tolerance w/ turks
Habsburg territory divided into 3 distinct districts
Bohemia
Hungary
Austria
Reigns at same time as Louis XIV
1703- war of Spanish succession
Phillip bourbon
Austrian rulers trying to get into Spanish crown
Hungarians rebel
Inspired by Prince Rakcozy
Encourages rebellion
Is stifled
Never fulled integrated into Austria
Always a bit trebeliious
Joseph I (r 1705 to 1711)
Placte peeps better
More tolerant
Strife in HRE stops
Charles VI (r 1711 to 1740)
Last habsburg male
Very fragile empire
Concerned that Habsburg lands would dissolve
Had no sons, one daughter
Salic law : only males can succeed to throne
1713 tries to pave way for daughters to succeed
Passes pragmatic sanction
Said that all Habsburg lands had to be transferred to one heri, irregardless of gender
Did not have power to ensure it was carried out
To guarantee had to get all kinds of groups on his side
Got Hungarians
Gets sanction past
Succeeded by maria theresa
HREs want to be absolute monarchs, “can’t quite get it together”
Prussia
Hohenzollern family, LUTHERANS
Started as part of HRE
Started to consolidate own power during 30yw
Eventually become part of germany
HRE equals Austria
Prussia comes part of germany
DON’T USE “GERMAN” UNLESS IN ETHNIC SENSE
Brandenburg
Landlocked region around berlin
No military strength
Completely devasted by 30yw
Junior branch of HZ were Dukes
Controlled part of Poland
Eventually dies out
Electors take over Prussia
Nothing about this family indicated they would consolidate pwer
Frederick William the Great elector (Hohenzollern)
Reign 1640 to 1685
Goal was to unify and expand HZ territories
30yw gave wide open door
3 reigions
Brandenburg
Prussia
Holding along the Rhine
All controlled purse strings (colleecteed taxes)
Junkers: Prussian nobility
Many wars nearby
Uses sense of crisis to make nobles give him comtrol over taxation
Began to consolidate power
Got states to approve PERMANENT taxation without consent
Nobles were tax-exempt
Dumb move for the nobles
Revenue FW gets TRIPLES
Military expands TEN FOLD
Permanent standing army
Puts Prussia on path toward unified absolutist state
Right place at the right time, also smart
Elector Frederick III
Becomes first king of Prussia
Reign 1688 to 1713
More interested in emulating Louis XIV
Because Prussia helped HRE during Spanish succession was crowned king by Leopold
Starts whole german royal faily
Frederick or William or Frederick William usually equals Prussia
Frederick William I “Soldiers King”
TRLUY established Prussian absolutism
Hated dad’s extravagant spending
Leads a very militaristic society
Prussia becomes known as the “Sparta of the North”
LOVED tall soldiers
Tried to breed tall soldiers
Suffered from porferia
Caused insanity and migraines
Soldiers parading trhough bedroom made hinm feel better
Loved soldiers, hated to “spend” them
At peace for most of his reign
Called soldiers his “blue boys”
Very violent temper
Son tried to run away with best friend
Son’s best friend was beheaded in front of him
Tolerant to wife
Married into british hanovver family
Daughter of Uncle King George I
Hated his wife
NEVER hit her
Wanted Prussia to be seen as equal
Very Machiavellian
Saw himself as an absolute monarch “eternal salvation belongs to god, but all else is mine”
Merit based military system
Civilian society was also militaristic
Created strong centralized beuracracy
VERY FRUGAL
Even paid taxes
Made queen do her own dishes
States’ and local towns’ power vanished
Ethnic diversity of this time period DOES NOT GO AWAY