Chapter 17 – Absolutism in Eastern Europe to 1740

The Growth of Austria and Brandenburg Prussia

Medieval background (1050 - 1300)

1. Personal and economic freedom for peasants increased, serfdom nearly disappeared

2. Hereditary serfdom took place in Poland, Prussia and Russia (1500-1650)

3. Hereditary subjugation – peasants were bound to their lords from one generation to the next as well as to the land

Collecting Taxes in Russia

1. Overall the peasants had less power in Eastern Europe than in Western Europe

2. Serfdom increased because of political not economic reasons

3. Typical king was only first among equals

4. Westerner began to regard eastern Europe as culturally and morally inferior

5. Real losers were the peasants and middle class

6. Landlords controlled the courts (justice system)

1. Austrian Habsburg turned inward and eastward after 30 years war

2. Serfdom increased, Protestantism was wiped out, and absolutism was achieved

3. In Bohemia the Habsburgs crushed the Protestant nobility, bringing Catholic newcomers, their land given to the soldiers and binding local peasants to them (Battle of White Mountain)

4. Bohemian Estates reduce in power and influence

Suleiman - The Magnificent

1. Ferdinand III – of Austria, created a standing army, centralized and turned toward Hungary for land

2. Under Suleiman the Magnificent the Ottoman-Turks built the most powerful empire in the world, which included part of central Europe

3. The Turkish sultan (king) was the absolute head of the state

4. Siege of Vienna (1683) – Habsburg defeated the Ottoman Turks and began increasing their territory

5. Defeat of the Ottomans has support from protestants nobles in Hungary and Louis XIV of France

Ottoman Empire at its Height, 1566

1. Habsburg possessions consisted of Austria, Bohemia, and Hungary

2. Pragmatic Sanction stated that the possessions should never be divided

3. Hungary nobility thwarted the development of Habsburg absolutism and Charles VI had to restore many of their traditional privileges after the rebellion led by Rakoczy in 1703

A Prussian Giant Grenadier

1. The Hohenzollern family ruled the electorate of Brandenburg (sand box of the Holy Roman Empire) and Prussia

2. Thirty years war weakened the realm and allowed the Hohenzollerns to consolidate their absolutist rule

3. Frederick William (the Great Elector) built a strong Prussian army and infused military values into Prussian society

4. Junkers were the noble landowners of Prussia

Frederick William I (the Soldiers’ King)1. Created best army in Europe2. Most talented reformer, established Prussian absolutism3. Infused strict military values into the whole society4. Love tall, strong soldiers5. Cult of the military, created a centralized bureaucracy,

almost always at peace6. Became known as the Sparta of the North7. Junker class became military elite and Prussia a

militarist state

Ivan the Terrible – first to take the title Tsar of Russia, executed many Muscovite boyars and their peasants. His ownership of all land, trade and industry restricted economic development.

1. Mongol controlled Russia- used Russian aristocrats as servants and tax collectors. (13th – 16th Century)

2. Ivan I served Mongols and strengthen Moscow –Mongols conquered the Kievan state in 13th century (Golden Horde)

3. Ivan III – stopped acknowledging the Mongol khan (1480)

4. Prince of Moscow – the tsar

5. Eastern Orthodoxy rejects the authority of the pope

1. Muscovites gained their initial power through services rendered the the Mongols

2. Rise of Russian monarchy was largely a response to the external threat of the Asiatic Mongols

3. The tsars and boyars struggled over who would rule the state, the tsar won and created a “service nobility” who held the tsar’s land on the condition that they serve in his army (tsar means Caesar-absolute ruler)

4. Ivan IV – Ivan the Terrible – fought wars against Mongols, launched a reign of terror against boyar nobility, he murdered leading boyars and confiscated their estates (no private property.)

5. He monopolized mining and business activity, he assumed he owned all trade as he owned all land—Result: No Middle Class

6. Many peasants fled his rule to the newly conquered territories forming outlaw armies called Cossacks

Saint Basil’s Cathedral, Moscow – onion shaped domes a striking example of powerful Byzantine influences on Russian culture

1. “Time of Troubles” – Increased pressured on the peasants to pay for his wars led to a breakdown of the Muscovite state after Ivan IV death.

2. There was no heir, relatives of the tsar fought against each other

3. Swedish and Polish armies invaded

4. Cossack bands slaughter many nobles and officials

5. Ivan kill his son, and the “Time of Troubles” was caused by a dispute in the line of succession

6. Michael Romanov was elected tsar by the nobility in 1613

Peter the Great – painting celebrates the power and determination of Russia's famous ruler

1. Romanovs brought abut the total enserfment of the people, while the military obligations on the nobility were relaxed

2. The Church became dependent on the state for its authority

3. Peter the Great – reformed the army and forced the nobility to serve in his bureaucracy or army for life

4. He created a western styled army, won the Great Northern War against Sweden, made compulsory education away from home for higher classes mandatory (5years)

Peter the Great

1. Peter borrowed Western technology and hired Western advisors

2. Visited Europe in disguise

3. He modernized the army and made Russia a great power in Europe

4. Russian peasant life became more harsh

5. People replaced land as the primary unit of taxation

6. Serfs were arbitrarily assigned to work in factories and mines

Great Northern War 1700-1721

• Alliance with Denmark

• Invades Sweden, wants warm water ports

• Denmark and Russia defeated

• Peter reforms: nobles must serve for life; military schools; 5 years serve away from home; bureaucracy; higher taxes

• Battle of Poltava

• End: Russia gains Estonia and Latvia, becomes Baltic power

St. Peterburg – excellent example of the tie among architecture, politics, and urban development

1. Baroque culture and art grew out of an effort by the Catholic church to attract followers

2. Architecture played an important role in politics because it was used by kings to enhance their image and awe their subjects (Royal Place, favorite expression of absolutist power)

St. Petersburg- Peter wanted to create a modern, baroque city form which to rule Russia

1. The dominant artistic style of the age of absolutism was baroque – dramatic and emotional style

2. St. Petersburg became one of the world’s largest and most influential city's

3. It had broad, straight avenues, housed built in a uniform line, parks,, canals and streetlights

4. Each social group was to live in a specific section,

The Ottoman Empire at Its Height, 1566

The Growth of Austria and Brandenburg-Prussia to 1748

Map 17.3 The

Expansion of Russia to

1725