THE HAPSBURG EMPIRE

AN EMPIRE LOOKING BACKWARD

THE HAPSBURG EMPIRE

• A. DYNASTIC, ABSOLUTIST, AND AGRARIAN in a Europe that was becoming more parliamentary, republican, and industrialized.

THE HAPSBURG EMPIRE

• B. EMPEROR FRANCIS JOSEPH (1848-1916)

• 1. A centralized administration was established that was dominated by German-speaking Austrians.

• 2. All internal tariffs were abolished.• 3. Hungary was divided into military

districts.• 4. The Catholic Church controlled

education.

THE HAPSBURG EMPIRE• EMPEROR FRANCIS JOSEPH

5. Survived an assassination attempt in 1853. Worries about succession increased, so Franz Joseph looked for a wife.

– He ignored the older of his maternal cousins and fell for his 16 year old cousin, Elisabeth, Sissi, of Bavaria.

– She was often sick and away from court, but encouraged her husband to support the Hungarian cause.

– She traveled Europe extensively – fashion icon.

– In 1898, she was stabbed in the heart by an anarchist in Geneva, Switzerland

– Despite taking several mistresses, it was said that Franz Joseph never recovered.

THE HAPSBURG EMPIRE

• C. GOOD-BYE RUSSIA: Since Austria did not support Russia during the Crimean War, the tsar would no longer prop us Hapsburg rule in Hungary.

THE HAPSBURG EMPIRE

• D. DEFEAT: by France and Piedmont in 1859 resulted in the loss of Italian territories.

THE DUAL MONARCHY

• A. 1860 OCTOBER DIPLOMA created an Austrian federation with local diets and a single imperial government. This was rejected by the Magyars

THE DUAL MONARCHY

• B. 1861 FEBRUARY PATENT established a bicameral imperial parliament, the Reichsrat. The Magyars again refused to participate but this form of government actually did go into effect and remained so until World War I.

THE DUAL MONARCHY

• C. COMPROMISE OF 1867, AUSGLEICH: 1866 defeat by Prussia forced Francis Joseph to deal with the Magyars. Austria-Hungary was created, essentially two separate countries with a common ruler. Ferenc Deák

THE DUAL MONARCHY

• The Hungarians pursued Magyarization in their part of the empire, suppressing Slavic languages and culture.

• To manage the situation in Austria, Prime Minister Edward von Taaffe expanded voting rights and tried to win over the Czechs, Slovaks, and Poles by including them in the Imperial Parliament.

• German nationalists resented these policies.

THE DUAL MONARCHY

• Anti-Semitism emerged as a political force in Austrian politics with the rise of the Christian Social Party. From 1897 to 1910, Karl Lueger served as mayor of Vienna and pursued policy of restriction and exclusion against Jews.

• Not until 1907 did Austria grant universal male suffrage, and even then, the imperial Reichsrat so often descended into ethnic conflict that Franz Joseph was forced to rule by decree.

THE DUAL MONARCHY

• Political difficulties in Austria mounted continuously through the late 1800s and into the 20th century. But Franz Joseph remained immensely respected. His patriarchal authority held the Empire together while the politicians squabbled.

THE DUAL MONARCHY• D. After Rudolf, the heir to the throne,

died in 1889, Archduke Franz Ferdinand became heir. He was nephew of Franz Joseph and almost lost his position by falling in love with and marrying Sophia, a mere countess. Franz Joseph wanted the marriage declared morganatic.

• When Franz Ferdinand and Sophia were assassinated, Franz Joseph declared that "in this manner a superior power has restored that order which I unfortunately was unable to maintain."

THE DUAL MONARCHY

• E. SIMMERING NATIONALISM among the Czechs and other nationalities under Austrian domination caused disruption in the Reichsrat and resulted in rule by imperial decree in the late 1890's. Continued tension in the Balkans would eventually result in the chaos of World War I.

1914