Chapter 17, Section 4 Rise of Austria and Prussia

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Chapter 17, Section 4 Rise of Austria and
Prussia

• Setting the Scene Year after year, war ravaged
  the German states of central Europe. Bodies of
  victims littered fields and roads. As the Thirty
  Years' War dragged on, almost every European
  power was sucked into the conflict. "We have had
  blue coats and red coats and now come the yellow
  coats," cried the citizens of one German town.
  "God have pity on us!"
• Finally, two great German-speaking powers,
  Austria and Prussia, rose out of the ashes. Like
  Louis XIV in France, their rulers perfected
  skills as absolute monarchs.

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I. The Thirty Years' War

• By early modern times, the Holy Roman Empire
  consisted of several hundred small, separate
  states

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I. The Thirty Years' War

• Religion divided the German states - the north
  was Protestant and the south was Catholic

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A. The War Begins

• Ferdinand, the Hapsburg king of Bohemia, tried to
  suppress Protestants and to assert royal power
  over local nobles

Ferdinand II King of Bohemia, 1617-1637 King of
Hungary, 1619-1637 Holy Roman Emperor, 1620-1637
  He acquired the Imperial title just as the
Bohemian revolt broke out, starting the 30 Years'
War.
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A. The War Begins

• In 1618, what began as a local conflict widened
  into a general European war

1618 The Defenestration of Prague
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A. The War Begins

• When Ferdinand was elected Holy Roman emperor in
  1619, he tried to roll back the Reformation

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A. The War Begins

• Fredericks early victories caused Protestant
  powers to send troops into Germany

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B. A Brutal Conflict

• The fighting took a terrible toll - up to 1/3rd
  of the people in the German states died because
  of the war

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C. Peace at Last

• In 1648, the Peace of Westphalia ended the war
  and resulted in a general European peace

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II. Hapsburg Austria

• A. Unity and Diversity - The Holy Roman emperors
  expanded their lands by adding Bohemia, Hungary,
  parts of Poland and Italy

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II. Hapsburg Austria

• Uniting these lands proved difficult and the
  Hapsburg empire were never able to develop a
  centralized government

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B. Maria Theresa

• In the early 1700s, the emperor Charles VI faced
  a crisis - he had no son but did have a daughter,
  Maria Theresa

The eldest daughter of Emperor Charles VI and
Elizabeth Christine of Braunschweig-Wolfenbüttel,
Maria Theresa, was born in 1717. As the last
member of the House of Habsburg, she married Duke
Francis Stephen of Lorraine in 1736, thus
founding the House of Habsburg-Lorraine.
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B. Maria Theresa

• Other rulers agreed to recognize Marias right to
  succeed him, but many ignored their pledge when
  he died

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B. Maria Theresa

• This led to the War of the Austrian Succession

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III. The Rise of Prussia

• Prussia emerged as a new Protestant power after
  the Peace of Westphalia, when the Hohenzollern
  rulers united their lands

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III. The Rise of Prussia

• Prussian rulers like Frederick William I forged
  one of the best-trained armies in Europe

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A. Frederick II

• Frederick William made sure that his son
  Frederick was trained in the art of war

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B. Military Successes

• After becoming king in 1740 , Frederick II seized
  Silesia from Austria, sparking the War of the
  Austrian Succession

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B. Military Successes

• Fredericks later wars proved Prussia as great a
  military power earned him the name Frederick the
  Great

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IV. Keeping the Balance of Power

• By 1750, the great powers of Europe included
  Austria, Prussia, France, England, and Russia

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IV. Keeping the Balance of Power

• These nations formed various alliances to
  maintain the balance of power in Europe

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IV. Keeping the Balance of Power

• Two rivalries persisted - Prussia battled Austria
  for control of the German states, while Britain
  and France competed for colonies