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