The Austrian Empire was proclaimed a monarchical state in 1804 and lasted until 1867, after which it was transformed into Austria-Hungary. Otherwise, it was called the Habsburg Empire, after the name of one of the Habsburgs, Franz, who, like Napoleon, also proclaimed himself emperor.
Inheritance
The Austrian Empire in the 19th century, if you look at the map, looks like a patchwork quilt. It is immediately clear that this is a multinational state. And, most likely, it, as often happens, is deprived of stability. Looking through the pages of history, you can see that this happened here. Tiny multi-colored spots collected under one border - this is Habsburg Austria. The map shows particularly well how fragmented the lands of the empire were. The Habsburg ancestral plots are small regional regions inhabited by completely different peoples. The composition of the Austrian Empire was about this.
- Slovakia, Hungary, Czech Republic.
- Transcarpathia (Carpathian Russia).
- Transylvania, Croatia, Vojvodina (Banat).
- Galicia, Bukovina.
- Northern Italy (Lombardy, Venice).
Not only the origin of all peoples was different, but the religion did not coincide. The peoples of the Austrian empire (about thirty-four million) were half Slavs (Slovaks, Czechs, Croats, Poles, Ukrainians, Serbs. Magyars (Hungarians) were about five million, about the same number of Italians.
At the junction of history
Feudalism by that time had not yet outlived itself, but Austrian and Czech artisans could already call themselves workers, since the industry of these areas had completely developed to capitalist.
The Habsburgs and the surrounding nobility were the dominant force of the empire, they occupied all the highest positions - both military and bureaucratic. Absolutism, the dominance of arbitrariness - the bureaucratic and power in the face of the police, the dictates of the Catholic Church, the richest institution in the empire - all this in one way or another oppressed the small nations, united together, like water and oil that were not connected even in the mixer.
Austrian Empire on the eve of the revolution
The Czech Republic was quickly Germanized, especially the bourgeoisie and the aristocracy. The landowners from Hungary strangled millions of Slavic peasants, but they themselves were also very dependent on Austrian authorities. The Austrian Empire pressed hard on its Italian provinces. It’s even hard to distinguish between what kind of oppression was: the struggle of feudalism with capitalism or according to purely national differences.
Metternich, the head of government and an ardent reactionary, for thirty years banned any language other than German in all institutions, including in courts and schools. The population was mostly peasant. Considered free, these people were completely dependent on the landlords, paid dues, worked out duties reminiscent of corvée.
Not only did the masses moan under the yoke of residual feudal orders and absolute power with its arbitrariness. The bourgeoisie was also unhappy and clearly pushed the people to revolt. The revolution in the Austrian Empire for the above reasons was simply inevitable.
National self-determination
All peoples are freedom-loving and with trepidation concern the development and preservation of their national culture. Especially Slavic. Then, under the weight of the Austrian boot, both Czechs, Slovaks, Hungarians, and Italians strove for self-government, the development of literature and arts, and sought schooling in national languages. Writers, scientists united by one idea - national self-determination.
The same processes went on among the Serbs and Croats. The harder the living conditions became, the brighter the dream of freedom flourished, which was reflected in the works of artists, poets and musicians. National cultures rose above reality and inspired compatriots to take decisive steps towards freedom, equality, fraternity - following the example of the French Revolution.
Uprising in Vienna
In 1847, the Austrian empire "acquired" a completely revolutionary situation. The general economic crisis and two years of crop failures added spice to it, and the overthrow of the monarchy in France served as the impetus. Already in March 1848, the revolution in the Austrian Empire matured and broke out.
Workers, students, artisans erected barricades on the streets of Vienna and demanded the resignation of the government, not being afraid of the imperial troops who had advanced to suppress unrest. The government made concessions by dismissing Metternich and some ministers. Even a constitution was promised.
The public, however, was rapidly arming itself: in any case, the workers did not receive anything - not even voting rights. Students created the academic legion, and the bourgeoisie created the national guard. And they resisted when these illegal armed groups tried to dissolve, which forced the emperor and the government to flee Vienna.
The peasants, as usual, did not manage to take part in the revolution. In some places they rebelled spontaneously, refusing to pay rent and unauthorizedly cutting down the landowner's groves. Naturally, the working class had more consciousness and organization. The fragmentation and individualism of the labor of cohesion do not add.
Incompleteness
Like all German, the Austrian revolution was not completed, although it can already be called bourgeois-democratic. The working class has not yet matured enough, the bourgeoisie, as always, has been liberal and behaving treacherously, plus there has been national strife and military counter-revolution.
Failed to win. The monarchy renewed and intensified the triumphant oppression of impoverished and powerless peoples. The positive thing is that some reforms have occurred, and most importantly - the revolution finally killed the feudal system. The good thing is that the country retained its territories, because after the revolutions more homogeneous countries disintegrated than Austria. The empire map has not changed.
Rulers
In the first half of the nineteenth century, until 1835, all state affairs was ruled by Emperor Franz I. Chancellor Metternich was smart and had great political weight, but it was often impossible to convince the emperor. After the consequences of the French Revolution, unpleasant for Austria, and all the horrors of the Napoleonic Wars, Metternich most of all wanted to bring such an order that peace reigned in the country.
However, Metternich failed to create a parliament with representatives of all the peoples of the empire, the provincial sejm did not receive any real powers. However, Austria, which was quite economically backward, with a feudal reactionary regime, Metternich turned into the strongest European state in thirty years of work. Great is his role in the creation of the counter-revolutionary Holy Alliance in 1815.
In an effort to keep the shreds of the empire from complete disintegration, the Austrian forces brutally crushed the uprisings in Naples and Piedmont in 1821, while maintaining complete domination of the Austrians over the non-Austrians in the country. Very often, unrest outside Austria was suppressed, due to which the army of this country acquired a bad reputation among adherents of national self-determination.
An excellent diplomat, Metternich was in charge of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and Emperor Franz completed the internal affairs of the state. With close attention, he monitored all movements in the field of education: officials strictly checked everything that could be studied and read. The censorship was brutal. Journalists were forbidden to even remember the word "constitution."
In religion it was relatively calm, there was some religious tolerance. The Jesuit order was revived , Catholics oversaw education, and without the emperor’s consent they didn’t excommunicate anyone. Jews were released from the ghetto, and even synagogues were built in Vienna. It was then that Solomon Rothschild showed up among bankers, making friends with Metternich. And even received the baronial title. In those days - an incredible event.
The end of a great power
Austrian foreign policy of the second half of the century is full of failures. Complete defeats in wars.
- Crimean War (1853-1856).
- Austro-Prussian War (1866).
- Austro-Italian War (1866).
- war with Sardinia and France (1859).
At this time, there was a sharp break in relations with Russia, then the creation of the North German Union. All this led to the fact that the Habsburgs lost influence on the states not only of Germany, but of the whole of Europe. And - as a consequence - the status of a great power.