Download Balkan Nationalism and Pan Slavism 2015

Austria Hungary & the Ottoman Empire:
Balkan Nationalism and Pan-Slavism
THEMES:
1. Intertwining Ideologies
liberalism, nationalism and conservativism during
19th century quests for nationhood
2. Nationalism
as a force for separation
At the beginning of the 1800s, the Hapsburg family had controlled much of the region
for nearly four centuries.
1815
Congress of Vienna sought to create a balance of power, yet Austria was still the
oldest, largest, most powerful empire in Eastern Europe.
Prince von Metternich
Foreign Minister for Austria from 1809 until 1848
CONSERVATIVE & REACTIONARY
Resistance to
Change
• Austrian emperor,
Foreign Minister
Metternich tried to
maintain power of
monarchy, empire
Carlsbad
Decrees
• Metternich called
meeting of
Confederation,
passed Carlsbad
Decrees
• Metternich accused • Prohibited any
universities of
reforms that
creating
conflicted with
revolutionaries
absolute
monarchy
Other
Prohibitions
Congress of
Troppau
• Decrees established • Metternich called
censorship of
meeting of other
newspapers
European powers
regarding
• Created secret police
nationalists revolts
to spy on students
suspected of
• Leaders agreed to
revolutionary
provide military
activities
intervention to
support
governments
against internal
revolution
What happens
when a people
share a
common
history,
language,
culture, and
religion, but
have no
definitive or
current legal
claim on a
territory?
Looking at the map of the Balkan
region, why might it be difficult to
allow the creation of independent
nations based on ethnicity?
1848
At the beginning of the
1800s, the Hapsburg
family had controlled
much of the region for
nearly four centuries.
But this powerful empire
would not remain intact
through the remainder
of the 1800s.
Revolutions of 1848
Metternich's hypothesis that revolution could spread
from one country to another was proven true
France
•
King Louis Philippe presided over a bourgeoisiedominated government.
–
•
–
–
Urban working class: stagnant wages and high
unemployment
1846: a severe famine causes inflation of food prices
middle class liberals: expanded suffrage
Revolution of “barricades”
–
–
–
•
30% of adult males vote
Socio-economic unrest… again.
–
•

Violence scares Louis Philippe into abdication
National Workshops: state-owned manufacturing
establishments where workers supposed to be
guaranteed work, but govt didn’t create jobs.
3 days of violent class warfare broke out in Paris as
military turned on lower classes.
New constitution
–
–
–
universal male suffrage to elect president
Louis Napoleon Bonaparte ran fact that he was
Napoleon’s nephew and he would be liberal.
Not so much: reestablishing order, conservative and
declared himself Emperor Napoleon III.
Austria
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Vienna: students, workers, and middle class
liberals revolt & set up a constituent assembly.
Budapest: the Magyars want national autonomy
Prague: the Czechs want of self-government.
Tuscany: new constitution declared with the
goal of overthrowing their Austria thru Italian
unification and Mazzini’s “Young Italy”
Austrian army
crushed the liberals
and democrats
conservative
establishment still
in control
Metternich runs
from Vienna in
disguise, after
forced to resign by
emperor
1848, Ferdinand abdicated, throne
went to nephew, Franz Josef I
During long reign, Franz Josef I ruled over unstable
empire
• 1848, Hungarian Magyars rebelled against Austrian rule
– Almost won independence
– Czar Nicholas I of Russia sent troops to help Austria crush
revolt
• Franz Josef I abolished liberal reforms of 1848, but could not
stamp out nationalism
• Revoked new constitution, stopped revolution temporarily
• But, Franz Josef I could not stop the nationalist
movement. Change came in the form of the Dual
Monarchy.
The Dual Monarchy
Forming a New Government
• As nationalist movement
continued in Europe, Austria lost
Lombardy to Italy, 1859
• 1866, Austria’s defeat by Prussia
brought new demands from
Hungarians
• Franz Josef I, Hungarian
nationalist movement leaders
reached agreement, Compromise
of 1867
Compromise of 1867
• Created dual monarchy of AustriaHungary
• Austria, Hungary became two
separate, equal states with one
ruler, Franz Josef I
• Ruler’s title: emperor of Austria,
king of Hungary
• Each had own parliament, shared
ministries of war, finance, foreign
affairs
structure of government: 2 separate, equal states under 1
ruler, with separate parliaments but some shared
government ministries, as well as a joint government
An Uneven Solution
Rural and Industrial
• Dual Monarchy lasted about 50
years, until 1918
• Eased pressure for nationalism;
also had economic advantages
• Rural, agricultural Hungary could
provide raw materials, food
• Industrialized Austria could provide
industrial products
Unrest
• Unrest in empire did not go away;
divisions remained among various
nationalities
• Austrian Germans, Hungarian
Magyars did not speak same
language
• Ethnic minorities received little
benefit from Dual Monarchy,
continued to seek self-government
“Liberal Progress” meets new challenges
• liberal bourgeois politicians focused on economic policies to try to
keep pace with rest of Europe:
– free trade, laissez-faire, expanding markets
Atmosphere and attitudes changed significantly by 1900:
• conservative movement gained mass appeal with charisma, fantasy,
and mere appearances.
– anti- Germanic feelings (supported by most ethnic minorities in the empire)
– anti- capitalist opinions (supported by millions of farmers, peasants, and the
very small worker population)
– anti-Semitic perspectives (supported by everyone from artisans to students to
the agrarian poor to the militarists)
– nationalist hopes (supported by the lower-middle class)
• Irrational politics: demagoguery, scapegoating, fear, discontent
• Like Austrian
Empire, Ottoman
Empire existed
for centuries,
controlled vast
multiethnic
territory
• Within borders
many different
religious, ethnic
groups—Greeks,
Bulgarians,
Turks, Kurds,
Arabs, Jews
• Empire in
decline since
late 1600s, could
not survive
changes of
1800s
European nations always involving themselves in
the affairs of the Ottoman Empire
-involved in wars to protect their own territorial interests
-involved in treaties and conferences to maintain balance of power
-interested in protecting economic ambitions in the region
Empire in Decline
• Early 1800s, Ottoman Empire could
not defend self against
independence movement, external
threats
• 1830, Greece had gained
independence; Russia controlled
Caucasus; Serbia self-ruled
The Eastern Question
• Situation created “Eastern
Question”—what would happen if
Ottoman Empire collapsed?
• Russia wanted Constantinople,
access to Mediterranean
• French, British aided Ottoman
Empire, held Russia off
Example of Foreign Interference in Ottoman Empire:
The Crimea
Land Dispute and “Disrespect”
• Ottomans and Europeans had long
standing dispute over Holy Land
• Ottomans gave Roman Catholics
control of Palestine holy places, but
denied Orthodox Christians same
rights
Foreign Interference
• Great Britain saw Russia as potential
threat to interests in India and Persia
• Great Britain allied with France b/c
both gov’ts fearing an expansionist
Russia threatened balance of power
and their interests in Asia
• Both joined Ottoman Empire in war
against Russia
Russian Invasion
• Russians were looking to
expand its hegemony over
eastern Europe & Middle East
• With massive, but not
industrial army, Russians
invaded Ottoman territories
Stalemate
• Crimean War ended in
stalemate, caused half million
deaths
• Brutal loss for Russia
• Took its toll on Ottoman
Empire
• Made it sultanate weak
The Balkan Crises (began in 1874, eventually sparks WWI in 1914)
Hot Spot: “The Balkan Powder Keg”
•Nationalism in Europe created discontent among ethnic groups in Balkan region
•Serbs, Romanians, Bulgarians, Albanians, Greeks all wanted independence
Hegemony: “The Rise of Pan-Slavism”
• Rising nationalism  revolts
• Rising Russian influence  Russian
interference on behalf of Slavic nationals
• Fear of upset of balance of power in
Europe  European powers entering into
several conflicts & wars throughout 19th
• Russia’s need for warm water ports 
Russia directly attacking Ottoman Empire
• GB & France primarily interested in
protecting colonial markets and resources
 jumped sides (Russia or Ottoman)
whenever it was in their best interest
The Balkan Crises (began in 1874, eventually sparks WWI in 1914)
Hot Spot: “The Balkan Powder Keg”
•Nationalism in Europe created discontent among ethnic groups in Balkan region
•Serbs, Romanians, Bulgarians, Albanians, Greeks all wanted independence
Hegemony: “The Rise of Pan-Slavism”
• Rising nationalism  revolts
• Rising Russian influence  Russian
interference on behalf of Slavic nationals
• Fear of upset of balance of power in
Europe  European powers entering into
several conflicts & wars throughout 19th
• Russia’s need for warm water ports 
Russia directly attacking Ottoman Empire
• GB & France primarily interested in
protecting colonial markets and resources
 jumped sides (Russia or Ottoman)
whenever it was in their best interest
The 1878 Congress of Berlin (the temporary Band-aid)
• With Russian troops almost at gates of Constantinople, European powers became
alarmed, so Prussia hosted the Congress of Berlin to discuss situation.
The Goals
• Germany (Prussia) wanted to secure
Austrian control over volatile ethnic
groups to bring stability into region
• GB and F wanted to overturn Russian
gains made against Ottomans in order to
limit Russian influence and maintain
Ottoman control of Middle East
The Results
• Balkan Wars cost Ottoman Empire most
of its land in Europe
• Gave Austria-Hungary land in Balkans
with no consideration to ethnic or national
ties  leads to conflicts for years to come
nationalism as a force for separation
dominant
multicultural
empire
EX: Hungary:
people with a
common culture,
religion, language
want their own
territory and govt
separate from
Austrian Empire
(Austria or
Ottoman)
EX: Serbia:
EX: Greece:
people with a
common history,
culture, religion,
language want their
own territory and
govt separate from
Ottoman Empire
people with a common
culture, religion,
language want their own
territory and govt
separate from Ottoman
Empire
The breaking apart of large empires disrupts the balance of power between major
European players by destroying existing powerful empires and opening up new
opportunities to advance other empires’ hegemony.