Download Central European Monarchs Clash KEY IDEA

Central European
Monarchs Clash
KEY IDEA After a period of
turmoil, absolute monarchs
ruled Austria and the German
state of Prussia
Central European
Monarchs Clash
 Germany had suffered from religious wars
that
ended in 1555.
 As a result of the Peace of Augsburg, the
rulers of each state agreed that they would
decide whether their lands would be Catholic
or Protestant.
 Over the next decades, though, the two
sides had tense relations. Both sides felt
Tensions Mount
 The Lutherans joined together in the Protestant
Union in 1608.
 Feeling threatened by this new alliance, Catholic
princes formed the Catholic League.
 In 1618, Ferdinand II, a Catholic, was appointed
the new emperor to the Holy Roman Empire, he
immediately began to close some Protestant
churches in Bohemia. The Protestants began to
revolt- thus the Thirty Years War Begins
The Thirty Years War
 In 1618, the Thirty Years
War broke out.
 In the first half of the war,
Catholic forces, led by
Ferdinand, the Holy
Roman Emperor, won.
 Germany suffered,
because Ferdinand paid
his large army to loot
towns. His huge army
destroyed everything in
Ferdinand II
The Course of the War Turns
 In1630, the Protestant king, Gustavus
Adolphus of Sweden begins to win several
battles against Ferdinand. In 1632,
Gustavus dies in battle.
Gustavus Adolphus entered the
Thirty Years War at a time when
the Catholic Church forces
threatened to cross the Baltic
Sea and attack Protestant
Sweden. His brilliant military
tactics saved Sweden and helped
to preserve Protestant religion
in Germany helped to preserve
Protestant religion in Germany
Gustavus Adolphus
France Enters the Thirty Years War
 Although France was a
Catholic nation, Cardinals
Richelieu and Mazarin feared
growing Hapsburg family
power. They did not want any
other European ruler to have
as much power as the French
king.
 In 1635, Richelieu sent
French troops to join the
German and Swedish
Cardinal Richelieu
The Peace of Westphalia
 The Thirty Years’ War ended in 1648 with the
Peace of Westphalia. This peace was
brokered by Cardinal Mazarin. The war had
been a disaster for Germany. About
 4 million people had died, and the economy
was in ruins. It took Germany two centuries
to recover. This is a main reason why
Germany did not unify into a single state
until the late 1800s.
Consequences of the Peace of
Westphalia
 Hapsburg empire is weakened.
 Strengthened France by awarding it German
territory
 German princes became independent of the Holy
Roman emperor
 Ended religious wars in Europe
 Introduced a new method of peace negotiation
where peace can be established diplomatically.
European Nations Gain a Sense
of Independence
 The peace weakened the power of
Austria and Spain and made France
stronger. Because of this war, each
nation of Europe was seen as having
an equal right to negotiate with all the
others.
 This marks the beginning of the
modern state system in Europe.
Central Europe Holds on to its
Feudal Past
 While strong states arose in Western
Europe,none emerged in Eastern Europe.
The economies there were less developed
than in the west.
1. Most people were still peasants.
2. This region had not built an economy
based in
towns.
3. Nobles enjoyed great power, which kept
Monarchs of Eastern Europe
Austria and Prussia
 Even though the Thirty Years War was
devastating, two important powers arose.
 The Hapsburg family ruled Austria, Hungary,
and Bohemia in an empire that linked many
different peoples.
 The Hohenzollerns ruled over Prussia.
 Both families moved toward absolutism after
the Thirty Years War.
Maria Theresa of Austria
Maria Theresa was a very able
ruler. She devoted herself to her
family. Unlike many other
monarchs, Maria Theresa
married for love. She gave birth
to 16 children. She continued to
advise her children even after
they were grown. One of her
most famous children was Marie
Antoinette, wife of Louis XVI of
France. She often scolded Marie
for spending too much money
and making the French people
angry.
As Empress of the Holy Roman Empire, Maria
Theresa decreased the power of the nobility. She
was very religious. She cared for the well-being
of the peasants. She limited the amount of labor
that the nobles could force the peasants to do.
Frederick The Great of Prussia
 Frederick The Great is
considered one of
histories greatest military
leaders. He also earned
the reputation as an
enlightened monarch,
supporting education,
religious tolerance and
the rule of law.
Frederick The Great
Personal Profile: Frederick The Great
 In public, Frederick always wore a military
uniform. A lapse in military discipline might
instantly trigger his violent temper. On one
occasion, he personally punished a soldier who
was missing a button on his coat. He beat him
savagely with his walking stick.
 He had an unusual admiration of tall soldiers and
regarded them as superior. He sent out scouts all
over Europe to entice, buy or kidnap the tallest
soldiers for service in the Prussian army
The War of Austrian SuccessionSilesia
In 1740, Frederick the Great of Prussia
invaded one of Maria Theresa’s lands.
He wanted the Austrian land of Silesia.
He believed that because Marie Theresa
was a woman, she would be too weak to
defend her lands. The queen fought hard
to keep the territory, but ultimately,
Frederick seized control of her Silesia.
Silesia Throughout History
Silesia has long been
a pawn in central
Europe conflicts.
Originally it was a
Polish province, it
them passed to
Bohemia, then to
Austria, then to
Prussia. Germany
occupied the region
during World War II.
Later, Silesia was
returned to Poland.
Maria Theresa of Austria
 Still, in fighting this War of the Austrian
Succession, she managed to keep the rest
of her
empire intact.
 Maria Theresa, Queen of Austria, managed
to increase her power and cut that of the
nobles.
 She was opposed by the kings of Prussia, a
new state in northern Germany. Those kings
built a strong state with much power given to
the large, well-trained army.
The Seven Years War:1756-1763
Allegiances Switch
 The two sides fought again beginning in
1756.
In this Seven Years’ War, Austria abandoned
Britain, its old ally, for France and Russia.
Prussia joined with Britain. The Prussians
and British won.
 This war was fought in Europe, India and
North America. While the war did not change
the territorial situation in Europe, Great
Britain gained complete control over the
overseas colonies of France.
The Seven Years War is Fought
in the Americas
 In North America, the Seven Years War
was called the French and Indian War. As
a result of this war, the British took over
the French holdings in the Americas.
Today, the French have a large Frenchspeaking population, many of them still
believe that they should be independent
from Canada. Quebec separation is still an
issue today.