Chapter V: Transformation of Eastern Europe, 1648-1740

--Old-fashioned political organizations of HRE, Poland, and Ottoman empire = loose, sprawling, increasingly ineffective. Pushed aside and superseded by 3 newer, stronger powers: Russia, Prussia, and Austria.

--General characteristic of Eastern Europe: fewer towns, human labor = less productive, middle class = weaker. Peasants = governed, controlled by landlords. Peasant masses increasingly lost freedom, unlike what happened in West. While commercial revol ution and widening of market made Western workers into a legally free and mobile labor force, they strengthened Eastern landlords who produced for export, and who secured their labor force through serfdom and "hereditary subjection."

--Main social unit = agricultural estate, in which people gave lord uncompensated compulsory labor (robot), and could do little without lord's approval. Thus, landlords = very powerful, the only significant political class. Prussia, Austria, and Russ ia = all landlord states.

Three Aging Empires

--In all, central authority = become weak, consisting mainly of understandings between a nominal head and outlying rulers. All lacked efficient systems of administration and government. All had diverse ethnic or language groups. Entire area = politica lly soft.

--HRE after 1648: Next to no armies, revenues, or working organs of government. An abortion. Roughly equal to the German states.

--Never really recovered after 30 Years' War. Burgher class = stifled. Split into many separate states, each with sovreign rights. All = intent on preserving "Germanic liberties," or freedom of member states from control by Emperor or empire. The 7-9 electors, at each election of emperor, demanded certain "capitulations," or guaranteed to protect privilegs and immunities of states, as conditions to throne. Thus, imperial power steadily declined.

--Great variety of customs and laws for each state prevented integration.

--Free cities = ruled by closed, almost sovreign oligarchies, and most other states developed toward absolutism.

--But many rulers = desirous of expansion. Half-century after 1648 = crucial, since anything could happen. Any nations could crystallize from the many small states. After 1700, Austria and Prussia eventually emerged as the major players.

--Austria = house of Habsburg, Prussia = house of Brandenburg, or Hollenzollern.

--Republic of Polnd about 1650

--At 1650, stretched from Berlin to near Moscow, and from Baltic to near Black Sea. Territory = vast, ethnically splintered: Poles long Vistula valley, Germans and Jews in cities, and Ukranians and White Russians in East. Mostly Roman Catholic.

--Landed aristocracy = most powerful group, sole rulers. Neither absolutist nor parliamentary. Aristocracy held onto "Polish" liberties, or fierce suspicion of centrl authority and perpetual invitation to foreign intervention. Again monarchy = electi ve, and steadily losing power through capitulations.

--Central diet = ineffective, and could always = exploded by liberum veto, or free veto. Many = exploded. Actual rule = by local diets. Government = a fiasco. No monopolization of law and force. About a dozen armies, each in hands of individual arist ocratic leader. A huge political vacuum.

--Ottoman Empire

--In better condition, and larger than the other two. Empire = based largely on military strength. Before Europe, had a standing army, mainly of janissaries, or Christian children brought up as Muslims, and eager to show and prove their zeal for the Moslem cause. Reared in military and without background, they = perfect fighters. But slowly falling behind in military.

--Generally tolerant of Christian subjects. Little proselyting. Little separation of church and state.

--But central power = waning, giving outlying rulers greater freedom with subjects. Eventual repression of Christians. But later, in 1663, Turks revived under unusually capcble rulers, pushed into Europe, defeated by Austrians.

The Formation of an Austrian Monarchy

--Recovery and Growth of Habsburg Power, 1648-1740

--In 17c, two supports--Spain and HRE--of Habsburg line collapsed.

--3 main parts to Austria: Upper and Lower Austria (hereditary), Bohemia, and Hungary. Austria in 17c reaffirmed grip on all three. During 30 Years' War, rooted Protestantism out of Austria, reconquered and re-Catholicized Bohemia, and later got Hung ary. Turks in 1663 tried to regain Hungary, but failed. Signed 20-year truce, but Louis, to divert Austrians from West, encouraged Turks to try again. Turks besieged Vienna in 1683, but again failed. Habsburgs, under Eugene of Savoy, pushed Turks back. At Peace of Karlowitz (1699), Turks yielded most of Hungary to Habsburgs.

--Austrian Monarchy by 1740

--Habsburgs = back in control of large empire. Most members = German Catholic, but non-national or international. Many ethnic groups = represented in government. Made enemies of all Protestants. Hated by Democrats.

--Empire = based on cosmopolitan aristocracy of landowners, who felt closer to each other in interest, despite different cultures, than to their laborers.

--Local diets protected local interests: retained some powers over taxation and administration, and a sense of constitutional liberty against the crown. So long as Vienna got required taxes and troops, no questions = asked. Peasants = put into serfd om.

--Harsh repression of Bohemia and Hungary on conquest: In Bohemia, estates of rebel landlords = confiscated, given to veterans of 30 Years' War, who owed their position entirely to Habsburgs. Inpouring of Catholic missionaries. Basically the same in Hungary. Hungarians and their Magyar aristocracy = proud and stubborn, even nationalistic. Refused abject submission. Hungary remained a separate nation. Crowns of both Hungary and Bohemia = made hereditary under Habsburg line.

--Thus, Austrian monarchy stayed a collection of territories held together by personal union. No feeling, only the crowns held the regions together. Each country had individual customs and laws.

--After conquest of Hungary, Charles VI tried to guarantee undivided succession of territories to his daughter, Maria Theresa. Tried and got all major powers and diets to recognize only the Habsburg line in Pragmatic Sanction, 1713. But when Charles VI dies in 1740, Frederick II of Prussia siezes Silesia, and Bohemia leaves.

The Formation of Prussia

--Small states like Prussia could = major military forces because of limits on the sizes of field armies at the time. If well-disciplined, trained, equipped, and bly commanded and economically employed, small armies could defeat much larger ones.

--Territorial Growth of Brandenburg-Prussia

--Prussia = famous for its militarism, or military society.

--1618: Elector of Brandenburg inherited duchy of Prussia. In later years, received various western territories, and long-term goal became to unite all these pieces into one contiguous empire.

--During 30 Years' War, Frederick William, the Great Elector, inherited Prussia. To prevent Brandenburg from again becoming destroyed, decided to raise a large, worthy army, and not use it; rather, use diplomatic maneuvers.

--After war, the army stayed on, became part of nation. Unique characteristic of Prussian army = its huge size relative to nation's resources. To maintain it, government had to direct the life of the country to it. Army = unifying element of state. P russian rulers derived 1/2 of income from crown, and half from taxes. Rulers, being spartan, ran state on 1/2 from crown, and used other 1/2 to support army. Devoted huge bureaucracy to support of army.

--Much of economy = under control of state, instead of a business class, because for an agricultural society to maintain an army, most of productive and technical skills had to be imported. Thus, welcomed immigrants.

--Civilian middle class = submissive. Landed aristocracy, or Junkers, = absorbed in military service, with heavy emphasis on duty, obedience, service, and sacrifice.

--Frederick suppressed estates or parliamentary assemblies. In turn, aristocracy = given free hand in governing peasants. Spread of serfdom.

--Frederick thought nobles the best commandrs, since were used to commanding their own peasants. Thus, tried to preserve officer class by stratifying classes, prohibiting the exchange of some properties.

--Frederick implemented efficient canton system of recruitment, by which each regiment had assigned to it a certain region for the source of its soldiers.

--By stinginess, left his son, Frederick II, a great war chest and large army, with which he conquered Silesia.

The Westernizing of Russia

--Reasons for Isolation of Russia: converted to Greek Orthodox, not RC Church; Mongol invasion and conquest kept Russia isolated for 2 centuries; no warm-water ports for commerce.

--Russia before Peter the Great

--From 1450, the liberation from Mongol rule, to 1650, expanded gainst Poland, almost to Baltic and Black seas. Also, Great Russians, or Muscovites, = expanding east. In 1630s, reached Siberia and Pacific. Thus, Russia = faced mostly east. Europe = i n rear. Still, not totally isolated from Europe. There was some trade with England, importation of Western technology.

--Very oriental in culture. Xenophobic.

--After death of Ivan the Terrible, Russia went through Time of Troubles (1604-13), during which Russian nobles tried to destroy Ivan's centralization. But the time brought much war and destruction. In 1613, a national assembly gave throne to Michael Romanov. Romanov soon repressed representative government, set up as an absolute monarch.

--During Time of Troubles, peasants moved around very much, as was their right. But landlords wanted to = assured of steady labor force, so got Romanov to put peasants in serfdom. Peasants tried to revolt, as with Razin, 1667, but to no avail.

--Meanwhile, Church = undergoing large reform. Church = made inc. dependent on government. Revision of Bible made many superstitiously reject reforms. Rejecters formed Old Believers, set up their own clergy. Thus, there were 2 churches.

--Peter the Great

--During visits to West, he = profoundly impressed with backwardness and weakness of his own nation. Thus, imported many Western technicians to Russia to create a strong army up to Western standards. Peter had to defend Russia against Western neighbo rs, and also get some warm-water ports.

--Wars with Sweden: at first, routed by Charles XII's armies, learned a lesson in modernization. But the next time, led Charles into Russia, where they were frozen to death. Thus, Swedish armies = destroyed, and Russia got part of Baltic, and went fu rther west. Also, army = transformed from an Asiatic horde to a professional one as in West. In addition to using army to advance West, also used it to suppress many internal rebellions.

--Built St. Petersburg as the new capital.

--Internal Changes

--To finance all this, Peter mainly taxed peasants. To ensure collection of taxes, peasant movement = further restricted.

--To stimulate production and raise government revenues, Peter tried to adopt Colbert's mercantilist policies. Encouraged exports, built fleet on Baltic, encouraged specific industries, and organized Russians and foreigners into companies with govern ment capital. Also, gave them a labor supply through serfs. But industry = also under direction of government.

--In place of old organs of government, Peter created a "senate" dependent on himself. Ruled Church through Procurator. Abolished rule of hereditary succession to tsardom, thereby opening up to intrigue. Aristocrats = pressed into state service. Birt h meant nothing; many = raised and many = thrown down. Created virtual social revolution in cretaing a new aristocracy in government service. Force-fed aristocrats with Western manners and tastes.

--Results of Peter's Revolution

--Provoked a strong reaction. But those who = elevated by Peter to aristocracy tried to preserve his reform. Discontent rallied around Peter's son, who promised to reverse reform when tsar. Peter executed him.

--Methods fastened autocracy, serfdom, and bureaucracy more firmly on the country.

--Upper classes = thoroughly Europeanized, but lower are not. Thus, upper classes become strangers in their own country.

--Russia becomes a European power.

The Partitions of Poland

--First, 1772: Rather than allow Russia to expand against Ottomans, Prussia and Austria propose 3-way partition of Poland's outer territories. Prussia becomes whole.

--Second (1793), Third (1795): Russia takes advantage of French Revolution to force further and then final partitions.